If you're on our mailing list or follow Victory on social media (Facebook or Twitter), you'll know that over the past week or so we've been asking you to send us your questions about the Foundation layer of our Health & Performance Pyramid, which encompasses sleep, stress, hydration and nutrition. It's been really interesting to read all the questions we've received, and I'm hoping that this series of posts will start to answer them... this time, I'm focusing on hydration.
So... why do we need water? Well, our bodies consist of anywhere from 53% to 65% water (in general, the people with 53% water have more body fat). Our brains are made of around 70% water, and our lungs up to 90% water. This water helps us carry vital nutrients to our cells, to flush out metabolic waste products from our muscles and organs, and enables us to take in air effectively by providing a moist environment in our mouths, noses and throats.
What happens if we don't have enough? If this level drops by even a percentage point or two, you start to become dehydrated – and this can affect the way your organs (especially your liver, kidneys and brain) function. It'll also give you bad breath, dry skin, muscle cramps and sugar cravings - and chronic dehydration can result in kidney stones and types of bowel disorder. Given that we sweat up to a litre of water per day (men more than women; athletes more than sedentary folks) and also urinate approximately a litre per day, we need to keep topping ourselves up!
How should I take on water? Official guidelines still say that men should drink around 3 litres of water per day, and women 2.2 litres. However, recent (and not so recent!) research suggests that while this amount is broadly correct for relatively sedentary people in temperate climates, we can - and should - actually get a lot of our water intake from other liquids (even tea and coffee count, though sadly gin doesn't) and from our food (most fruit and vegetables have a high water content). And if we're getting enough, then our bodies will do what they do best and regulate our systems effectively to make sure it's suitably distributed, used and disposed of.
Should I drink more when I exercise? In general - yes. That's because you'll sweat more when you exercise, so you'll lose water through your skin; you'll lose it hrough respiration because you'll breathe harder; and you'll also be using more water to carry nutrients to your cells and flush out the by-products of increased metabolism, and any water used here will flow to your bladder. But how much extra you should drink really depends on how much you're sweating. Sports water bottle company CamelBak have produced a handy online sweat rate calculator which you may find useful to calculate your extra water needs.
How do I know if I'm getting enough? The first and most obvious sign of not getting enough water is that start to get a dry mouth. Saliva is 99% water, and if that starts to deplete, you'll hopefully notice. The next sign is lowered blood pressure, headaches and dizziness - because your blood is around 80% water. If you still don't drink, your muscles will start to fatigue, you'll feel thirsty, and you'll stop urinating. Urine colour is actually a pretty good measure of hydration levels (assuming you're not overdosing on asparagus or antibiotics) as is frequency - if you are well hydrated, your urine should be clear or pale, and you should need to go at least 3-4 times per day.
Can I get too much? Yes, this is also a thing, though much less common than dehydration. It gets most publicity when marathon runners overdose on water and become sick or die; but it also occurs in people who've drunk too much water to cure their hangovers and can't work out why they're feeling worse - and with some nasty medical conditions such as kidney failure, congestive heart failure, or sustained diarrhoea and vomiting. Hyponatraemia is the name for what happens when your body is out of balance and you have too much water relative to sodium (salt). When sodium levels are low, water tends to flood into your cells, causing them to swell. This is a real problem when the cells concerned are brain cells, because there's only so much space in your skull - so swelling of the brain cells can lead to brain damage or even death, but this is extremely rare.
And on that cheerful note... drink up folks! I'll be back soon to talk about stress and food - yum! But in the mean time, if you'd like any more information, you can comment below or on our Facebook page, check out our Online Foundation Programme or contact us with a question.
