Drink like a Fish
Bite This: Most mature adults lose 2.5 -3 liters of water per day.
So I guess it's been a couple of weeks since I had some wine and felt inspired last wrote. Who knew you'd get a vacation from me?! And a well deserved one at that.
After the freak snow fall in May, the weather has rather quickly taken a 180 and reached 94 degrees yesterday. And as any smart person would do, I went for a run after work in the middle of the afternoon. After drinking 1 glass of water. All day. The hair frizz, sweat mustache, mascara-running, heart thumping, leg cramping, barely moving, barely breathing-because-it-was-so-humid run inspired me to write about the importance of staying HYDRATED. Sure you have heard it all before, but really, do you know how important it is to drink water? Of course it is important year-round in all seasons, but I really only give it a second thought in the heat and humidity of the midwest summer.
Water is life. Think about it.
A human can live for days without food (depending on how much, ahem, storage they have), but can only live a few days without water. I have written about how to stay hydrated here, but I am going to elaborate - if only to convince myself.
As previously mentioned, the human body is made up mostly of water. Water is a necessity for cells, blood, metabolism and eliminating wastes, regulating body temperature, digestion, cushioning joints, carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells and so on. So, it's pretty much everything. So, naturally when you become dehydrated, your body starts to lose function and in severe dehydration, you have organ failure. (*Cue* Debbie Downer - Wah, wah, wah...)
Dehydration occurs when you lose more water than you take in during the day...big surprise, eh? It can happen from lack of drinking fluids, excessive vomiting or diarrhea, excessive sweating, increased urination, high altitude (due to increased breathing and exhalation of water vapors), etc. With mild dehydration you have a dry, sticky mouth, fatigue, thirst (!), headache, dizziness and constipation. Sounds like fun, huh?
Well, if you're ever in a situation where you are lost in the woods without water - it gets worse. As dehydration becomes more severe you start to have other issues such as lack of urination, diarrhea, vomiting, confusion, rapid heart beat, dry and shriveled skin, low blood pressure, fever, etc. And from there, it gets even worse. So who wants some water now!?
This is coming from a girl who RARELY drinks any fluids. I used to think I was like a camel in that I retained so much fluid in the hump in my back that I didn't need to drink anything. As I am getting older and that hump is getting larger, I realize that is not true. I get so busy at work that I forget to drink or don't want to take the time to get a drink, or don't want to drink because I don't want to take the time to pee. Well, that's stupid because by lunch time I realize I am in trouble - my mouth is dry, my urine is dark yellow (now we're really friends!), and I am feeling fatigued and lack concentration (my co-workers can attest to that!). And I am mad at myself for not drinking anything all morning. So then I start chugging water like it's last call at happy hour and I end up having to pee every 5 minutes. But I tell ya, it sure beats having a UTI!
I feel as though I am becoming more tangential as this post goes on, so I should just stopwhile I am ahead. I am going to get a drink now and so should you! You're thirsty, aren't you?
How many glasses of water do you drink a day?
Sound Bite: Get a drink of water! Now!
So I guess it's been a couple of weeks since I
After the freak snow fall in May, the weather has rather quickly taken a 180 and reached 94 degrees yesterday. And as any smart person would do, I went for a run after work in the middle of the afternoon. After drinking 1 glass of water. All day. The hair frizz, sweat mustache, mascara-running, heart thumping, leg cramping, barely moving, barely breathing-because-it-was-so-humid run inspired me to write about the importance of staying HYDRATED. Sure you have heard it all before, but really, do you know how important it is to drink water? Of course it is important year-round in all seasons, but I really only give it a second thought in the heat and humidity of the midwest summer.
Water is life. Think about it.
A human can live for days without food (depending on how much, ahem, storage they have), but can only live a few days without water. I have written about how to stay hydrated here, but I am going to elaborate - if only to convince myself.
As previously mentioned, the human body is made up mostly of water. Water is a necessity for cells, blood, metabolism and eliminating wastes, regulating body temperature, digestion, cushioning joints, carrying nutrients and oxygen to cells and so on. So, it's pretty much everything. So, naturally when you become dehydrated, your body starts to lose function and in severe dehydration, you have organ failure. (*Cue* Debbie Downer - Wah, wah, wah...)
Dehydration occurs when you lose more water than you take in during the day...big surprise, eh? It can happen from lack of drinking fluids, excessive vomiting or diarrhea, excessive sweating, increased urination, high altitude (due to increased breathing and exhalation of water vapors), etc. With mild dehydration you have a dry, sticky mouth, fatigue, thirst (!), headache, dizziness and constipation. Sounds like fun, huh?
Well, if you're ever in a situation where you are lost in the woods without water - it gets worse. As dehydration becomes more severe you start to have other issues such as lack of urination, diarrhea, vomiting, confusion, rapid heart beat, dry and shriveled skin, low blood pressure, fever, etc. And from there, it gets even worse. So who wants some water now!?
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| source |
I feel as though I am becoming more tangential as this post goes on, so I should just stop
How many glasses of water do you drink a day?
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| Source |
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