Why it’s important to stay hydrated most of your body is water, after all
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
About 60% of the average person’s body is water. That makes it pretty important for health to stay hydrated.
“Hydration is important for our bodies to function,” said Kerri Howell online personal trainer, nutrition coach and owner of The Hourglass Mom, LLC in Rochester. “When you drink enough, it helps with circulation and digestion. You think more clearly. Otherwise, you get tired and have brain fog.”
She also attributed healthier looking skin and healthy joints in part to staying sufficiently hydrated.
Howell tells her clients to aim for drinking half their weight in ounce daily and more if they’re sweating or taking certain medications that require more fluid intake.
“Honestly, it’s hard to even get there for most people,” Howell said. “If the average woman weights 140 pounds, that’s a little over half a gallon.”
She recommends downloading an app to remind you to drink enough. Or programming a phone alarm as a reminder. It may also help to measure the goal amount as a certain number of refills of the travel mug. Howell did the Two Stanley Challenge on her social media platform as the large Stanley mugs hold 32 to 40 ounces and drinking two of those provided plenty of hydration for her.
Using the most appropriate vessel can make a difference. A flip-top insulated travel mug can help keep beverages cold longer while on the go. Some people prefer a lidded mug with a straw or a coffee mug with a fun logo. The key is choosing what will keep a beverage with you at all times.
It’s easy to become bored with water. For this problem, Howell suggested adding a splash of fruit juice, cucumber slices, mint or other produce to add flavor. Infuser pitchers can help make this easier, as they keep the items from floating in the pitcher while still adding flavor.
Howell said that sparkling water that has no sweetener added can help hydrate. But she is willing to compromise for people who truly struggle to hydrate as drinking something sweetened is better than dehydrating.
Caregivers can sneak in hydration to their elder’s diet through moisture-rich foods such as produce. Grapes, watermelon, oranges, celery, lettuce, cucumbers and melons are good examples. Smoothies, soups and stews can also increase hydration.
One easy way to tell if you’re getting enough to drink is to pay attention to urine color.
“Unless you are on medication that affects the color, your urine should ideally be clear or almost clear,” said Jean Sica, certified tai chi instructor and owner of Kokoro Fitness in Rochester.
Since the amount of water needed can vary by age, size and medical conditions, Sica likes this handy visual cue regarding hydration.
“One very important thing to remember is that once you feel thirsty, you’ve already gone past the time that you should have hydrated yourself,” Sica said. “That said, studies have found that as we age our ability to recognize being thirsty decreases.”
That is why it’s vital for caregivers to offer reminders to drink and to ensure their loved ones have a readily accessible beverage. Fortunately, thirst recognition can increase.
“Once we get into the habit of keeping hydrated, our ability to recognize our thirst improves,” Sica said.