Hydration and Health
Water is essential for life, without it we would only survive for a few days, no other nutrient is more essential or required in such large amounts. Good hydration is essential for health and wellness, playing an integral role in sustaining the body’s many vital chemical reactions and maintains correct body functions.
Most of the water in the body is found within the cells of the body and it also cushions and lubricates the brain and the joints. It transports nutrients and carries waste away from the body cells, it helps regulate body temperature by redistributing heat from active tissues to the skin and cooling the body through perspiration, and regulated blood pressure and digestion.
Dehydration occurs when the body loses more water than it takes in. Under typical circumstances the body loses and needs to replace approximately 2 to 3 litres of water daily. Breathing, urinating, defecating, and perspiring all cause water losses that need to be replaced on a daily basis.
Common causes of dehydration include:
- gastrointestinal water loss caused by diarrhoea and vomiting;
- excessive urination;
- excessive water loss through the skin (sweating) and lungs (breathing) due to heat and/or humidity, physical activity and fever or burns.
Mild dehydration can cause symptoms such as thirst, headache, weakness, dizziness and fatigue and generally makes people feel tired and lethargic. Symptoms of moderate dehydration may include dry mouth, little or no urine, sluggishness, a rapid heartbeat and lack of skin elasticity. Severe dehydration is a life-threatening medical emergency, and is characterised by extreme thirst, no urine, rapid breathing, altered mental state and cold, clammy skin.
