Our Life’s Blood: The Importance of Staying Hydrated

Summer is here, and with it comes hot temperatures! One might just stay inside all day to combat them, but not you! You’re going out to seize the day, to grab it by the horns and create memorable adventures! But remember to stay topped up on fluids. Staying hydrated is extremely important to your health, without it you could suffer heat stroke, your organs need it to function, and if you’re left without it for long enough… Let’s just say that bad things happen.

Fend off the heat

When the summer sun rises up in the sky, it stares down at us with its loving -- but sometimes excessive -- eyes. This season is the hottest of them all, and it doesn’t help that climate change is growing as well. Your body naturally reacts to excessive temperatures by sweating. You sweat 500 to 600 milliliters a day on average, and it goes up to 800 to 1400 milliliters per hour with exercise (McArdle, 2006). That’s like Imagine how fast you can run out of water if you’re going on a hike, a bike ride, or playing basketball with some friends!

You should always remember to drink plenty of water, especially if your summers are this hot and arid. 

If you are going outside to enjoy the beautiful weather, you need to have water. It helps to have a non-plastic bottle as many plastics are made with BPA, a known hormone disruptor, which can leach from bottles and into the water that you end up drinking. Not to mention, single use plastic bottles end up polluting our environment!

Get healthy and stay healthy

Your body is a miraculously well-oiled machine, and you get only one. You wouldn’t travel around the world without changing the oil in your vehicle after all! All of our bodily functions need water to work effectively, just look at what’s in them. Kidneys: 83% water. Skeleton: 22% water. Brain: 75% water. Why let your brain get thirsty?  Alongside the toll that dehydration has on physical activity it can also affect your body in other ways. It can slow your cognitive ability, increase your irritability, give you headaches, hamper your digestion, can prevent your kidneys and heart from functioning efficiently, and can worsen chronic diseases like asthma or bladder stones (Popkin et al, 2011).

Staying topped up on fluids has several more benefits. It can help with muscle growth by keeping your blood hydrated and able to deliver nutrients quickly. It can aid in your weight as well. Substitute the soda and juice for zero-calorie, thirst quenching water and watch the scale spiral downwards! Quick tip: if you don’t like the taste of water, throw in some berries or fruits. Some studies have found that it can assist in healing. Ousey et al found that keeping your skin hydrated lets your body heal cuts more effectively (2016). The best way to keep it hydrated (besides using a moist bandage), is to keep drinking water. Your body knows where to put it, so you just have to drink it. The compound that is required by all kinds of life can actually benefit life? Who knew?

And if you’re drinking water to keep you healthy, why would you use a product that sickens mother nature? In the United States, Only 9% of those single use plastic bottles end up being recycled, the rest end up polluting nature or “rotting” for eternity in landfills (they don’t really rot, they stay intact for at least 400 years). Choosing a quality reusable bottle that will last you a lifetime will keep both you, your wallet, and Earth healthy. No more plastic bottles to buy, just one refillable bottle for the rest of your life. Now go on, pick your favourite motivational quote, grab your water bottle, and #LamoseGo!

Sources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908954/
• https://books.google.ca/books?id=L4aZIDbmV3oC&pg=PA83&lpg=PA83&dq=average+sweat+rate+per+day&source=bl&ots=WmpStcHmZS&sig=pRN20oxb04xKjXeWJuQusB_Yaeo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2iRUVbTFGcvHsQTe5oDgCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=average%20sweat%20rate%20per%20day&f=false
• https://www.active.com/triathlon/articles/cracking-the-code-on-sweat-rates
• http://nutrijournal.danone.com/en/articles/stories/how-much-water-is-in-your-organs/

• https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/abs/10.12968/jowc.2016.25.3.122
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07315724.2007.10719654?journalCode=uacn20
• https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/behar12.htm