Eight Myths
about Dehydration
Myth No. 1
Dehydration is relatively rare and occurs
only when the body is deprived of water for days.
Reality: Low-grade dehydration
(versus acute and clinical dehydration) is a chronic, widespread problem that
has major impacts on well-being, energy, appearance and resiliency. Christopher
Vasey, ND, a Swiss naturopath and author of The Water Prescription (Healing
Arts Press, 2006), believes that most people suffer regularly from this type of
chronic dehydration because of poor eating and drinking habits.
Chronic dehydration can cause
digestive disorders because our bodies need water to produce the digestive
juices that aid the digestive process. If we don’t get that water, we don’t
secrete enough digestive juices, and a variety of problems – such as gas,
bloating, nausea, poor digestion and loss of appetite – can ensue.
Bottom Line: If you’re not
actively focusing on hydrating throughout the day, there’s a good chance you
could be at least somewhat dehydrated, which could be negatively affecting your
energy, vitality and immunity – as well as your appearance. Experiment with
drinking more water throughout the day. You may observe an almost immediate
difference in your well-being, and even if you don’t, establishing good
hydration habits now will do many good things for your cellular health over the
long haul.
Myth No. 2
Your body needs eight, 8-ounce glasses of
water daily.
Reality: Your body does need a
steady supply of water to operate efficiently and perform the many routine
housekeeping tasks that keep you healthy and energetic.
That said, there is no
scientific evidence to back up the very specific and well-worn advice that you
need to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water a day (a.k.a. the 8 x 8 rule). In
2002, Heinz Valtin, MD, a retired physiology professor from Dartmouth Medical
School and author of two textbooks on kidney function, published the definitive
paper on the subject in the American Journal of Physiology. He spent 10 months
searching medical literature for scientific evidence of the 8 x 8 rule only to
come up empty-handed.
In 2004, the Institute of
Medicine (IOM), a division of the National Academy of Sciences, actually set
the adequate total-daily-water intake at higher than 64 ounces – 3.7 liters
(125 fluid ounces) for men and 2.7 liters (91 fluid ounces) for women. But
those numbers refer to total water intake, meaning all beverages and
water-containing foods count toward your daily quota. Fruits and veggies, for
example, pack the most watery punch, with watermelon and cucumbers topping the
list.
But the “it all counts” dynamic
cuts both ways. Vasey believes that many people suffer from low-grade, chronic
dehydration because of what they are eating as well as what they are drinking.
The “I don’t like water” crowd could probably make up their water deficits by
eating the right kinds of foods, he asserts, “but most don’t eat enough fruits
and vegetables. Instead they eat meat, cereals and breads, which don’t have
much water and contain a lot of salt.”
Animal proteins require a great
deal more moisture than they contain to break down, assimilate and then flush
from the body. And many processed foods, such as chips and crackers, for
example, are nearly devoid of moisture, so – like dry sponges – they soak up
water as they proceed through the digestive system.
The body requires only 3 to 5
grams of salt a day to stay healthy, but most people gobble up 12 to 15 grams
of the stuff daily. To rid itself of the overload, the body requires copious
amounts of liquid.
Bottom Line: If you want to stay
optimally healthy, hydrated and energetic, it’s a good idea to eat plenty of
water-containing foods and drink water throughout the day. And when in doubt,
it’s probably not a bad idea to make a point of drinking a little more water,
rather than a little less. But that doesn’t mean you need to down eight glasses
exactly, or that if you run a little shy of 64 ounces, then something awful is
going to happen. Just be aware that the fewer vegetables, fruits and legumes
you are eating, and the more dried, processed or chemical-laced foods you
include in your diet, the more water you’ll need to consume to compensate.
Myth No. 3
When it comes to hydrating, all beverages
are created equal.
Reality: Not so. In principle,
the 90 to 125 (or so) ounces recommended by the Institute of Medicine would
include your morning coffee, the soda you drink with lunch and even a glass of
wine at dinner. Practically speaking, however, caffeinated, sweetened and
alcoholic drinks pack chemical cargoes (or trigger chemical reactions) that
demand significant amounts of fluid to properly process and filter. As a
result, nonwater beverages can actually set you back, water-wise, many experts
suggest. “They can actually dehydrate the body,” says Haas.
For example, says Vasey, drinks
like coffee, black tea and cocoa are very high in purines, toxins that must be
diluted in large quantities of water to be flushed from the body.
Artificially sweetened drinks
add to the body’s toxic burden. Sugar and coffee also create an acidic
environment in the body, impeding enzyme function and taxing the kidneys, which
must rid the body of excess acid.
Moreover, says Vasey, caffeine
found in coffee, black tea and soft drinks adversely affects your body’s water
stores because it is a diuretic that elevates blood pressure, increasing the
rate of both the production and elimination of urine. “The water in these
drinks travels through the body too quickly,” says Vasey. “Hardly has the water
entered the bloodstream than the kidneys remove a portion of the liquid and
eliminate it, before the water has time to make its way into the intracellular
environment.” (For more on the importance of intracellular hydration, see “Myth
No. 5.”)
Bottom Line: Moderate
consumption of beverages like coffee and tea is fine, but be aware that while some
of the fluids in nonwater beverages may be helping you, certain ingredients may
be siphoning away your body’s water stores. So, when you’re drinking to
hydrate, stick primarily with water. And, if you’re looking for a pick-me-up,
try sparkling water with a squeeze of citrus.
Myth No. 4
By the time you get thirsty, you’re already
dehydrated.
Reality: Again, it depends on
what you mean by “dehydrated.” Experts like Vasey posit that while those
walking around in a state of subclinical dehydration may not feel thirst, their
bodies are sending other signals of inadequate hydration – from headaches and
stomachaches to low energy to dry skin.
But when it comes to avoiding
the more widely accepted definition of clinical dehydration, thirst is a good
indicator of when you need to swig. Here’s the deal: As water levels in the
body drop, the blood gets thicker. When the concentration of solids in the
blood rises by 2 percent, the thirst mechanism is triggered. A 1 percent rise
in blood solids could be called “mild dehydration,” but it could also be
considered a normal fluctuation in bodily fluids.
Either way, feeling thirsty is
a good indicator that you need to get some water into your body, and soon.
Serious symptoms of dehydration don’t arise until blood solids rise by 5
percent – long after you feel thirsty. But, obviously, you don’t want to wait
that long. Even mild, subclinical levels of dehydration come with sacrifices in
optimal vitality, metabolism and appearance. Like an underwatered plant, the
body can survive on less water than it wants, but it’s unlikely to thrive.
Bottom Line: Drinking water only
when you’re thirsty may relegate you to being less than optimally hydrated much
of the time, and it may undermine your energy and vitality. On the other hand,
constantly sipping or gulping calorie- or chemical-laden beverages for
entertainment is a bad idea. So if you tend to keep a bottle of soda on your
desk all day, or if you’re never seen without your coffee cup in hand, rethink
your approach. Get in the habit of drinking a glass of water first thing in the
morning, and a few more glasses of water throughout the day. Also drink
proactively (especially important during strenuous exercise, long airplane
flights and in hot weather).
Myth No. 5
Hydrating is all about water.
Reality: Nope. It takes a
delicate balance of minerals, electrolytes and essential fatty acids to get and
keep water where it needs to be – properly hydrating your bloodstream, your
tissues and your cells.
“You can drink lots of water
and still be dehydrated on a cellular level,” says Haas. Water you drink is
absorbed from the digestive tract into the bloodstream by small blood vessels
(capillaries). Of the water contained in food and beverages, 95 percent ends up
in the blood. From the blood, water moves into the fluid surrounding the cells,
called extracellular fluid. That’s important, but it’s not the end of the line.
Water needs to get inside cells for you to maintain optimal health.
A person’s vitality is affected
by how well his or her body gets water into and out of cells, says Haas. A
variety of unhealthy lifestyle habits and health conditions can inhibit this
cellular capacity, he notes. But naturally, too, as the body ages, the water
inside cells (intracellular) tends to diminish, and water outside cells
(extracellular or interstitial fluid) tends to accumulate. Haas calls this
gradual drying out of cells a “biomarker of aging.”
Minerals, especially
electrolytes and trace minerals, are essential to maintaining cellular
equilibrium. Minerals help transport water into the cells, where they also
activate enzymes. And enzymes are the basis of every biological process in the
body, from digestion to hormone secretion to cognition. Without minerals, says Haas,
enzymes get sluggish and the body suffers.
Without essential fatty acids –
which form the basis for cellular membranes – cells can’t properly absorb, hold
and stabilize the water and other nutrients they’re supposed to contain.
Bottom Line: Take in plenty of
minerals by eating lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds – ideally
from produce grown according to biodynamic farming practices, meaning the
farmer is supporting (rather than depleting) nutrients in the soil. Another way
to boost minerals in the diet is cooking with a high-quality sea salt. A
natural, unrefined sea salt will deliver up to 60 trace minerals your body
needs to manage water flow. Also, try to include whole foods that are high in
essential fatty acids, such as walnuts and flax seeds, which are critical to
maintaining healthy cell membranes that can hold in moisture. And consider a
multimineral supplement that includes an ample supply of trace minerals in its
formulation.
Myth No. 6
Healthy urine is always clear.
Reality: Urine color is directly
linked to hydration status because the yellow tint is a measure of how many
solid particles, such as sodium, chloride, nitrogen and potassium, are
excreted. The color’s intensity depends on how much water the kidneys mix with
the solids. Less water equals darker urine. More water equals lighter urine.
Dark or rank-smelling urine are signs your body may need more water. But
light-to-medium yellow urine is fine. Very clear urine may actually be a signal
that your kidneys are taxed by the amount of fluid moving through them and the
minerals in your body are being too diluted.
Also note that some vitamins,
such as riboflavin, or B2, can turn urine bright yellow, so don’t be alarmed if
your urine is a funny color after either swallowing a multivitamin or eating
certain foods, like nutritional yeast, which is high in B vitamins.
Bottom Line: Drink enough water
to make light yellow (lemonade-colored) urine. The volume depends on your
activity level and metabolism. If your urine is cloudy or dark or foul
smelling, increase your water intake and monitor changes. If you don’t see a
positive change, consult a health professional.
Myth No. 7
Drinking too much water leads to water
retention.
Reality: The body retains water
in response to biochemical and hormonal imbalances, toxicity, poor
cardiovascular and cellular health – and, interestingly, dehydration. “If
you’re not drinking enough liquid, your body may actually retain water to
compensate,” says Vasey, adding that a general lack of energy is the most
common symptom of this type of water retention. “Paradoxically, you can
sometimes eliminate fluid retention by drinking more water, not less, because
if you ingest enough water, the kidneys do not try and retain water by cutting
back on elimination,” he explains.
Bottom Line: No good comes of
drinking less water than you need. If you have water-retention problems, seek
professional counsel to help you identify the root cause (food intolerances,
for example, are a common culprit in otherwise healthy people). Do not depend
on diuretics or water avoidance to solve your problems, since both strategies
will tend to make the underlying healthy challenges worse, not better.
Myth No. 8
You can’t drink too much water.
Reality: Under normal
conditions, the body flushes the water it doesn’t need. But it is possible –
generally under extreme conditions when you are drinking more than 12 liters in
24 hours or exercising heavily – to disrupt the body’s osmotic balance by
diluting and flushing too much sodium, an electrolyte that helps balance the
pressure of fluids inside and outside of cells. That means cells bloat from the
influx and may even burst.
While the condition, called
hyponatremia, is rare, it happens. Long-distance runners are at highest risk
for acute hyponatremia (meaning the imbalance happens in less than 48 hours),
but anyone can get in trouble if they drink water to excess without replacing
essential electrolytes and minerals. Extreme overconsumption of water can also
strain the kidneys and, if drunk with meals, interfere with proper digestion.
Chronic hyponatremia, meaning
sodium levels gradually taper off over days or weeks, is less dangerous because
the brain can gradually adjust to the deficit, but the condition should still
be treated by a doctor. Chronic hyponatremia is often seen in adults with
illnesses that leach sodium from the body, such as kidney disease and
congestive heart failure. But even a bad case of diarrhea, especially in
children, can set the stage for hyponatremia. Be on the lookout for symptoms
such as headache, confusion, lethargy and appetite loss.
Bottom Line: Never force
yourself to drink past a feeling of fullness. If you are drinking copious
amounts of water and still experiencing frequent thirst, seek help from a
health professional. If you’re drinking lots of fluids to fuel an exercise
regimen that lasts longer than one hour, be sure to accompany your water with
adequate salts and electrolytes. For information on wise fitness-hydration
strategies, read “How to Hydrate” in our December 2007 archives at
experiencelifemag.com.
Vasey hopes that
health-motivated people will return to the simple pleasures of water in much
the same way they’ve recently rediscovered the myriad benefits of whole foods
over heavily processed and aggressively marketed industrial fare. “Nature gave
us water, not soft drinks,” he says. “It’s time to get back to basics.”