Our body needs water or H2O. 60% of our body is made of water. Blood is 90% water, skin contain 64%, muscles, heart, brain, lungs are around 79% and even the bone contain 22%. So yes, water to our body is vital. However, hydration seems to be misunderstood often and I want to spend time and share my understanding of what hydration is.
Drinking water is great place to start. There is no doubt there. For active adults, working out and loves to hike, should be drinking about 128 oz. This is because not only you need to maintain your 60% but you will also need to replenish what you have lost through physical activities. Even if you have sedentary lifestyle, it is ideal to be drinking at least 60% of your body weight to ounces. This means if you weigh 200lb, you should be drinking 120 oz. Question usually been asked is "does it has to be just water?". Answer to this is not really.
In order to maximize the hydration we need water and also minerals. Minerals can be sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iodine, calcium, manganese, iron, to name the few.
9 out of 10 Americans are deficient in potassium (weakness, cramp, fatigue)
7 out of 10 Americans are deficient in calcium (muscle problem, fatigue, nail and skin issues)
50% of the US population are deficient in magnesium (muscle weakness, high blood pressure, mental health)
In order to carry these minerals, along with water to our body we also need sodium. Sodium or salt (sodium chloride), bind to those minerals and deliver to our cells, like a delivery trucks.
To put these information all together, type of fluid you should consider to improve your hydration is as follow.
Mineral water or mineral sparkling water such as San Pellegrino has very high content of magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium. Because it is a fluid form, minerals in these water will absorb more quickly than when consumed by solid food or supplements (although these are still important and helpful).
Another way to hydrate is broth. You don't have to drink just broth but broth based soup with meat, seafood, vegetables, beans are very helpful in our hydration process. Quick example is minestrone soup, when with real ingredients not canned. Minestrone soup can have very high nutritional value along with adequate amount of minerals and water. Just like mineral water, because it is in fluid form, vitamins and minerals in the soup will be absorbed more easier.
It is very important to understand that drinking water alone, although it is still important, will not solve the dehydration issue. In the U.S. 75% of population are chronically dehydrated. It is likely that they have been informed to drink water on regular basis. However, with highly process food and fast food being so readily available people are just not getting enough minerals especially salt that bind water and mineral to deliver to our system.
So, along with water, try finding mineral water and broth soup that you like and add them to your hydration list.
Here is a little pre-workout tip. Try taking 1 tablespoon full of sea salt 30 minutes prior to your workout or physical activity. You will have better performance.
Kota Shimada
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