Hydration. It’s something that’s so fundamental to great health and well-being that there’s absolutely no point in doing anything else – fancy supplement plans, all-out exercise regimes, meditation and mindset courses, or anything else – until you’re in the habit of ensuring you’re not affected by dehydration. Particularly if you’re someone who suffers with their digestion.
With that in mind, if you’re not a keen water drinker (and let’s face it many of us aren’t!) I’ll give you a few hints and tips at the end to help make all things water-related so much more appealing for you, and help you put that spring back in your step.
Why pay particular attention to dehydration if you’re prone to gut trouble?
Having a healthy and hydrated gut promotes –
- Healthy skin (what’s going on on the inside is generally reflected on the outside)
- Better immune function
- Improved sleep
- Positive moods
Dehydration and gut function –
Right at the beginning of the digestive system is your stomach. Your stomach needs to secrete plentiful hydrochloric acid in order to break down your proteins efficiently, and ensure they get adequately assimilated further along the digestive tract. Put simply, if you aren’t drinking enough water your stomach can’t produce the acid and your food will sit in your stomach causing bloating and discomfort.
The same thing will happen with the pancreas. The pancreas needs plenty of water to enable it to produce all the juices which contain the enzymes needed to break down your food. Again, the stomach’s contents will be unable to be moved along and digested efficiently.
If you’re dehydrated this will without doubt cause bloating.
Further along the digestive system, if there’s a lack of water in the colon this will cause constipation – not what you want at all. Constipation may damage the gut lining and cause more pressure in the stomach.
And all that is just in your gut. What else may be impacted by dehydration?
Your body will be unable to –
- Detoxify any waste
- Enable your brain to function efficiently
- Ensure your heart pumps properly
- Repair cells
- Curb food cravings
- Enable optimal kidney function
- Help your blood carry nutrients around the body
What are the signs that dehydration may be an issue?
- Feeling tired
- Headaches
- Dry skin and mouth
- Feeling dizzy and/or confused
- Anxiety and depression
- As well as all those digestive symptoms previously mentioned
How do you know if you’re adequately hydrated?
We should, as a rough guide, be aiming for around two litres of water each day. Of course this varies due to what the weather’s like, how much exercise you’re doing and how big you are. So a better way is to keep a note of the colour of your urine. Your first wee of the day will likely be quite dark, but as the day goes on you want to be aiming for pale-straw coloured urine. If it stays this colour, you know you’re drinking enough.
If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.
It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.
And don’t forget your food!
There are plenty of fabulous water-rich fruits and vegetables which will all help stave off dehydration. In fact, they can end up accounting for around 20% of your fluid intake over the course of a day. Cucumber, celery, courgettes, tomatoes, radishes and water melon are all great for hydration, and contain valuable electrolytes.
What if you’re just not that keen on water?
First tip: Ensure you filter your water. Clients frequently say they can’t believe what a difference it makes when they start to filter their water. It really gets rid of that unappealing chlorine taste – you can also keep your filter (if you use a jug filter) in the fridge which is great in the hot weather. Also, you want to get that chlorine out as it’ll have a negative impact on your gut flora. The chlorine is added to tap water to kill off any unwanted pathogens, but the trouble is it’ll also kill off your beneficial bacteria – not what we want!
Add flavours
Add flavours to your filtered water: Lemon and lime slices (not too frequently as it may damage your tooth enamel), cucumber ribbons, mint leaves and berries are just a few ideas. Another great option is to steep one of your favourite herbal tea bags in a jug of filtered water, and keep it in the fridge – fabulous for hot days.
In cold weather, drink it warm. This is what I do as I’m definitely not keen on guzzling cold water on a cold day – no need to boil it, just gently heat it up in the kettle.
Although technically caffeinated drinks like tea and coffee do count towards your overall fluid intake, caffeine is also a diuretic so it’ll increase your urine output. If you tolerate caffeine OK, a couple of cups of tea and coffee each day is fine, and even has been shown to have numerous health benefits. But I’d always make sure that plain water and herbal teas form the majority of your daily fluid intake.
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