Hydration, Water, & Not Getting Bored

Before we dive in, I would like to preface this post by saying that this information does not take the place of what your medical professional has planned with you if you have specific hydration needs, including those due to a medical condition or medication.

Hydration. You’ve heard the word, you know what to do, but drinking water is just… meh. Or maybe it’s that you forget to hydrate in the midst of the chaos of the day. Maybe you don't know why, but you've heard:

Hydration matters.  Water is important… Like, we need it to survive, important. 

Our body mass is made up of 50-60% water and water is needed for so many different systems in the body including (but not limited to) kidney function, GI function (being underhydrated can contribute to constipation), and brain function (including mood, memory, and perception). Let’s not get me started on those who have additional hydration needs like athletes, those braving the elements all day, those with high fiber intake, people who are pregnant and/or lactating… this could be a whole separate blog post!

So, how much water do I need?

That is the question of the ages and the annoying answer is: it depends (insert shoulder shrug emoji).

The long answer is that there are general guidelines saying that the males need about 3.7 liters (~125oz, 15-16 cups) and 2.7 liters (~91oz, 11 cups) are needed for females. Another general guideline is to drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water. There isn’t a set recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for water like there is for food and there are many conflicting opinions on hydration guidelines (helpful, right?). This is because giving a general amount of daily water intake for the masses isn’t enough, but it is a decent starting place. The amount of water you need is different from everyone else and depends on many factors like your state of health, diet, lifestyle, physical activity, climate, and body composition.

One quick way to assess your hydration status (**only if stepping on a scale and seeing your weight is safe for you**) is through the WUT method. This is not perfect either. Here’s how to do it: Take your Weight in the morning. Is it lower than it was the day before? What color is your Urine? Is it dark yellow or light? Are you Thirsty? If you meet two of the markers (ex: weigh less than the morning before and dark urine, or dark urine and feeling thirsty), then you are likely not hydrated enough. If you meet the markers for all 3: weigh less, dark urine, and feel thirsty then hydration is very likely to be needed.

Why isn’t this perfect? 

Well, the color of your urine doesn’t necessarily indicate hydration status as some medications/supplements, foods, and even some health conditions (like Gilbert’s Syndrome) can influence the color of urine and body weight isn’t always accurate. It may also be difficult to assess your level of thirst (and everyone’s opinion on what thirst is to them and what it feels like is different). So again, not perfect, but it could give you some insight into your hydration status.

So, you determine that you need more water, what do you do? 

The obvious answer is to drink water but plain water can be boring. Here are some other ways to get your water in!

Try Carbonated, Bubbly, & Sparkling

...or as my household calls it: spooky water, or spicy water (for my BookTok girlies). This can be a more fun way of getting in your hydration! Choose plain or flavored but be mindful that some contain added sugar or artificial sweeteners. Be extra mindful that carbonation can cause some digestive upset for some people.

Try flavoring your own water

You can make a large batch for your fridge to easily dump in a water bottle/cup or add individually to a bottle/cup. Spice it up a bit with some unflavored, plain sparkling water too!

Some flavor combos to try:

• Muddled fresh mint leaves and sliced cucumbers

• Muddled fresh mint leaves and blueberries (frozen or fresh but frozen would mush well and release more juice)

• Sliced strawberries, fresh basil leaves (1-2), a couple lemon slices

• Blackberries, thin orange slices, small amount peeled fresh ginger

• Pineapple chunks, coconut chunks, thinly sliced lime

• Blueberry, raspberry, and lime

• Apple and cinnamon stick

Drink Herbal Tea 

Iced or warm. Let’s just stick to caffeine free for this purpose (caffeine will be a topic for another day).

Add Minerals

Try mineral drops or adding a squeeze of lemon juice and pinch of salt (sea salt or pink salt) to a big cup of water.

My Wild Pines, did you know that you don’t just get water from drinking water? Another way of getting in hydration includes eating hydrating foods.

Here is my top list of hydrating foods and my list of 2nd level sources (Can we also just note how cute it is that watermelon has the word water right in it?!):

Thirsty for more? Book now with Wild Pine Nutrition!

References

Popkin BM, D'Anci KE, Rosenberg IH. Water, hydration, and health. Nutr Rev. 2010;68(8):439-458. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x

Riebl SK, Davy BM. The Hydration Equation: Update on Water Balance and Cognitive Performance. ACSMs Health Fit J. 2013;17(6):21-28. doi:10.1249/FIT.0b013e3182a9570f

Armstrong LE, Johnson EC. Water Intake, Water Balance, and the Elusive Daily Water Requirement. Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1928. Published 2018 Dec 5. doi:10.3390/nu10121928

Cheuvront SN, Kenefick RW. Am I Drinking Enough? Yes, No, and Maybe. J Am Coll Nutr. 2016;35(2):185-192. doi:10.1080/07315724.2015.1067872

Riebl SK, Davy BM. The Hydration Equation: Update on Water Balance and Cognitive Performance. ACSMs Health Fit J. 2013;17(6):21-28. doi:10.1249/FIT.0b013e3182a9570f

The National University of Natural Medicine