Most people don’t think they need to worry about dehydration. To them, dehydration is something that happens to travelers in the desert when they run out of water.
But there is a chronic form of dehydration that does not have the sudden and intense nature of the acute form.
Chronic dehydration is widespread in the present day and affects everyone who is not drinking enough liquid.
This list of 13 symptoms will inspire you to go get a glass of water, and then another, and another!
After each symptom, the list below will show how lack of fluid affects the issue.
- Fatigue, Energy Loss: Dehydration of the tissues causes enzymatic activity to slow down.
- Premature Aging: The body of a newborn child is composed of 80 percent liquid, but this percentage declines to no more than 70 percent in an adult and continues to decline with age.
- Excess Weight and Obesity: We may overeat because we crave foods rich in water. Thirst is often confused with hunger.
- High and Low Blood Pressure: The body’s blood volume is not enough to completely fill the entire set of arteries, veins, and capillaries.
- Cholesterol: When dehydration causes too much liquid to be drained from inside the cells, the body tries to stop this loss by producing more cholesterol.
- Constipation: When chewed food enters the colon, it contains too much liquid to allow stools to form properly, and the wall of the colon reduces it. In chronic dehydration, the colon takes too much water to give to other parts of the body.
- Digestive Disorders: In chronic dehydration, the secretion of digestive juices is less.
- Gastritis, Stomach Ulcers: To protect its mucous membranes from being destroyed by the acidic digestive fluid it produces, the stomach secretes a layer of mucus.
- Respiratory Troubles: The mucous membranes of the respiratory region are slightly moist to protect the respiratory tract from substances that might be present in inhaled air.
- Acid-Alkaline Imbalance: Dehydration activates an enzymatic slowdown producing acidification.
- Eczema: Your body needs enough moisture to sweat 20 to 24 ounces of water, the amount necessary to dilute toxins so they do not irritate the skin.
- Cystitis, Urinary Infections: If toxins contained in urine are insufficiently diluted, they attack the urinary mucous membranes.
- Rheumatism: Dehydration abnormally increases the concentration of toxins in the blood and cellular fluids, and the pains increase in proportion to the concentration of the toxins.
Recommended Daily Amount:
Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.
So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need?
The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.