Are You Hydrated?
I follow the work of Dr. Mark Hyman and recently he’s been talking about hydration as well as Dhru Purohit and his podcast about the seven day hydration challenge. So I listened to it.
Hydration is not a one-size fits all. Used to be: Drink 8, 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Then, it shifted to drinking half of your weight in ounces, daily. It makes sense that your size and weight are factors, but also, your hydration needs depend upon your activity and sweat levels.
Dhru discusses the signs of dehydration, such as light-headedness, loss of focus, and executive functioning, and how important it is to have an awareness of how you feel. Are you thirsty, fatigued, do you have dry lips and mouth, or brain fog? Often, we attribute those issues to other things. When we’re dehydrated, however, our brains actually shrink. Ever leave a head of lettuce out on the counter? It shrivels into a tiny head of dried out lettuce. Turns out that it’s not far from what happens to our brains, since they are mostly composed of water..
The Seven-Day Challenge
Well Dhru has the challenge of not only drinking water, but loading it in the morning with a serving of electrolytes containing sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium to bring the water into the cells. He cautions to be wary of the drinks on the market that are loaded with sugar.
Step One-The challenge involves waking up in the morning, brushing your teeth and then having 16 oz. of filtered water after your long night of water fasting while you sleep. You can add an electrolyte mix (he recommends LMNT Electrolyte mix-pronounced like Element,) and mentioned E-lyte Electrolyte Concentrate sold on Amazon, OR you can simply add to your filtered water a pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice from a half of a lemon or lime. Important for this to be BEFORE your morning coffee which can dehydrate you right off the bat.
Step Two-Sip another 8-16 oz. over a 30-minute period of time, even along with your coffee. Notice how you feel.
I’m not familiar with the products he recommends. I’ve done the lemon AND lime with sea salt and have recently been introduced to Body Armor’s LYTE, no sugar added, electrolyte drink which comes in various fruits as well as coconut flavors. I am not affiliated with any products or practitioners and am simply bringing up this important topic so you can look into it for yourself.
Since hydration contributes to cognitive health, healthy aging, and can help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, I invite you to check it out. I got my honey husband a cool 48 oz. water bottle for Valentine’s Day and he’s doing well with it. Being dehydrated can also masquerade as hunger when your body is just craving some fluid intake.
Remember to hydrate and stay enchanted!
Hugs.
Dr. Segal
If you want to listen to Dhru’s podcast, yourself, it’s called, Doubling Down On Morning Hydration For Better Energy, Focus And Longevity.
DISCLAIMER: This information shared by Dr. Terry Segal is intended solely as suggestions for your entertainment. Try it at your own discretion. Dr. Terry Segal shall be held harmless for any adverse reactions. Information on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional.