🌿 WATER: THE MOST OVERLOOKED SUPERFLUID

As I took my morning walk, I noticed all the blossom and plants thriving around me, bursting with life. 

Humans have something in common with these beautiful plants – we both require three co-factors to flourish and remain vital – water, glucose and sunshine. 

Today’s blog is a reminder to make sure you’re all sufficiently watering yourselves.

Amazingly, some people don’t drink a single glass of water during their day.  They claim they don’t have time to waste on bathroom visits.   But we should all be allowing ourselves moments to drink and urinate.  Toilet trips should be as appealing to us as ‘fag breaks’ are to smokers.  They're an excellent time to ‘rest and reflect’.  Archimedes was a ‘bathroom thinker’ – he had his brightest ideas on the porcelain throne.

Water is critical for sustaining life, yet the vast majority of the human population is chronically dehydrated - I think mainly because drinking sufficient fluids on a DAILY basis is not widely promoted.  Does anyone recall a teacher, doctor, government figure, or anyone else telling you that your body is predominantly structured from water and all your cells need water to function?

💧 HOW MUCH WATER ARE YOU MADE OF?

To be optimally healthy, your body should be comprised of approximately 55-75% total body water/TBW, depending upon your age and gender. 

The ideal total body water % / TBW% for women is 55%, for men 65%, and children 75%.

One step on my specialist Tanita scales is all that’s needed to assess your Total body water % and whether you’re ‘water deficient’ or not.  The majority of people fall between the ranges of 35-45%.

🚿 WHY DO YOU NEED TO WATER YOURSELF EVERY DAY?

🤓 To stay smart - The brain (by weight) should contain 73-85% water. Water facilitates electrical transmissions (communication) between nerve cells; washes away neurotoxic (nerve toxic) metabolic waste via the glymphatic system (the brain’s waste clearance system); and regulates neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Studies have shown a mere 2% drop in hydration levels can impair cognitive performance.  Even minor temporary dehydration causes brain tissue to contract (shrivel) and pull away from the skull, increasing the prevalence of headaches, migraines, mental fatigue, irritability, poor short term memory recall, lack of mental clarity, poor focus, slow decision making, brain fog and difficulty processing information.  If you know anyone whose walking around in a mental haze, please get them to read this blog🥴.

🛁To cleanse your body (internally and externally) – pure, fresh water helps force out old stagnant water, metabolic waste and toxins from our cells.  Drinking inadequate quantities of fluid allows harmful destructive compounds to accumulate within cells and places a huge burden upon the kidneys.   Concentrated urine can significantly increase the risk of urinary tract infections & kidney infections, kidney stones and kidney damage.  Water also softens the stool, helping the passage of waste out of our bowels.  The less we urinate & poop, the greater the quantity of toxins that remain in our body ⚠️☠️

🤧 To support immunity – sub-optimal fluid intake reduces blood plasma volume, making blood thicker.  Transportation of red blood cells (and consequently oxygen) and white blood cells becomes compromised. Oxygen, a powerful 'bactericidal' agent, helps destroy all those nasty disease-causing microbes (it damages bacterial DNA causing them to die-off). Our neutrophil white blood cells also use oxygen to create ‘ozone’, which naturally kills pathogens via oxidation. Water is also a major component of lymph – the fluid that transports lymphocytes (white blood cells) and other immune cells around the body so they can defend us from invading microbes. Adequate water intake is important for maintaining moist mucous membranes to trap pathogens (e.g. bacteria or viruses such as E. Coli or Influenza that try to invade our gut & lung linings).

😭 For lubrication – yes, your mouth, eyes, joints, vaginas, hair, skin and lungs all require water to produce moisturising lubricants. Water is essential for synovial fluid to prevent stiffness/pain/grinding sensations in joints; vaginal fluid & mucus in the female reproductive system; sebum in sebaceous glands to hydrate hair and skin; mucus and fluid in the pleural membranes of the respiratory tract to allow for breathing; and tears to moisten eyes and release intense emotions.  Dry eye syndrome and vaginal dryness are becoming more and more prevalent.  Top tip: More drops of water into the mouth 🥛 can work better than eye drops 🤩 or vaginal lubricant of oestrogen cream.

🍽️ To digest our food – it’s impossible to produce adequate saliva, stomach acid, bile or protective mucus lining the digestive tract without water.  Believe it or not, insufficient fluid intake is a major underlying cause of numerous digestive complaints such as constipation, reflux and diverticulitis.

🥵 To help regulate body temperature – ever feel like the summer heat is unbearably oppressive?  Low total body water leads to thick sticky blood and reduced sweat production. Poor blood flow and inadequate sweating prevent the release of internally-derived heat out via skin pores. This can lead to ‘body over-heating’, inducing strange sensations of claustrophobia – i.e. breathing difficulties, rapid heart rate and dizziness.  On cold days, water is needed to thin the blood so it can effectively carry heat around your body (i.e. towards extremities – such as your nose, hands and feet).

🏃🏻‍♀️‍➡️ To give us 'Get up and go!' - as mentioned above, we use water, glucose, oxygen and specific nutrients to synthesise Adenosine Triphosphate/ATP energy molecules (generated through metabolism within the mitochondria of every cell).  Water scarcity can immediately give rise to inadequate energy production, inducing mild to severe fatigue (depending upon your degree of dehydration).

⚖️ To support weight loss and get rid of fluid retention weight gain – this one may sound counter-intuitive, but you need to drink ‘clean’ water to discharge ‘old dirty’ water from tissues. When the brain detects low water volume in blood (dehydration), it triggers the release of Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH) from the pituitary gland (in the brain), signalling the kidneys to reduce urine output and retain as much (old, utilised) water as necessary.  This water redistributes and can build-up in unwanted areas, leading to swelling in limbs or puffy face & eyes.  Dehydration also concentrates sodium levels in the blood. The body will hold onto excess fluid to dilute this sodium, further leading to puffiness and fluid retention weight gain (yup, those mornings when you feel you’ve suddenly put on 6lbs overnight, are an indication of dehydration). When the brain senses it's not receiving sufficient water, the body holds onto every drop it has as a protective, short-term survival mechanism.  Without water, metabolism slows, and weight can creep on.

This is just a handful of reasons why water is so important. It's not an exhaustive list, but I hope it’s opened (or reopened) your eyes to just how ESSENTIAL it is to keep on top of your fluid intake on a DAILY basis.  Forget complex 'bio-hacking' tips. Water at its simplest, is the best “anti-aging”, “energy-boosting” tool you have access to.  

If I had to offer only one health mantra that would offer maximum benefits (to improve as many symptoms and conditions as possible in one go), it would be ‘DRINK MORE (HYDRATING) FLUIDS AND EAT MORE WATER-RICH PLANTS' 🥗 🍓🍉🍒🍑.

🥛 HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU BE DRINKING EACH DAY?

If you’d like to schedule a session to (re)jump on my Tanita scales, we can determine your current Total Body Water % and your personal daily fluid quota (based upon your exact weight). Give me a call or text (07789 936344) or email me at: hannahbrownnutrition@gmail.com to set up an appointment. 

A less precise method would be to aim for AT LEAST 1500ml / 1.5L per day and view the colour of your urine.  Almost clear urine is the ideal. Test tube 2 (from the left) is acceptable.

The most obvious signs of dehydration are: decreased urination (going to the bathroom less than 4 times a day), dark urination, dry mouth, dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes and fatigue.  However, EVERY condition has dehydration as one of its root causes.

🚱 FACTORS THAT MAKE YOU LOSE WATER

It’s wise to take into consideration things that you could be exposing yourself to that increase your water requirement. These include:

🤯 STRESS – if you’ve ever had to give a speech in front of a large audience, you've probably experienced the insatiable thirst that sets!

🏋🏻‍♂️ EXERCISE - particularly intense training or vigorous exercise that makes you sweat profusely, e.g. marathon running or HIIT

🥵 HOT HUMID WEATHER/SAUNAS/STEAM ROOMS – all promote sweating and the loss of water.

🤒 INFECTION AND ILLNESS – high fever, vomiting or diarrhoea lead to water loss.

💊 PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS - especially diuretics, antihistamines and blood pressure meds.

🥛 WHICH FLUIDS SHOULD YOU BE DRINKING?

Not all fluids are created equal.  Some are more hydrating than others.  Some are actually dehydrating.   At its simplest:

SKIP: CAFFEINATED ENERGY DRINKS & CARBONATED SODA 🥤 – These overload your system with toxic GMO corn syrup, MSG/flavourings, caffeine, carcinogenic sugars, preservatives and artificial colourings.  They don’t even hydrate effectively.

BE VERY CAUTIOUS WITH: COFFEE, BLACK TEA, GREEN TEA, WHITE TEA, MATCHA LATTE, COCA COLA AND ALCOHOL ☕ 🍺 🍷 🥂 - these are all DEHYDRATING beverages. They’re 'diuretics' that cause your body to lose valuable total body water %.  These really should be limited if you want to improve your overall health.

HELPFUL & HEALING: HERBAL TEAS 🫖 – although not deeply hydrating, specific fresh herbal infusions do have benefits as they enhance the functioning of different organs, e.g. fresh ginger tea aids reflux/heartburn and dandelion tea supports liver detoxification.

HELPFUL: PLAIN WATER 💧 – still or carbonated water (with nothing added) is moderately hydrating.  However, it lacks electrolytes required to regulate water balance intracellularly (within cells) and extracellularly (outside cells).  If your only aim is to flush waste and toxins out via your kidneys, then plain water is where its at (but you may find yourself peeing a lot!).

EXCELLENT OPTION 1: WATER WITH LEMON 🍋 OR LIME 🍋‍🟩SLICES/JUICE ADDED & 100% COCONUT WATER 🧉 – these beverages contain natural electrolytes to bind to water and pull it across the cell membrane into cells and force out old-utilised water from cells, promoting clean water absorption and retention and the elimination of fluid retention. These fluids are particularly beneficial when exercising or post-workout; during long work meetings or study to aid brain function; post-illness (to rebalance electrolytes after vomiting or diarrhoea) and to replenish electrolytes on a hot sweaty summer day.  Note: Natural electrolytes found in citrus and coconut water contain (unbound) sodium and chloride ions, as opposed to (bound) sodium chloride (found in salt or sea water added to electrolyte drinks or supplements – which aren't beneficial for the body and increase cellular dehydration).

EXCELLENT OPTION 2: FRESH JUICES OR FRESH SMOOTHIES – fruits and vegetables contain ‘live’ structured water (also called ‘4^th phase water’) that our cells immediately recognise and draw into the mitochondria (energy factor) of cells.   They're deeply hydrating.

Please note: Unless you have type I or type II diabetes (so protocols differ), you don't need to be concerned about ‘blood sugar spikes’ after eating fruit or drinking juices & smoothies. The rise natural glucose into the blood is what provides all your cells with fuel to generate robust levels of energy. The effect of glucose & fructose (from plants) on your body is totally different to the effect of UNNATURAL highly processed fructose corn syrup (aka citric acid), sugar alcohols (e.g. aspartame) or processed sugar combined with fat (i.e. cookies, cakes, chocolate bars or pork spare-ribs with sweet sauce).

EXCELLENT OPTION 3: ALL RAW FRUITS AND VEGETABLES – as mentioned above, it’s not just fluids that can raise your total body water content.  You can significantly increase body hydration by consuming more fruits and vegetables. Those with an exceptionally high water content include: CUCUMBER, TOMATOES, CELERY, MUSHROOMS, COURGETTES, LETTUCES, MELONS, CITRUS FRUITS, APPLES, PAPAYA, GRAPES, PINEAPPLE, STRAWBERRIES & BLUEBERRIES.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the serious levels of contaminants still present in our water supply (sadly, Thames Water is NOT purifying our water effectively), you want to be drinking water passed through a distiller, reverse osmosis system or filter (e.g. a Berkey).  At the very least, a glass Brita, Aquaphor or Aarke filter jug should be used (try to avoid plastic water jugs if possible)

✨ BE SMART & SOAK IT UP!

Every glass (of the right type of fluid) is a quiet act of self-care — restoring energy, clarity, and calm. Water is your body’s most powerful form of nourishment. Start with one extra glass today — ALL your cells will thank you for it. HAPPY HYDRATING!💧