Are You Dehydrated?

heart_of_waterMany of us lead busy lives. Wake up early, grab a cup of coffee and off to start the day. Whether it's a busy schedule with the kids and activities scheduled throughout the day or business meetings that spill over through lunch or into the late hours of the evening, we all have our "stuff" that takes us away from the ideal lifestyle for health. A couple rather easy fixes to maintain in your day to minimize the stress to the body during the busy days involve how much water you take in and how effectively your body utilizes the water that you drink.

1. Are you drinking enough or too much?

    Dehydration can be a life-threatening condition or a mild frustration. has a table on their dehydration facts page that lists the recommended number of ounces of water intake for a particular body weight. This is not a new recommendation, but you might be surprised by how poorly your body utilizes the water you ingest. More water is not always better, but until you are drinking dramatically more than is recommended in this table it is likely you won't harm yourself by having another glass (or two) of just plain water.

2. Is the water you are drinking actually entering your body tissues or is it just testing your plumbing?

    How many times are you hitting the water closet for "number one?" WebMD has four to eight times a day listed as typical for a healthy bladder. After looking through their list of causes of frequent urination we suggest you take a look at your electrolyte balance before knee-jerking to schedule a cystoscopy. Many of us do not eat & drink the right balance of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium (plus other minerals) so it is likely you are moving toward an electrolyte disorder. If you have a "daily cup o' jo" then it is likely your nutrient balance is at least a little out of whack. If you just drink more water and don't address these nutritional imbalances you will simply "test your plumbing." We suggest you find a good electrolyte additive that you can simply drop into your water as needed. Nuun makes a variety of flavors of highly transportable tabs that you can easily split and drop into almost any water bottle or glass. Click here if you care to read a thorough (and rather lengthy) explanation of the mineral balance in our body and its impact on water retention.

Whether you eat more nutrient dense foods or add supplements to your drinking water, one thing is for sure: getting the right mineral to water balance will improve your energy levels, provide just the right amount of bathroom trips to rid your body of waste, and make you a generally awesome person.

One other thing, since this is a site for taking care of tight muscles...getting your water and mineral levels balanced means fewer cramping muscles!