2 Dehydration and Increasing Water Intake NAME University Course Professor Date Dehydration

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Dehydration and Increasing Water Intake

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Dehydration and Increasing Water Intake

Water is essential to life, supporting various human survival and activities. Preventing dehydration has been vital to survival since the primeval species ventured to live on land from the oceans. This adaptation to keep the body hydrated has been a critical adaptation common among several species, including humans. Human survival is limited to days without water, showcasing its importance in sustaining life. Studies highlight that water makes up about 75% of the total body weight in infants and about 55% of the body weight in older people (Popkin et al., 2010). It is an essential component for cellular homeostasis and life. Therefore, hydration is crucial to life, and it is necessary to ensure sufficient water intake, making it an important part of the human diet. This study aims to explore the causes of dehydration and how it can be mitigated through increased water intake. The study will also assess the benefits of increased water intake and how it supports a healthy lifestyle.

Lack of sufficient water intake leads to dehydration following the loss of more bodily fluids than their intake. Several body operations and components are affected when an individual is dehydrated. For instance, the balance of minerals, including sugar and salts, is affected when the body’s average water content is reduced (Armstrong & Johnson, 2018). As determined, more than two-thirds of a healthy human body is made up of water, as it accomplishes different functions, including aiding digestion, lubricating the joints and eyes, keeping the skin healthy, and flushing out waste and toxins. These functions are essential to ensuring a healthy body and quality of life, meaning dehydration deprives the body of effectively accomplishing such actions (Lawrence & Evan, 2018). Dehydration can be determined by observing various signs: feeling lightheaded and thirsty, tiredness, dry mouth, passing urine less often, and having dark-colored and strong-smelling urine. The onset of these signs signifies increasing water intake.

Humans and other animals have developed a complex, sensitive network of physiological controls that maintain water in the body and regulate fluid intake by thirst to prevent dehydration (Perrier et al., 2021). People often drink water for various reasons, including normal uptake during meals. However, water intake is usually due to water deficiency in the body. When the body detects water deprivation, it triggers the physiological or regulatory thirst, thus prompting an individual to drink water. The mechanism of thirst is controlled by various activities leading to non-regulatory drinking, which is often experienced due to the large capacity of kidneys, allowing them to temporarily reduce urine secretion to economize water or eliminate excess water when necessary (Popkin et al., 2010). These activities will determine whether an individual should increase water or not as a response mechanism. This excretory process can have effects on water intake. For instance, it can prompt an individual to postpone the necessity to stop drinking an excess amount of water or the necessity for drinking at all (Perrier et al., 2021). Overall, an individual must always increase water intake whenever dehydration is detected. Some significant sources of water intake include all types of water, including distilled, carbonated, well, spring, or hard water. In addition to these sources, people get water directly from food and beverages and through oxidation of macronutrients. It is essential to recognize that the proportion of water in food and drinks varies with the proportion of vegetables and fruits in the diet.

Benefits of Increasing Water Intake

The body must get enough water to remain healthy. One significant way to prevent dehydration is through sufficient water intake, thus preventing consequences like overheating the body, mood changes, constipation, and kidney stones (Nakamura et al., 2020). Water does not have components like calories; therefore, it can be used to manage body weight and reduce calorie intake, primarily when it is used as a substitute for drinks with calories, like regular soda or sweet tea. The primary function of water is to ensure that every system in the body functions properly. An individual’s physical performance is greatly affected when they do not stay hydrated, especially when they undergo intense exercise or are exposed to high heat. They might experience altered body temperature control, increased fatigue, and reduced motivation. Water deprivation makes exercise feel more mentally and physically challenging (Shaheen et al., 2018). This is because the body is not functioning correctly, and various systems are deprived of fundamental nutrients. Optimal hydration is essential for maximizing physical performance and reducing oxidation stress associated with these activities.

Additionally, water plays a vital role in digestion and preventing complications like constipation. Water contributes to softening food after ingestion, thus aiding in the digestion process (Lawrence & Evan, 2018). Congestion is a common issue that people experience as their body is subjected to infrequent bowel movements and difficulty in passing stool. Therefore, increased water intake helps soften the stool, thus making it easy to excrete. One of the main risk factors for constipation is low water intake. This means increased hydration decreases constipation (Zhou et al., 2022). Water contains vital minerals responsible for improving the consistency and frequency of bowel movements in people.

Conclusion

Dehydration is a significant health risk; water intake must be well-monitored to prevent its consequences. Various habits can lead to dehydration, including insufficient fluids to replace those lost through metabolic activities and sweating. Multiple factors influence hydration, including the amount of physical exercise, the climate, and diet. Other causes include illness or sweating as a result of fever. Frequent and regular water intake will ensure the body is well-hydrated and less affected by these factors. Water is essential to the body, ensuring all vital systems operate optimally.

References

Armstrong, L. E., & Johnson, E. C. (2018). Water intake, water balance, and the elusive daily water requirement. Nutrients, 10(12), 1928. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121928

Lawrence E. Armstrong, & Evan C. Johnson. (2018). Water intake, water balance, and the elusive daily water requirement. Nutrients, 10(12), 1928. https://doi-org.ezproxy.mtsu.edu/10.3390/nu10121928

Nakamura, Y., Watanabe, H., Murayama, N., Tanaka, A., Nishihira, J., & Yasui, M. (2020). Effect of increased daily water intake and hydration on health in Japanese adults. Nutrients, 12(4). https://doi-org.ezproxy.mtsu.edu/10.3390/nu12041191

Perrier, E. T., Armstrong, L. E., Bottin, J. H., Clark, W. F., Dolci, A., Guelinckx, I., … & Péronnet, F. (2021). Hydration for health hypothesis: a narrative review of supporting evidence. European journal of nutrition, 60, 1167-1180. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-020-02296-z

Popkin, B. M., D’Anci, K. E., & Rosenberg, I. H. (2010). Water, hydration, and health. Nutrition Reviews, 68(8), 439-458. https://doi.org/10.1111j.1753-4887.2010.00304.x

Shaheen, N. A., Hussein, M. A., Alqahtani, A. A., Assiri, H., & Alkhodair, R. (2018). Public knowledge of dehydration and fluid intake practices: Variation by participants’ characteristics. BMC Public Health, 18(1). https://doi-org.ezproxy.mtsu.edu/10.1186/s12889-018-6252-5

Zhou, H., Wei, M., Cui, Y., Di, D., Song, W., Zhang, R., Liu, J., & Wang, Q. (2022). Association between Water Intake and Mortality Risk—Evidence from a National Prospective Study. Frontiers in Nutrition, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2022.822119