Mountain or sea? Wherever you decide to spend your summer vacation, it is important to avoid dehydration, which happens when we lose more fluids than we take in, resulting in the body not having enough to support its functions. Anyone can become dehydrated, but the condition is especially dangerous for young children and older adults.
According to Mayo Clinic experts, dehydration can happen in any age group if we don’t drink enough water on days with high temperature and especially if we have intense physical activity. Mild to moderate dehydration can be reversed by drinking more fluids, but more severe dehydration requires immediate medical attention.
How do you prevent dehydration?
The good news is that there are some simple strategies you can follow to stay hydrated everywhere. These include:
1. Answer your thirst
The most common sign of potential dehydration? The thirst. This is because you can easily forget to drink water during the day and ignore your thirst when you are busy with other activities. That’s why you always have a bottle of water with you to act as a reminder.
2. Does your mouth feel dry?
Another simple way to measure your body’s hydration levels is to check the moisture inside your mouth. If it starts to dry out, then you know you need to drink water.
3. Increase your water intake while exercising
The body requires more water when you exercise at a high intensity or for a long time to replace the fluids lost due to exercise. For example, soccer players lose an average of 1.5 liters (L) of sweat per hour and endurance athletes lose 1.28 liters per hour, according to a scientific review published in Nutrients.
4. Don’t forget the electrolytes
Known for their key role in hydration, electrolytes are minerals such as magnesium, sodium, potassium and phosphorus. Along with the fluids we lose, we also fatally lose electrolytes. But we must replenish them as – apart from hydration – they are necessary for basic bodily processes such as nerve and muscle function, hormone secretion and blood pH balance.
In addition to the typical colored drinks that you may have seen athletes drink, you can also find natural electrolytes. Bananas, yogurt and watermelon are just some of the foods that contain natural electrolytes and contribute to the hydration of the body.
