article archive
August 2006
Dehydration's 'inconvenient
truth'
by Brian D. Foltz
Global warming means we'd better learn how to live with hot
weather. Summer temperatures, sporting events and other outdoor
activities require special attention to the body's need for
proper hydration. Electrolytes play a vital role in hydration
because they maintain the delicate balance of fluids inside
and outside the cells. They are the "electrical grid" of
the body on which all water and nerve impulses flow. But,
there's no substitute for natural, pure water.
Commercials that "educate" consumers leave the
impression we are all high‑performance athletes in
need of special minerals (electrolytes) contained in fancy
orange or blue‑colored drinks. Yet, did you ever wonder
what's really inside the big Gatorade cooler on the sidelines
of every professional football game? When they dump the cooler
over the winning coach, what color is it? It's never orange
or blue. It's always pure water. Water is the choice of elite
athletes and it should be your choice, too.
The fact is, all
fluids do not hydrate equally. Water and other fluids are
two entirely different things to the chemistry of your body.
Most sports beverages contain high levels of dissolved solids,
such as electrolytes, sugar, etc. and are not effective at
hydrating the cells. This is due to the action of the "osmotic gradient," which
is the primary function that moves water into the cells.
The osmotic gradient is determined by the differences of
total dissolved solids (solutes) in the water outside your
cells (extracellular fluid) compared to the amount inside
your cells (intracellular).
Water molecules move via osmosis
from an area of lower concentration of solutes to an area
of higher concentration. Most of the time osmotic pressure
is balanced between the fluid on the inside and outside of
the cells. Drinking pure water (low solutes) increases the
volume of water and lowers the total solutes in the extracellular
fluid, creating the osmotic pressure needed to push water
into the cells. When you drink beverages that contain high
dissolved solids, the osmotic pressure of the body's extracellular
fluid is not raised high enough to push water into the cells.
Electrolytes
are vital to hydration and cellular energy production. However,
once your body has sufficient electrolytes, pure water is the
only fluid that hydrates the cells the way nature intended.
The nutritionally important electrolytes are sodium (Na+),
potassium (K+) chloride (Cl‑), calcium
(Ca+) and magnesium ((Mg+). Bicarbonate (HCl3‑), amino
acids, and protein also participate in maintaining electrical
balance between the fluids inside and outside the cells.
Salt
regulates and maintains water content outside the cells.
Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the vital minerals that
balance the water volume inside the cells. These same five
elements ‑‑ water, salt, potassium, magnesium
and calcium ‑‑ are vital to energy production
and regulation inside the cells. This is a sodium‑potassium
pump driven by the flow of water and electrically charged
ions of sodium and potassium on the inside and outside of
cells.
The natural source for electrolytes is whole food ‑‑ not
colored drinks with catchy names. Most people can meet their
needs for electrolytes though diet alone. However, during
periods of excessive heat or physical activity lasting more
than 90 minutes, the body loses additional water and electrolytes
through sweating. This may require electrolyte supplements.
The need for supplementing can vary, since the electrolyte
concentration in sweat and the volume of sweat can vary greatly
from person to person.
The two main electrolytes lost in sweat
are sodium and chloride (salt). Most people get enough sodium
in their diet, but the problem is that the salt they consume
is in the wrong form. Iodized salt (table salt) has been heated
to very high temperatures and stripped of all it's naturally
occurring trace mineral co‑factors. This makes it effectively
toxic to the body. Processed food and fast foods also contain
a lot of isolated sodium and flavor enhancers such as MSG
(monosodium glutamate), which also raise sodium levels in
the body. The best solution is to avoid all forms of table
salt and flavor enhancers and get your sodium requirements
from naturally harvested Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt.
Two other
vital nutrients that work with sodium to help regulate fluid
in the body are Iodine and Tryptophan. Iodine helps the thyroid
make thyroxin, which helps stimulate the cells to make the
pump proteins that regulate the mineral balances inside and
outside the cells. Tryptophan regulates the salt intake of
the body and tends to become deficient when the body is chronically
dehydrated. Drinking a glass of water and taking a little natural
salt on your tongue at bedtime is a natural sedative.
Salt consumption
is a controversial issue, since some studies show salt as a
contributing factor to high blood pressure. The theory is that
higher sodium levels leads to increased water retention which
increases blood volume and which in turn raises blood pressure.
Studies that test this theory have given conflicting results.
An
alternative theory is that high blood pressure results from
reduced blood volume caused by dehydration when capillaries
must constrict in an attempt to get blood out to all the
tissues body. This seems plausible since pressure in an enclosed
system is a factor of volume and flow. In a 1997 article
in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. David
McCurron found that with adequate daily intake of potassium,
calcium and magnesium, not only will salt not raise blood
pressure, it might actually lower it.
Your kidneys help to maintain
electrolyte balance by monitoring sodium levels as it filters
your entire blood supply 20 to 25 times per day. If you don't
have enough sodium, it will release water through the urine.
If sodium levels are too high, that indicates a state of body
dehydration and water will be reabsorbed into the body. This
concentrates the urine, which can be seen as very yellow. (Certain
vitamins, medications and diuretics also cause the color of
urine to change.) The color of your urine is a good indicator
of your hydration level, with clear or very pale yellow showing
adequate hydration. The darker the yellow color is, the more
concentrated your urine and the more dehydrated you are.
Water
lost through sweat comes from the blood. Even mild dehydration
reduces blood volume, which reduces blood flow carrying water,
oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, organs and glands. Continued
loss of water will directly affect the heart and brain, which
require large amounts of water and oxygen brought by blood
flow. This can lead to serious problems including heart failure
and heat stroke.
When blood has to take water from inside of
your cells, this causes disruptions in chemical functions within
the cell, including production of ATP (energy). Most of the
body's intracellular water is contained in muscle tissue. If
there is no ATP, the muscles cannot relax and you get a cramp.
Tight muscles can cause sleep difficulties and pull the spine
out of alignment. This makes adjustments more difficult and
less likely to hold.
The epidemic of chronic dehydration is
inconvenient. It sure would be simple if your patients could
drink juice, coffee, sodas and colorful drinks to hydrate.
The truth is, modern society makes hydration and optimal health
care difficult to achieve, but armed with the right knowledge
it can be done.
(Brian Foltz is the author of the forthcoming
book, "The
Secrets of Superior Hydration." For more information
and/or a free special report, "The 7 Hidden Causes of
Chronic Dehydration" call (800) 707‑1925 or go
to www.hydrationsecrets.com.)