With health even higher on people’s agenda following the pandemic, one of the key things people often forget about is keeping hydrated. Water is the largest single constituent of the human body – an adult’s body is made up of 60 percent water, while a child’s body weight is made up of 75 percent water. Therefore, water plays a vital role in our wellbeing, as it can make a huge difference to our health and body function.
Dehydration
Dehydration can be extremely serious so it’s important to keep drinking plenty of fluids, whether that’s water, squash, fruit juices or tea, as these are all hydrating. Fizzy drinks and alcohol have the opposite affect and will dehydrate the body.
Mild dehydration can occur when just one percent of the water from our bodies is lost and symptoms can include a change in urine colour (the darker the urine, the more dehydrated the person is), headaches, lethargy and constipation.
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Benefits of hydration
The more we stay hydrated and get in a routine of drinking the right drinks and the right quantity, the more we can have a real positive impact on our health. Being hydrated can help with weight management and contribute to prevent illnesses such as kidney stones and urinary tract infections. Being hydrated can also help with our cognitive function which serves a critical role in our everyday behaviour and social behaviour and is particularly important, as it can help us gain and retain knowledge.
Hydrating the elderly
It’s particularly important to make sure elderly relatives are drinking plenty of fluids as dehydration can have a more severe impact on them. Signs to look out for include dry mouth, fatigue and light-headedness which can lead to confusion, weakness and more.
Hydrating children
With hydration playing such an important role in our cognitive function it is important that children are encouraged to drink lots when they are young. It has been proven that 60 percent of children arrive at school dehydrated and 70 percent don’t drink enough which affects their ability to function and learn. The more hydrated children are, means they are set up each day to take on information and retain it better which will help with their education and performance in all tasks.
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Hot weather and exercise
Heat, illness and medications can all cause dehydration. In hot weather or extreme temperatures, for example a sauna, it’s important to drink more water to keep your fluids replenished otherwise you could suffer from heat exhaustion, particularly if you are sweating excessively. Also, if you are active and sweat during pursuits, the water you lose needs to be replaced. According to sports nutritionists, losing just two percent of your body weight in fluid can decrease sports performance by up to 25 percent.
How much water should you drink?
It’s not a case of numbers of glasses per day, the amount of water a person should drink depends on weight and height and age. Aqua Pura has a hydration calculator to work out how much water you should be drinking, visit www.aqua-pura.com.
However, the adequate intakes of daily water from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) include:
• Infants in the first half of the first year of life – 100 -190ml/kg per day
• Infants 6-12 months of age a total water intake of 800 -1000ml/day
• For the second year of life an adequate total water intake of 1100 – 1200ml/day
• Children – estimated to be 1300ml a day for boys and girls 2-3 years of age; 1600ml a day for boys and girls 4-8 years of age; 2100ml a day for boys 9-13 years of age; 1900ml a day for girls 9-13 years of age
• Adolescents of 14 years and older are considered as adults with respect to adequate water intake
• For adult females 2.0l a day and for males 2.5l a day. The same applies for the elderly
• For pregnant women the same water intake as in non-pregnant women plus an increase in proportion to the increase in energy intake (2litres plus 300ml/day)
Aqua Pura, which means ‘pure water’ in Latin, is one of the UK’s fastest growing British mineral water brands. It is naturally protected and sourced next to a special area of conservation in Cumbria, where it is filtered through ancient, mineral-rich rocks giving it its consistently clear and refreshing taste. Offering both still and sparkling water, Aqua Pura aims to hydrate the nation by ensuring families have better access to affordable and sustainable bottled water.
Aqua Pura is the first brand to launch a fully eco-friendly bottle and cap which will be hitting the shelves in June. The newly launched 500ml still and sparking water bottles include a 100 percent recyclable bottle, cap and label, with the bottles also made from 100 percent recycled materials.
Aqua Pura’s 100 percent recyclable sparkling and still water bottles are available from Tesco. For further information visit www.aqua-pura.com.
Sources:
NSWA
www.webmd.com
EFSA
