The Hydration Situation

Making sure you get the water your body needs

BY HELEN JACOB

Tips for staying hydrated:

• Eat your water. According to the National Academy of Medicine, we should eat 20% of our daily water intake. Cucumbers, watermelon and oatmeal are great uid-heavy foods.

• Drink plenty of water before going in the pool. When you’re playing and being active, you’re sweating just as much as you would out of the pool — you just can’t see it.

• If you nd yourself forgetting to drink water throughout the day, try carrying around an insulated water bottle, such as Simple Modern's 32 oz. bottle, so you always have ice-cold water on hand.

• Sick of the taste of water? Flavor it: add a lemon wedge, cucumbers and mint, or infuse your water naturally with fruit. Coconut water or 100% fruit juices are good alternatives.

ON AVERAGE, WATER MAKES UP about % of our bodies. It comprises about % of body weight in infants and about % in older adults. And since that water can’t be stored, it needs to be replaced constantly. We know getting enough water every day is vital for life, but how much do we actually need?

The “eight glasses of water a day” recommendation comes from the 194 United States Food and Nutrition Board, which advised  1/ liters of daily water intake. However, some argue the fi ndings weren’t based on any solid evidence, and the recommendation also stated that water intake could come from food sources. Registered and licensed dietitian Shaina Yohannan recommends 11 1/ cups per day for healthy women and 1 1/ cups per day for healthy men. Of course, this can vary based on health concerns such as breastfeeding, increased activity level, renal diseases, heart failure, etc.

Dehydration, or a loss of body fluids, results in mood changes, headaches and unclear thinking, and it can lead to constipation and kidney stones. Anyone can become dehydrated, but there are a few groups that are most at risk. This includes babies and infants — due to a lower body weight, they are more sensitive to small amounts of fluid loss. People with long-term health conditions such as diabetes or alcohol addiction are also prone, as well as athletes, who can lose a greater amount of body fluid through sweat.

Being dehydrated can also lead to reduced motivation and increased fatigue, which can make exercise more physically and mentally difficult. Even mild dehydration (fluid loss of 1-%) can affect your energy levels and mood and lead to an impairment in memory and brain performance. Considering that muscle is about % water, it’s wise to have a bottle of water nearby during intensive exercise.

Your thirst reflex is how your body tells you that you’re in a water deficit. However, this tends to fade with age, so older people can become dehydrated without knowing it. You can usually tell when you’re starting to feel dehydrated if you’re sluggish or have a headache. A good indicator is to look at the color of your urine. It should be a pale-yellow color; if it’s a brighter or darker yellow, you need to drink more fluids.

On the other hand, there is no real advantage to drinking excessive amounts of water. It’s a myth that drinking more water helps flush out toxins or helps your kidneys in any way that’s significant. A 1 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association tested this using 1 patients with kidney disease, and in the end, drinking more water did not benefit any of them in terms of kidney function. The only change from drinking extreme amounts of water will be the color of your urine, which may go from pale-yellow to clear, but this has no medical implications for your health.

• Stay away from dehydrating drinks such as soft drinks, beer, hot cocoa and sweet tea. Anything packed with ca eine or sugar should be balanced with plenty of water to accompany it.

• Your body has low levels of water when you wake up in the morning, so it’s a good idea to start your day by drinking a glass.

The quantity of water has no direct correlation to the quality of your skin, either. Unfortunately for skin enthusiasts, drinking water won’t prevent the top layer of your skin from becoming dry or determine its moisture level. Furthermore, chugging copious amounts of water won’t help you lose weight, though if you’re replacing liquid calories such as soda or coffee with cream and sugar, it can reduce your overall calorie intake.

“Just meeting the daily needs is best,” Yohannan said. “Excess can lead to fluid overload in some individuals, which can cause hyponatremia,” which is when the sodium level in the blood is below normal.

Despite the things that water can’t do, there’s a lot more that it does. It regulates your body temperature, lubricates your joints, protects your spinal cord and gets rid of wastes through urine, sweat and bowel movements. It’s important to optimize your water intake to help your body and brain function and generally improve your well-being.

What are Human Cellular Tissue Products and how can they help patients?

HCTP, scientifically known as exosomes, are nano-sized, extracellular vesicles that play a pivotal role in cell-to-cell communications. They potentially provide regenerative properties and anti-inflammatory responses necessary to heal tissues and injuries. HCTP therapy is the process of delivering nano-particles to targeted areas of the body, and it works as a catalyst for whole-body health and regeneration. This therapy can offer pain and joint management, immune system modulation, tissue revitalization, and more.

When should someone consider hormone replacement therapy HRT?

Hormones are gland-made chemicals used to control specific actions of cells and organs. They regulate the body’s functions and keep everything running smoothly; however, when the hormones become imbalanced, HRT becomes an option. HRT is designed to correct the imbalance and should be done in conjunction with labwork and a detailed clinical visit to provide individualized therapy designed for each patient’s unique needs.

What therapies do you offer for erectile dysfunction?

Men dealing with erectile dysfunction often have underlying causes that generate es the overall problem. ED can stem from prostate issues, surgical side effects, medications, diabetes, or hypertension to name a few. ED doesn’t always mean complete loss of function. After a detailed clinical visit and lab work, our provider will determine a treatment plan that could include shockwave therapy (EWST), cellular tissue product injections, or medications.

How does O3 work in the human body?

Ozone represents the continued adoption of agitating therapies to improve cellular function. Injury leads to healing. The newer concept of sparking intracellular responses by stimulating a pseudo injury to cells is the mechanism of action for O3. Rather than damaging cells, ozone when applied correctly elicits restorative responses on a molecular level within the body. This directly leads to regenerating anti-oxidant species to balance oxidative metabolism, alters inflammatory mediator cascades, and revitalizes mitochondrial function which in turn improves cellular performance that is the basis for better tissue and organ activity. O3 also retrains cells to utilize oxygen more successfully and has a role as a potential anti-infective.

The summary from a clinical perspective is that Ozone Therapy gives the opportunity to correct or regenerate metabolic processes which have become imbalanced physiologically. This therapeutic option can be used to potentially address difficultto-resolve medical conditions.

Ozone Therapy benefits can include reducing fatigue and inflammation and improving circulation and cellular efficiency.