Hydration and Electrolytes…
Many of us know that we should be drinking on average anywhere between 1.5 litres to 2.5 litres of water daily, however if you’re good with your daily water intake, ask yourself, am I feeling hydrated! A good indication to see if ones hydrated is by the colour of your urine, if it is transparent then you are over drinking and water is just passing through your system which has negative effects on (which will be discussed later) , If it is an off yellowish colour then you are mostly likely hydrated, finally if it is dark yellow to brown then you are likely to be dehydrated.
Are you drinking enough for you… if you’re someone that is desk based and doesn’t do much exercises then the recommend intake is 1.5 litres which would be a good starting point. That said, if you are someone that is desk based and is active then possibly upping your intake to 2.5litres is a good target.
Now if you’re already drinking that amount and you still find yourself thirsty and even drinking over the 2.5 litres then there could be a good chance that your body is not actually absorbing the water you're giving your body.
Electrolytes are tiny particles which carry electrical charges. The best analogy for electrolytes are they represent oil in a car, they don’t necessarily have an impact on the cars engine per se but it will have a huge impact on how the systems in the car functions. In the body it will have a vital impact on the muscular, digestive, nervous and cardiovascular system.
Electrolytes are a key and vital part for absorbing water in our system, Electrolytes are made up from sodium chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium all of which helps our body to absorb fluids. You can find these in certain foods such as Pickled foods, cheese, pink Himalayan salt (Sodium) Fruit and vegetable (Potassium) Nuts and seeds (Magnesium) and Dairy products (Calcium). Further more you can also find them in sport energy drinks (Powerade, Lucozade and vitamin water to name a few), however these are full will sugar and other unnecessary ingredients.
If you have a balanced diet then that should suffice for your daily intake of electrolytes, however some people will still take an electrolyte supplement to ensure they are getting enough in their system, on a personal note, I would say that I have a fairly balanced diet, plenty of veg, meat, fish, fruit, salt and dairy, But I have recently over the last month been taking an electrolyte supplement after my breakfast and after times of training and I have noticed a huge difference in my energy level and concentration.
Negatives of over hydration
Yes this is a thing, over drinking can be dangerous and in very rare cases can be fatal. Over hydration and lead to your salt and electrolytes level becoming too diluted in your system.
A condition called hypoatremia is where the sodium (salt) levels come dangerously low which is the main worry with over hydration, a good tip is to put a half a pinch of pink Himalayan salt into your water (you shouldn’t be able to taste the salt). Pink Himalayan salt is suggested to have 84 essential trace elements that the body requires to the 72 of those particles.
One of the functions of sodium is to help cause a state of fluid equilibrium inside and outside of cells, when sodium level depreciate due increase water intake, the fluid in the shift will convert from the outside to the inside of cells resulting in them to swell.
Symptoms of low sodium levels and over hydration are the following
headaches
Nausea
Change in mood
Muscle cramps
Muscle spasms
Muscle weakness
The bottom line - we should all be consuming 1.5 - 2.5 litres of water daily depending on our routines and exercises, electrolytes could be a key supplement for you to start absorbing your water into your system to promote global body function and finally there are negatives of drink too much water.
