Laurann O'Reilly: Are you drinking enough water? The importance of hydration...

So many of us are conscious of the foods that we consume, if we’re getting enough or too much energy and if we’re meeting our nutritional requirements, but one thing that often gets over looked is how much water we’re drinking.

Here nutritionist Laurann O’Reilly, owner of Nutrition by Laurann explains the importance of hydration, how much water we should be drinking and the effect of dehydration on our bodies.

1) The importance of hydration

We all know that water is essential for our life and for our survival but we can often underestimate the importance of water for our bodies. With almost 60% of the body being composed of water, it is essential for many important processes. From our blood system carrying essential glucose, oxygen and nutrients to cells to other important functions such as
- Digestion – Water and other liquids help break down food so that your body can absorb the nutrients. Water also softens or stools, which helps prevent constipation. In fact, Water is involved in literally every step of the digestive process, which is another reason why staying adequately hydrated is so important for your health.
- Joint Health – Water helps to keep your joints lubricated and flexible. The synovial fluid that directly lubricates your joints is made up primarily of water. This fluid reduces the friction between joints and helps to maintain healthy tissue and joints.
- Eye Health - Similar to saliva, tears in our eyes contain water, minerals, and lipids, and possess several antibacterial and antiviral properties. Tears are important for your eye health as they help to protect, lubricate, and nourish the eyes throughout the day. Dehydration can make it difficult for your eyes to maintain a healthy level of tears. Another reason to top up that water bottle!
- Healthy Skin - Water helps your skin maintain moisture, which increases your elasticity. The more elastic your skin, the fewer wrinkles that are visible. Adequate hydration can also do wonders for your complexion, reduces puffiness and improves overall skin health as it helps your digestive system flush out toxins from the body.
- Maintaining Concentration – According to a study Dehydration may affect cognitive performances as water accounts for 75% of brain mass. A study from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that as much as 2 hours of dehydration can have an effect on complex problem-solving, coordination, and attention span. Whilst another study carried out by University of East London and the University of Westminster, found that drinking just 300ml of water can boost your attention by up to 25%. So, if you’re looking to improve focus and concentration there’s another incentive to boost your fluid intake.
- Hydration In Exercise & Sport – Weather you work out to maintain your health, for pleasure or you are an elite athlete, your fluid intake should be part of your strategy and is just as important as the foods you consume. Why not try this simple Fluid Rehydration Strategy: Weigh yourself immediately before and weigh yourself again immediately after training, the weight lost is usually fluid. If you lose 0.5kg then you simply replace with 500ml of water.
- Temperature Regulation –  We have an amazing ability to regulate our own body temperature, particularly in hot conditions, by losing more water through the skin (perspiration). This in turn acts to cool the body helping to maintain a stable temperature. However, the more water we lose through sweat, the more we need to replace it. With the summer rolling in and the weather getting warmer, it’s even more important to keep that water bottle topped up.

2) Signs of Dehydration

It’s important to remember that if you’re feeling thirsty, you are already dehydrated! Here are some signs that you may be dehydrated
- Yellow Urine – Urine or your pee is a really good indicator of your hydration status. Dark coloured urine is a sign of dehydration. You should aim for pale straw coloured urine
- Feeling Tired or Lightheaded – We often worry when we feel dizzy or lightheaded, if this is the case you may just be dehydrated as you don’t have enough fluid for your basic body functions. Take a breath and a big glass of water and you may feel all the better.
- Dry Mouth or Lips – If you feel your mouth or lips are dry or if you’re training and you taste salt then there’s a good chance that you need to up your fluid intake.
- Infrequent Peeing – If you find that you aren’t going to the toilet very often (fewer than four times a day) than you may not be drinking enough water and your body tries to restrict fluid and it may be time to top up the water.

3) How to Calculate Your Fluid Requirement

- Adult Fluid Requirements – The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommend a daily total water intake (water from food and beverages) of at least 2.5 L for men and 2.0 L for women. There are numerous factors which affect our fluid requirement for instance body size, body composition, physical demands of your job and fitness levels.
- Child Fluid Requirement - The Natural Hydration Council recommends following a general rule of 1-1.7 litres of water per day, which translates to 4-6 glasses. Again, there are numerous factors which affect this requirement to including age, weight and physical activity levels. As recommended by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), water and milk are the only drinks recommended for the 1-5 year old age group and sugar-containing and acidic drinks should be limited and if consumed at all, should be kept to mealtimes.

4) How to Hydrate – What Counts

- Regular Water – You can’t beat regular water, being pure this is the ideal for hydrating your body. Tip: For those of you who don’t like the taste of water on its own why not try fruit infused water by simply adding some chopped lemon/orange/berries and a few mint leaves to a jug of water and leave it to infuse in the fridge for a couple of hours/overnight, delicious!
- Milk – The National Dairy Council and The Department of Health’s Food Pyramid recommend 3 servings from the ‘milk, yogurt and cheese’ food group each day as part of a healthy, balanced diet. With 5 servings per day recommended between the age 9-18 years. One serving of milk is 200ml. For Children between the ages of 1-5 years the FSAI recommend daily intake of 550 mL of milk (or equivalent amounts of yogurt or cheese).
- Juices - Provide some vitamins and minerals. One small glass (150ml) counts as a maximum of one portion of your 5 a day. However, they also contain sugars and can be acidic, which can harm teeth so it’s best to drink them with a meal and if provided to children dilute with water.
- Hydrating Foods -  Not all of our water intake comes from fluids, in fact 20–30% can come from foods. Many fruit and vegetables such as courgettes, cucumber, tomatoes and melon are over 90% water and make a valuable contribution to our overall fluid intake. See my Hydration recipe below.
- Reduced Sugar/Sugar Free Drinks – For those who struggle to drink plain water or who are hesitant to try the fruit infused water option suggested above reduced sugar or sugar free squash is a great alternative to ensure that you meet your fluid requirement. Tip: Opt for a squash that’s sweetened with a natural sweetener, my favourite is MiWadi sweetened with stevia
- Tea and Coffee - Tea and coffee do count towards your daily fluid intake. Although caffeine has a diuretic effect (triggers the body to produce more urine, increasing fluid loss), overall there is always a net fluid gain due to the water contained in the hot drinks. However, important that these aren’t your only source of fluid intake.
- Sports Drinks - Are generally only needed if training at high intensity for over an hour. Although they are a great way of hydrating and providing fuel, sports drinks can be high in sugar. For those who enjoy occasional sport, gym classes, or short distance recreational running, sports drinks usually aren’t necessary and it’s best to choose water to keep our levels of hydration up. For further information on sports hydration feel free to contact me through the details listed below.

5) What to Avoid or Have in Moderation

- Fizzy Drinks – Although fizzy drinks are a fluid they can contain high amounts of sugar which as we’ve discussed before, results in excess liquid calories and can contribute to unwanted weight gain. High sugar drinks can also have an impact on our oral health too as they can cause acid erosion of our teeth. Whilst sugar free versions are available, these can contain artificial sweeteners which when taken in large amounts can be bad for our bodies too.
- Alcohol – Is not considered towards your fluid requirement either, not only does it damage our bodies and can contains a large amount of those liquid calories again, but it actually dehydrates the body being a diuretic. This is because your body excretes lots of water as it tries to break down and get rid of the waste that alcohol produces.
- Energy Drinks – It’s really important to be cautious when it comes to energy drinks as many of them contain ingredients such as caffeine, guarana and ginseng, which are all stimulants which can result in an increased heart rate. Many of these drinks contain huge amounts of liquid sugar which cause your blood sugar levels to shoot up and later crash. Please do take caution when consuming energy drinks if you have an underlying medical condition and it’s always safest to choose water as your safe hydration option.

6) How To Keep Track of Your Fluid

– The simplest way to keep track of your fluid intake is to buy a reusable BPA free bottle (these are available to buy in most supermarkets). If you know it’s a 500ml bottle for instance you can keep topping it up. You can keep it by your desk or at work, have it beside you when exercising and bring it with you in the car. Phone, wallet, water – check!

About Laurann: Laurann O’Reilly is qualified and experienced Nutritionist with a BSc. Degree in Human Nutrition from University of Nottingham and a Master’s in Public Health Nutrition from University College Dublin. She has over 10 years of experience including working community and clinical care, research, personalised nutrition consultations (dealing in healthy eating, weight loss, digestive health and sports nutrition), teaching and developing nutrition courses at FETEC level, nutrition education talks and workshops (corporate wellness, schools, sports teams, public and private talks), previous food manager of the Coeliac Society of Ireland and is part of the roll out team for the Healthy Ireland Smart Start health promotion programme for pre-schools.

For further information see www.nutritionbylaurann.ie or contact Laurann at info@nutritionby.laurann.ie