It seems like a new fad diet emerges every day. Weight Watchers, South Beach, Keto, Carnivore, Mediterranean, Paleo, and the Raw Foods diet all claim the ability to deliver good health, weight loss, and that body you’ve always dreamed of.
Each diet promotes and vilifies different foods. “Eat this, but don’t touch these.” The vilified foods of one diet are the promoted foods of the other. With so many conflicting ideas out there it’s hard to know what works and what doesn’t.
But one thing that’s consistent across the board no matter what diet you’re looking into is the importance of water. The exact numbers aren’t always the same, but the idea that you should drink plenty of water every day is a universal idea.
Some diets say you need at least 64oz a day, some say you need to drink your body weight in ounces in water every day, others say you only need half of your body weight. You’ll also obviously need to drink more water if you’re physically active and sweat a lot throughout the day.
So what’s the reasoning behind this? Why is water an essential part of any diet?
The short answer is to avoid dehydration. But there’s more to it than that.
Let’s take a closer look at dehydration, why it should be avoided at all costs, and the role water plays in it.
What is dehydration?
Dehydration happens when your body doesn’t get all the water it needs. This occurs when your body loses more water than it takes in. If you aren’t replacing your lost fluids, you will become dehydrated.
When you’re deficient in water, you become dehydrated, and your body loses its ability to function correctly. Dehydration can be mild, moderate or severe, depending on how much fluid is missing from your body.
Anyone can become dehydrated, but young children and the elderly are at the greatest risk of dehydration, and it’s side effects.
So how do you know if you’re dehydrated? What are the symptoms? The symptoms vary based on the severity of the dehydration. And young children can have slightly different symptoms as well.
