August 2006

Dehydration's 'inconvenient truth'

by Brian D. Foltz

Global warming means we'd better learn how to live with hot weather. Summer temperatures, sporting events and other outdoor activities require special attention to the body's need for proper hydration. Electrolytes play a vital role in hydration because they maintain the delicate balance of fluids inside and outside the cells. They are the "electrical grid" of the body on which all water and nerve impulses flow. But, there's no substitute for natural, pure water.

Commercials that "educate" consumers leave the impression we are all high‑performance athletes in need of special minerals (electrolytes) contained in fancy orange or blue‑colored drinks. Yet, did you ever wonder what's really inside the big Gatorade cooler on the sidelines of every professional football game? When they dump the cooler over the winning coach, what color is it? It's never orange or blue. It's always pure water. Water is the choice of elite athletes and it should be your choice, too.

The fact is, all fluids do not hydrate equally. Water and other fluids are two entirely different things to the chemistry of your body. Most sports beverages contain high levels of dissolved solids, such as electrolytes, sugar, etc. and are not effective at hydrating the cells. This is due to the action of the "osmotic gradient," which is the primary function that moves water into the cells. The osmotic gradient is determined by the differences of total dissolved solids (solutes) in the water outside your cells (extracellular fluid) compared to the amount inside your cells (intracellular).

Water molecules move via osmosis from an area of lower concentration of solutes to an area of higher concentration. Most of the time osmotic pressure is balanced between the fluid on the inside and outside of the cells. Drinking pure water (low solutes) increases the volume of water and lowers the total solutes in the extracellular fluid, creating the osmotic pressure needed to push water into the cells. When you drink beverages that contain high dissolved solids, the osmotic pressure of the body's extracellular fluid is not raised high enough to push water into the cells.

Electrolytes are vital to hydration and cellular energy production. However, once your body has sufficient electrolytes, pure water is the only fluid that hydrates the cells the way nature intended. The nutritionally important electrolytes are sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) chloride (Cl‑), calcium (Ca+) and magnesium ((Mg+). Bicarbonate (HCl3‑), amino acids, and protein also participate in maintaining electrical balance between the fluids inside and outside the cells.

Salt regulates and maintains water content outside the cells. Potassium, magnesium and calcium are the vital minerals that balance the water volume inside the cells. These same five elements ‑‑ water, salt, potassium, magnesium and calcium ‑‑ are vital to energy production and regulation inside the cells. This is a sodium‑potassium pump driven by the flow of water and electrically charged ions of sodium and potassium on the inside and outside of cells.

The natural source for electrolytes is whole food ‑‑ not colored drinks with catchy names. Most people can meet their needs for electrolytes though diet alone. However, during periods of excessive heat or physical activity lasting more than 90 minutes, the body loses additional water and electrolytes through sweating. This may require electrolyte supplements. The need for supplementing can vary, since the electrolyte concentration in sweat and the volume of sweat can vary greatly from person to person.

The two main electrolytes lost in sweat are sodium and chloride (salt). Most people get enough sodium in their diet, but the problem is that the salt they consume is in the wrong form. Iodized salt (table salt) has been heated to very high temperatures and stripped of all it's naturally occurring trace mineral co‑factors. This makes it effectively toxic to the body. Processed food and fast foods also contain a lot of isolated sodium and flavor enhancers such as MSG (monosodium glutamate), which also raise sodium levels in the body. The best solution is to avoid all forms of table salt and flavor enhancers and get your sodium requirements from naturally harvested Sea Salt or Himalayan Salt.

Two other vital nutrients that work with sodium to help regulate fluid in the body are Iodine and Tryptophan. Iodine helps the thyroid make thyroxin, which helps stimulate the cells to make the pump proteins that regulate the mineral balances inside and outside the cells. Tryptophan regulates the salt intake of the body and tends to become deficient when the body is chronically dehydrated. Drinking a glass of water and taking a little natural salt on your tongue at bedtime is a natural sedative.

Salt consumption is a controversial issue, since some studies show salt as a contributing factor to high blood pressure. The theory is that higher sodium levels leads to increased water retention which increases blood volume and which in turn raises blood pressure. Studies that test this theory have given conflicting results.

An alternative theory is that high blood pressure results from reduced blood volume caused by dehydration when capillaries must constrict in an attempt to get blood out to all the tissues body. This seems plausible since pressure in an enclosed system is a factor of volume and flow. In a 1997 article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. David McCurron found that with adequate daily intake of potassium, calcium and magnesium, not only will salt not raise blood pressure, it might actually lower it.

Your kidneys help to maintain electrolyte balance by monitoring sodium levels as it filters your entire blood supply 20 to 25 times per day. If you don't have enough sodium, it will release water through the urine. If sodium levels are too high, that indicates a state of body dehydration and water will be reabsorbed into the body. This concentrates the urine, which can be seen as very yellow. (Certain vitamins, medications and diuretics also cause the color of urine to change.) The color of your urine is a good indicator of your hydration level, with clear or very pale yellow showing adequate hydration. The darker the yellow color is, the more concentrated your urine and the more dehydrated you are.

Water lost through sweat comes from the blood. Even mild dehydration reduces blood volume, which reduces blood flow carrying water, oxygen and nutrients to the muscles, organs and glands. Continued loss of water will directly affect the heart and brain, which require large amounts of water and oxygen brought by blood flow. This can lead to serious problems including heart failure and heat stroke.

When blood has to take water from inside of your cells, this causes disruptions in chemical functions within the cell, including production of ATP (energy). Most of the body's intracellular water is contained in muscle tissue. If there is no ATP, the muscles cannot relax and you get a cramp. Tight muscles can cause sleep difficulties and pull the spine out of alignment. This makes adjustments more difficult and less likely to hold.

The epidemic of chronic dehydration is inconvenient. It sure would be simple if your patients could drink juice, coffee, sodas and colorful drinks to hydrate. The truth is, modern society makes hydration and optimal health care difficult to achieve, but armed with the right knowledge it can be done.

(Brian Foltz is the author of the forthcoming book, "The Secrets of Superior Hydration." For more information and/or a free special report, "The 7 Hidden Causes of Chronic Dehydration" call (800) 707‑1925 or go to www.hydrationsecrets.com.)

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