Dehydration
Keyva Strickland
February 18, 2012
Arnetra Gilliam

Dehydration can happen for various reasons. Dehydration happens when there is a loss of a significant amount of water in your body. To prevent dehydration, you should make sure you have a significant amount of water in your body. Feeling nausea, dizzy or light headed after or during exercise on a hot and summer day is a sign of dehydration. If someone feels they are dehydrated he or she needs to make sure they are drinking plenty of water, Gatorade, Pedialyte (for children), or popsicles. An important fact to remember is that over half of your body weight is water, so water consumption is very important to avoid dehydration and other illnesses.
People can live for years without shelter, months without food, but without water they can only live for days. That shows how important water is to your body and life. Water, next to oxygen is the most important component to sustaining a healthy life. Water is needed by our body’s cells, tissues, muscles and system organs; without water, there will be no life. Water is not a nutrient but is considered an important nutrient and is highly needed to maintain life. The most important role of water is that it is a major component in our blood, and it is important in maintaining body temperature along with the elimination of body waste. Water is required in digestion and metabolism and its function is in the regulation of your body temperature. Besides water serving as a cushion to your joints, it keeps the tissues and mucus membrane moist as well as helping to maintain your body weight.
In our daily life, there may be times when you may feel excessively thirsty. This is warning signal given to the body from the brain letting you know that your body needs water. It is a way of informing your body that it is feeling some sort of “dehydration” and needs to replenish. When your body does not receive the required amount of water, the functions of the kidney’s become altered, and when it comes time to eliminate the body wastes and toxins from your body it may become difficult. The problem will not only be in the elimination, but also can lead to more serious problems, such as having no control of your body temperature. Your body can rise up to extremely warm temperatures or it can get to a point where you will not be able to raise the temperature from extremely cool temperatures. It can cause physical and mental laziness and can make you look drowsy or groggy and your mental functions can change, depending on the severity of dehydration. Your body’s muscle tones will appear poor and your skin could become dry, itchy and saggy. Your body’s digestive processes and metabolism will be affected and more important the fats stored in your body will not be metabolized properly. As a common effect, you may experience constipation and there may be an insufficient amount of urine expelled, no perspiration, no saliva and very bad toned muscles and skin.
The human body sustains electrical activities to function. Your body’s ability to conduct electricity is gained when the substances called electrolytes come to be ions in solution. The electrolytes balance is essential for normal functioning of your body cells and organs. Sodium, potassium, and chloride are the important body electrolytes. These functions are detailed and contrasted below. Sodium ~ is one of the major positive ions in extracellular fluids or fluids outside the cells. Sodium plays an important role in the water distribution across the cell membranes. It can also cause an abnormal heartbeat, muscle twitching and hypoventilation if sodium deficiency is found in your body. Sodium helps in the regulation of the total amount of water in your body. Potassium ~ is another major positive ion but placed differently from sodium; potassium is found intracellular or inside your cells, unlike potassium’s huge effect on sodium, the changes in the water balance have little effect on the potassium concentrations in your body. It enters and leaves the extracellular compartment through the intestines, kidney’s and the membranes of all other cells. Potassium can enter the cells easier than sodium and is necessary for maintaining the lowest optimal concentration and balance of sodium in your body. Just as sodium, potassium ions are also very critical in generating electrical signals therefore the proper level of potassium is essential for normal cell functioning. Potassium, along with calcium, is also necessary for good muscle contractions, impulse conduction in your nerves and blood pressure regulation within your body. Chloride ~ is the major anion or negatively charged ion found in extracellular or outside the cells fluid and blood. Chloride contains negatively charged ions, this makes it different from sodium and potassium but along with sodium it can be found outside the cells as well. This negatively charged ion joins sodium in the extracellular tissues which is required for the maintaining of the osmotic tension in both the blood and extracellular fluids in your body. Just as sodium and potassium play a role in maintaining the levels of fluid in the body, chloride is also closely regulated by your body and also plays a role in helping with the maintaining of a normal balance of fluids within your body. It is necessary for the body-water and acid-base balance included in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within your red blood cells. Concerning the consumption of alcohol and caffeine the levels of body hydration are affected. Alcohol and caffeine contain substances that produce diuretic effects, meaning the more alcohol or caffeine consumed in the foods you take in; the less water output will come from your body. To avoid getting dehydrated, it is important to drink large quantities of water. The recommended amount of water that should be consumed daily is six to eight glasses. However, the total amount of water consumption can change depending on your choice of physical activities. The more physical activities you may do, the more water your muscles will need, meaning more water will be needed. Drinking water at least a half hour before exercising, every 15 minutes during your exercise and 30 minutes after exercising will help you avoid becoming dehydrated. Some body cooling measures can also help during the overly warm weather. You should avoid as much as possible eating or drinking substances that will increase your urination amount. Having changes in your temperature, from hot to cold can also cause dehydration if precautions are not taken well. Besides from drinking properly, the way you dress should also be considered in minimizing water loss to your body.

References:
Electrolytes and Human Health. Health Solution. Retrieved Huly 16, 2008 from http://www.mineralresourcesint.com/pdf/research/Electrolyte%20line_HS.pdf Why Water Is Important - Essential Nutrient For Health & Fitness. Retrieved July 16, 2008 from Web fit Website: http://www.shapefit.com/why-water-is-important.html