Your body usually gives you obvious signs to tell you what it needs.

For example, when your body needs nutrients, you feel hunger.

When it needs sleep, you feel tired.

When you need to have a BM, well, you get the urge to go.

But one area where your body is more vague in communicating its needs is with WATER.

Specifically, dehydration.

Here’s the scoop on this often overlooked but amazingly common health issue, and some sneaky causes of it you might not be aware of.

You’re all wet

Water is critical to your body--keeping your body hydrated is a MUST in order for it to function and for you to exist at all.

Up to 75 percent of the number you see on your bathroom scale is made up of water.  Most of that water is found inside your cells (your intracellular space). The rest is in your extracellular space, which consists of your blood vessels and the spaces between your cells.

Here are some of the impressive functions of the H2O inside of YOU:

• Regulate your body temperature
• Moisten your tissues
• Cushion and protect your organs
• Carry wastes away from your cells
• Lubricate your joints
• Assist your liver and kidneys with detoxification
• Carry nutrients and oxygen to your cells
• Maintain your blood volume
• Keep digestion efficient
• Maintain your pH in the desirable slightly alkaline range
• Dissolve minerals and other nutrients

Dehydration—supply versus demand

Dehydration occurs when the amount of water leaving your body is greater than the amount being put in.

The danger with it is that it can sneak up on you without warning—and you can go from a slight problem to fighting for your life surprisingly quickly.

When dehydration initially occurs, the first signs are increased thirst, dry mouth and dark yellow urine.

Next your body may stop making tears, sweat and urine.  Your skin can become dry, your hair brittle, and you get constipated.

Then it can progress into muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, lightheadedness, back pain, and decreased energy and cognitive functioning.

At this point your body is trying desperately to maintain cardiac output (the amount of blood that your heart pumps through the body).  It compensates by increasing your heart rate and making your blood vessels constrict in an attempt to maintain blood pressure and blood flow to your vital organs.

Your body also pulls blood away from the skin to give it to the internal organs and this gives your skin a cool, clammy feeling. 

If dehydration becomes severe, confusion, weakness and seizures can occur as your brain and other organs aren’t receiving the blood they need. Eventually coma, organ failure and death can result if it remains untreated.

So much more than sweating on a hot day!

Although most people associate dehydration with sweating in the hot sun, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are eight other causes of dehydration that you might not be aware of:

Diabetes:  When blood sugar levels are elevated, your body tries to eliminate the excess glucose through increased urine output, which can dehydrate you. 

Menstrual cycle:  Estrogen and progesterone influence your body's hydration levels.  Plus the amount of blood loss during heavy menstrual flow can cause dehydration.

Stress: When you’re under chronic stress, your adrenals work in overdrive secreting adrenaline and cortisol, and eventually they can become exhausted.  Since your adrenals also produce aldosterone (which regulates your fluid levels), dehydration can result when they are pooped out.

The biological clock: As you age, your body's ability to conserve water and its sensation for thirst decline, so dehydration can sneak up on you.

Medications: Many medications act as diuretics—especially high blood pressure drugs. 

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: A woman’s body has additional fluid needs during pregnancy and for producing breast milk. 

Poor diet: One of your body’s primary sources of water is fruits and vegetables.  So if it’s been decades since you ate a salad or your only vegetables are French fries and ketchup, you are at a risk for dehydration (among other things).

Diarrhea: During digestion your colon is supposed to absorb water from your wastes…but with diarrhea, it doesn’t get the chance because everything is flying through at the speed of light.  So you can end up dehydrated as a result.

It’s 100 percent preventable!

The good news is that dehydration is virtually 100 percent preventable. 

Here’s what you need to do to make sure your body has the fluids it needs to keep all of your organs and systems working like they should:

1 - Drink your water

You should be drinking at least eight 8-oz. glasses of filtered water a day at a minimum, and even more if you are:

• Exercising
• Working outdoors in hot weather
• Over age 65
• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Prone to heavy periods

Another barometer is to look at how many pounds you weigh and drink at least half that number in ounces of water.

For example, a person weighing 150 pounds should drink at least 75 ounces of water a day.

Just be sure to avoid drinking large amounts of water with or immediately following meals, as it can dilute your digestive enzymes and cause trouble down below!

2 - Eat your water

Fresh vegetables and fruits not only give your body much-needed nutrients, but they’re a great source of water (and fiber too).

Just be sure to take it easy on the fruit because too much fructose can pack the blubber on you and stress your liver.  Limit yourself to one serving a day.

3 - Keep your water

In order to make sure your colon can properly absorb water from your wastes (as well as to help encourage better nutrient absorption), it’s crucial to have efficient digestion. 

You can help that process along by both eating meals that are much easier for your body to tackle and supporting a healthier intestinal environment.

Here’s how to accomplish both of those:

Meal guidance

The Great Taste No Pain and Great Taste No Gluten health systems give you the dietary guidance you need to construct delicious, nutritious meals (featuring sources of water like fruits and vegetables) that are less taxing on your GI tract.

When your system can better break down your foods, you can say goodbye to issues like diarrhea, gas, bloating and constipation!

Plus, here’s an added bonus—if you have health challenges like hypertension or diabetes than can play a role in dehydration, you’ll likely see improvements in those conditions with a healthier diet.

And finally, eating healthy meals and having sound digestion can mean weight loss too!

4 - Better intestinal health

The friendly bacteria in your microbiome help to keep your gut wall strong, assist with digestion and keep harmful bacteria under control.

But they can only do their job if there is a sufficient population of them…and since so many factors (like stress, medications, toxins, smoking and inadequate sleep) can throw off your flora balance, probiotic supplementation is a smart idea for just about everyone!

And Super Shield is truly a Super Star in the probiotic world!

Super Shield contains 13 potent, well-studied effective strains of friendly bacteria can help repopulate your supply of friendly microbes, which in turn can encourage sound digestion and support your immune system too! 

Don’t let dehydration sneak up on you.  See how great you can feel when you stay properly hydrated and all your systems can work like they’re supposed to!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia