Hydration

Rethink your drink!

Make healthier choices!

Signs of dehydration:
Lack of concentration
Irritability
Fatigue

 Fluid requirements
 Signs and symptoms of dehydration
 Tea, coffee and hydration
 Caffeine
 Milk alternatives
 Sugar sweetened beverages and effects on health
 Alcohol consumption
 Increasing water intake

Humans don’t have the capacity to store water, therefore, excretion

What we lose must be replaced frequently!

How are our fluid needs calculated?

Metabolic demand
Size and body composition- the bigger you are the more water you need and people with more
muscle typically need more water.

Physical activity- amount (or lack) of

Physical disturbances- eg fever – fever means increased loss of water

Environmental factors
Temperature- perspiration

Fluid balance-
Intake and Losses

Intake-
can be divided into Food and Fluids
Fresh foods have more fluids in them and can significantly contribute to fluid intake for the day

Losses-
Sensible (aware of)- stool and urine
Insensible(not aware of)- perspiration
These losses are important for detoxification from harmful substances or what we do not need
anymore

Where intake < losses = dehydration

Where intake > losses= overhydration

What gives our urine its colour

Yellow because of substance called Urobilin
The shade of yellow is affected by hydration

*if urine is red it means that there is blood in the urine and as such it can be an infection or worse.

If taking B vitamins, urine might be bright yellow.

Recommendation: 8 glasses of water per day? Where did this come from?
Comes from the need to have sufficient fluid intake.

*Average intake of 3l per day for men and 2.2l per day for women

Easy way to remember your daily requirement- take our weight in kg and divide by 10. This is how
many cups a day one must consume. Eg 65kg/10 = 6.5(7) cups a day (1 cup=250ml)

Bottled vs Tap Water

How safe is your tap water?
Bottled- is not necessarily superior to tap water
“purified water” means it has been filtered using processes like reverse osmosis
Chlorine has just been removed

Mineral water comes from mineral springs and contain calcium and Mg and can contribute to daily
requirements

Sparkling or still?
Myth: sparkling water leeches Mg from muscles leading to cramps and aches

Sparkling/soda water count towards fluid balance and can be part of healthy diet
Sparkling water is just still water that has Co2 dissolves in it under pressure
-A bit acidic but is neutralized by saliva
-Some sodium but not enough to affect health
-Can replace fizzy sweetened drinks

Myth: drinking lemon water first thing in the morning is beneficial eg detoxifying, appetite
regulation, fat burning etc
-Scientific evidence for these claims are lacking
-Lemon is however a low calorie source of Vitamin C
-The juice of one lemon provides 30% RDA of Vitamin C- only sets you back by 11.5 calories!
-Large acidic amounts of lemon juice can erode your teeth- dilute
“Detox waters”
-may provide small doses of vitamins, not your main source of these nutrients- taste nice but provide
same benefits of plain water
-if you enjoy it, go ahead

Apple cider vinegar

-little research done in humans
-15-30ml may lead to some weight loss- visceral or stomach fat with no real side effects (only ONE
study done)
-basically not very beneficial
-can damage tissues in throat
-damage teeth enamel

Alkaline water
Ph scale- 0-14
Neutral is ph 7, below is acidic, above is alkaline
Pure water is 7
Alkaline has ph higher than 7, around 8 or 9
Higher in alkalizing agents eg Ca, Mg, Silica
Can be natural or processed
Health claims- detoxifying the body
Body and blood have a tightly regulated oh system, when alkaline water goes to into the digestive
system, the stomach acids will acidify it anyway

Coconut water
Unsweetened coconut water provides only 44calories per cup
Good source of potassium
Not a ‘sports drink’ with electrolytes
Not a replacement for electrolytes

Herbal teas
Infusin of dried fruits, flowers, herbs etc
Eg chamomile for relaxation, peppermint for IBS, rooibos for antioxidants and ginger for nausea
Unique health benefits
But not all are safe!
Peppermint not good if you have stomach ulcers etc
Do not buy teas with assed sugar
Herbal teas are caffeine free*
Can count towards fluid balance

Caffeine
Rapidly and almost totally digested, absorbed and metabolised in the body
Peaks in about 1-1.5 hours after consumption
Natural and synthetic compounds are identical- natural eg coffee, cocoa, synthetic compounds can
be added to energy drinks etc

How does caffeine work?

-Most notable effects on the brain as a CNS stimulant
-Looking at Adenosine molecule- when Adenosine connects with an Adenosine receptor in the brain,
this induces sleepiness
-Caffeine has a very similar structure to Adenosine and also connects with Adenosine receptors. It
basically BLOCKS the Adenosine from connecting with its receptors and in doing so, prevents
sleepiness and induces alertness
-Your response to caffeine will depend on metabolism and caffeine tolerance
-When consumed in moderate amounts- adults 44mg a day- it does not have negative side effects
on overall health
-Too much caffeine can cause anxiety, heart palpitations, sleeplessness
-Overdose can lead to seizures, vomiting, electrolyte imbalance, hallucinations and even death

Drink caffeine content

Percolated coffee- 60-120mg/250ml
Instant coffee-60-80mg/250ml
Black tea-10-50mg/250ml
Coca-Cola-48.75/375ml
Energy drinks- 80mg/250ml

The safe limit for instant coffee is <4 cups per day

Coffee
Contains more than 1000 bioactive compounds which have more positive effects than they cause
harm
Also contains more antioxidants in a typical serving when compared with tea
Drinking coffee, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated is associated with lower risk of dying from a
chronic disease
Benefits best at 3 cups a day
Beware of sweetened coffee drinks!

Coffee myths
1. Coffee/cafeeine is a diuretic – caffeinated and non-caffeinated drinks are similarly hydrating
2. Coffee leeches calcium from our bones- a moderate intake of coffee per day has no adverse
effects. Just ensure your calcium intake is sufficient
3. Pregnant women cannot drink coffee- evidence on adverse effects on pregnant women is
limited but there is a possible dose dependent association between caffeine intake and rsik
of having a low birth weight baby. Therefore control doses.
4. Caffeine is bad for brain health- it actually appears that it may be protective- lower risk of
Parkinson’s disease etc.

Black Tea
High in compound called polyphenolic flavonoids which are anti-inflammatory and can therefore
reduce risk of heart disease
-Has less caffeine than coffee
-Does contain tannins which are anti-nutrietns which affect iron absorption, therefore do not
consume non-heme iron rich foods with black coffee.
2-4 cups per day
Green Tea
From green tea leaves
Also high in compound called polyphenolic flavonoids which are anti-inflammatory
Not effective for weight loss
Contains caffeine but less than black tea
-Matcha- green leaves of tea bush grown in shade
-because you are consuming the actual leaf and not an infusion of the leaf, the anti-inflammatory
properties are higher

Cocoa or hot chocolate

Health benefits- polyphenols
Endorphin rush- reduced stress, pain
Pre-made mixes- high in sugar and calories

Milk alternatives
Oat, soya, coconut, almond milk

Look at protein and energy content- most are mainly water therefore low in energy and protein
Coconut milk- little or no protein, no calcium and high energy
Exception- soya milk- high protein

Considerations when choosing plant-based milk:

-Energy & protein
-Calcium (even if calcium is added to plan milk, it is tricalcium phosphate of which only 75% is
absorbed by the human body as opposed to the calcium found in cow’s milk
-Added sugar

Added sugar
Intrinsic vs added

Added sugar= most processed foods (including BBQ sauce etc)

WHO recommends added sugar intake of <5-10% of daily energy

Remember that the body uses natural and added sugars in the same way, but fruits and dairy
contain other important nutrients (food matrix) as well while sugary snacks etc do not

*Just 1-2 sugar-sweetened beverages a day can

-increase an adults’s likelihood of obesity by 27%,
- a child by 55%,
-developing diabetes by 24%,
-risk of heart attack by 29%
-increase blood fat levels by 20%
-doubles the fat deposits in the liver

Non-nutritive sweeteners (no calorie)

Can be natural or artificial
Level of sweetening = 5g sucrose
Energy level of <2cal/gram
Not always healthier

Alcohol
If you don’t drink, don’t start
If you do drink, drink moderately- <2 drinks for men, <1 for women
-preferentially digested; it digests before other macronutrients
-absorbed directly in the stomach through the stomach lining
-takes about one hour before body can eliminate one unit of alcohol
-alcoholic drinks such as wine have a “health halo”- no safe level, not necessarily healthy and they all
have risks
-energy dense- 7 cal per gram
-extra calories in wine and beer and sugar in mixer
-one alcoholic beverage will set you back approx. 120cal (equivalent to 1 ½ slices of bread)
-alcohol intake accompanied by low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia, which is why you feel so hungry
when you drink
-lowers inhibitions- may make you eat more food(unhealthy food etc)
-Hangover- dehydration as alcohol is a known diuretic