How do hydration and dehydration impact your metabolism?

Dawn (00:00):

Hello and welcome to the Gastric Health Show. My name is Dawn Boxell, a Registered Dietitian. And this week’s topic is how do hydration and dehydration impact your metabolism? And we are going to discuss this really just basic topic of hydration and fluid balance. So that you understand that your body needs certain basic things. And I find that especially in the bariatric community, hydration seems to be complicated. People don’t desire to just drink plain water. They’re hyper driven for these flavored things. And although I think there is a time and a place and. I think there’s nothing wrong with adding things and flavoring your water in that doesn’t make it wrong or bad. But I want you to understand that not getting adequate amount of fluids in the day impacts your hydration status and can lead to some dehydration problems that in essence do impact your metabolism and just your overall metabolic health.

Hydration and Its Important

(01:38):

And it really can make a difference in how just the whole picture of your body is working. And this truly can be just a simple, tiny little pivot in your thinking and a tiny little flip in how your behaviors are and what you do on a regular basis to support this can go a long way. So really just focusing on really just the essentials of your body. Your body is two thirds water. So if we don’t maintain that balance and we stay in this state of dehydration for long periods of time or chronically like I would guess, some people do, I definitely question the big picture if this isn’t one puzzle piece of the whole package of why your metabolism is struggling. So again, I like to highlight certain areas of health that can be just that little switch that you need to flip to make a difference in a big way. For some people, you could really focus, just take a month to focus on getting adequate hydration and that could truly make a huge difference. And your overall health and how you feel, your energy level, how your blood sugar regulates, how your metabolism runs, and just essentially your energy level.

How your metabolism runs

(03:30):

No one can deny that water really is important and it does impact how your body works and how your body processes energy. And I would say that athletes probably know this pretty well. 40 years ago, the yellow and red and blue colored sports drinks that are on the market were developed and readily available because of the need to keep athletes hydrated. That definitely changed the world of sports in the way that we now understand how to keep an athlete’s energy stable and really just their functioning of their body optimized. But I will say just a standard exerciser like myself, somebody who’s active, somebody who moves their body, or maybe you’re a person who desires to do that, but you are not necessarily partaking in the activity that you want to because you don’t have the energy, you don’t feel like doing it, you don’t feel motivated.

(05:01):

This could be a piece of why you don’t. And this is one area that I think you could really dial in and really help support yourself so that you maybe have the energy because you’re hydrating properly and now you’ll feel that desire to move your body in the way that you enjoy. So hydration and it’s important. So let’s talk about how your body needs this fluid balance and hydration status to keep things in proper alignment and overall balance. our body will maintain a balance between the water intake and water loss through hydration.

Efficient Nutrient Transport: 

(05:57):

So the fluids that we consume is a way for our body to regulate temperature. It also plays a role in nutrient transport, waste removal and cellular communication and other physiological roles. It also supports metabolic processes and is essential for various body fluids such as in your blood and lymph. But let’s talk about some of the important metabolic processes where hydration is involved. So one efficient nutrient transport. So proper hydration really does aid in the transportation of essential nutrients across the cells. Your food is broken down into kind of small or simpler molecules that your body can manage by enzymatic reactions in the water and facilitating this nutrient absorption in energy production. So fluids are necessary and your fluid and electrolyte balances are tightly regulated in your blood. It needs to maintain a proper balance in order for everything to work efficiently. And if you’ve ever been a person who maybe your potassium has been elevated or your sodium has been depleted or vice versa with the potassium could be low and maybe you have to take potassium supplements.

Enhanced Thermoregulation: 

(07:35):

So again, I think it’s if you’ve had those things occur, and maybe it’s been when you were really sick or maybe it’s been when you’re healthy and you just have some underlying things that haven’t been resolved, that’s impacting the absorption of these nutrients being transported. So the second one is thermal regulation. Your body temperature relies on the fluid to kind of keep its temperature in a good balance in a way that you can sustain this temperature that your body creates. Hydration is essential for regulating your body temperature efficiently, and dehydration impairs your body’s ability to regulate your core temperature leading to an increased metabolic pressure. So again, the one main role of your hydration status is to regulate your body temperature, and that’s why we sweat. So sweating is a way for your body to cool itself down. The next one is optimal energy utilization.

Optimal Energy Utilization: 

(08:58):

So researchers have found that well hydrated individuals have a higher resting metabolic rate, which can help them manage their weight and balance their energy levels. Also, it helps in waste elimination. So we’ve talked about detoxification and how your body cells need that turnover or that cleansing process that naturally occurs, which we talked about autophagy being one way. Well, if you need support in that, your fluids in general are going to help facilitate this waste elimination. So if you are in a dehydrated state, then that will impact your ability to move toxins efficiently. Water intake supports removing the waste products through your urine, also helping support through elimination through your feces. So all of this is part of the big picture of your body working as one system. So what about dehydration impact on metabolism? One is a slowed metabolic rate. So dehydration can result in a decrease in your metabolic rate, and that is where your body will burn fewer calories during physical activity when it is lacking in sufficient water.

Decreased Exercise Performance: 

(10:36):

The next one is decreased exercise performance. And your metabolism relies heavily on your movement, your body movement if you want. One great way to boost your metabolism is to increase your activity level and increase specifically your muscle mass. So anytime you’re moving your body, you are using muscles. But if you’re very specific about building or focusing on muscle, then that will boost your metabolism and your ability to burn more calories. So in addition to impairing muscle function, dehydration may increase the perception of effort during a workout. So when you’re dehydrated, you might feel like, oh my gosh, this workout is really hard. Whereas if you were properly hydrated, you would not necessarily feel like that workout was as challenging. So again, I think it’s, I’m not saying you wouldn’t challenge yourself in growing through weight increases like you’re increase in the weights on the machine or you’re lifting heavier weights.

Dehydration’s Impact on Metabolism

(12:06):

What I’m saying is physically you’re going to that perception of the exertion that you need or the energy that you need to outlay to do something could totally be driven by dehydration. And it’s one of those things that you just feel like I just don’t have my mojo. I don’t have the get up and go feeling when I’m properly hydrated. So again, when you feel kind of low with or unmotivated with moving your body or using your muscles, it could be that you’re improperly hydrated and that’s what’s contributing to keeping you in this vicious cycle because maybe the fluids that you consume during the day have caffeine in them, or maybe you don’t consume many fluids, you don’t feel thirsty, you don’t feel those urges to drink and you don’t. So now you are kind of under hydrated and you don’t even know it. The next one is hormonal imbalances.

Hormonal Imbalances: 

(13:22):

So some hormones, including those involved in your metabolism are disrupted by dehydration. And dehydration can raise cortisol levels contributing to metabolic dysfunction. Again, I’ve talked about cortisol before and what will happen is the higher your cortisol level is, the more you’re going to gain in your midsection and cortisol is that stress hormone that our body needs. And it’s what actually. So if you have a low blood sugar, it’s your cortisol that rises that blood sugar back up when it drops too low. So again, if you’re feeling like maybe cortisol is part of the picture, but you’re having these energy issues, you’re having these craving issues, hunger issues in combination, it literally could be because you’re dehydrated, which then increases cortisol and the cortisol impacts your blood sugar balance. And if you see where I’m going, it’s all connected. So this is again, a very important reason why maintaining a good hydration status and avoiding or keeping yourselves out of dehydration is so important.

Hydration’s Influence on Blood Sugar and Insulin Balance

(14:51):

Although I know it seems too simple and you’re like, okay, so I should drink some water. Sure, I know that eight glasses of water today, that is great, but there are other ways that you can approach fluids as well. Some people will say half your body weight and ounces of fluid and non-caffeinated fluids, and that is great too. I think you do have to dial it into how you feel and really just personalize this because you may need less. Some people don’t need eight ounce glasses of fluid a day and some people need a gallon. So it truly depends on you as the person. So don’t get so hung up on maybe the number, get a baseline work with your practitioner and say, okay, where should I start? And I would say for most of my patients, I like starting with half your body weight in ounces of caffeine-free fluids.

How hydration affects blood sugar and insulin levels?

(15:58):

And if you’re drinking caffeine, which I’m not opposed to, if you’re drinking caffeine, just replace it. So if you drink eight ounces of coffee, one or two cups a day, then drink one or two eight ounce glasses to replace it. So again, finding that balance, but then also being intentional about the package of what helps get the fluids into the cells, which is the optimal goal. What about your hydration influence on blood sugar and insulin levels? So in addition to queing, your thirst, hydration profoundly affects your blood sugar and insulin balance. And if your body is dehydrated, the volume of the blood decreases. So again, this is all tightly regulated, which causes the glucose in your blood to be concentrated and in turn your insulin. So now we have a higher level of glucose in the blood, maybe not because you’re excessively eating carbohydrates or you are eating sugars or you’re poorly eating, I guess is a better way to say it.

Your insulin sensitivity decreases

(17:15):

It’s not because you are poorly eating, it’s because of the dehydration that has occurred and now the glucose is more concentrated in your blood, which triggers more insulin to be produced. So when you are dehydrated, your insulin sensitivity decreases and we want you to be very insulin sensitive. We like a high insulin sensitivity because that means insulin is doing its job and it’s not resistant to doing its job. Then if you flip that, if you flip it and say adequate hydration, this facilitates efficient glucose transport and utilization and disposal and contributing to a better control of blood sugar levels. So again, it goes back to finding that balance that works for you. There’s a study titled A Journey Through the Early Evidence Linking Hydration to Metabolic Health. And this reviews the early evidence that hydration positively affects metabolic health. According to the author’s, a decrease in insulin sensitivity and increased glucose production can result from dehydration.

Insulin resistance and fasting glucose levels

(18:31):

They reviewed evidence that water supplementation can reduce insulin resistance and fasting glucose levels. So again, think of it this way, if you don’t drink much water and your only fluids that you are drinking come from caffeinated sources, you could be in a chronic state of dehydration and not even recognize it. If I go back to that hormonal piece, menopausal women have drinking to thirst is great for some people, but not great for all people because menopausal women can not have that same urge or thirst to drink fluids. And I’ve had patients, lots of patients that they’re like, I just don’t get thirsty. I never feel thirst, so it doesn’t remind me to drink. I don’t have those cues to drink on a daily basis. So it’s kind of like I’m having to set reminders to just drink. And I think that’s true for a lot of people.

Antidiuretic Hormone (Adh): 

(19:39):

And I think this simple piece of hydration and correcting dehydration is a big piece that can have, it’s actually a small piece that can provide a huge benefit. So something so simple as proper hydration really can make a big difference in one’s health and metabolism. So anytime your glucose is more concentrated and your insulin is being triggered, and especially if it comes more resistant and you have more insulin resistance, then you are going to have metabolic problems and your metabolism is going to be impacted because now we’re talking pre-diabetes, type two diabetes is at the driver. And now if you got down to the root of it, it’s probably a whole cascade of things that could have started with just you’re chronically dehydrated. So I’m going to go into the how of hydration and affects blood sugar and insulin levels. And this is the antidiuretic hormone or ADH. ADH is a hormone that is released by the pituitary gland when dehydration occurs and increase in the reabsorption of water in the kidneys by the ADH helps conserve the water.

Insulin Resistance

(21:10):

And a high ADH level causes less water to be excreted in the urine, which can make you more dehydrated. Then as a result of dehydration, the liver produces more glucose. Whenever the liver detects that the body is not receiving enough water, glucose is produced. And then when we talk about insulin resistance, insulin aids the body in using glucose for energy. Remember, it’s kind of the one that unlocks the cells to get sugar into the cell so that you have energy to go, do, be, and have fun. Glucose isn’t readily absorbed by cells when they become resistant to insulin. So when insulin’s like, Nope, I’m not doing this, not unlocking that cell, maybe cortisol is elevated and it’s blocking that, or maybe it’s just because your blood glucose is just chronically elevated and now it’s producing insulin too much and it’s directly related to your diet.

Glucocorticoids

(22:15):

So the result can be an increase blood sugar level. And then insulin resistance can also be caused by dehydration. And this is because the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are susceptible to damage by dehydration. So the longer you’re dehydrated, the bigger the chance that you could damage those pancreatic cells. Then we’ve got to combine the glucocorticoids. And these are produced by your adrenal glands and insulin sensitivity can be decreased by these hormones. So these are things like your cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline, all of those fight or flight response hormones that is there to serve us when we need our body to do something quickly and we need to channel all of our energy. It’s not time to digest food, it’s not time to worry about your female hormones, your sex hormones for ovulation. Your body’s main focus is whatever the threat is, we need to have fuel to provide energy quickly.

Hydration, Lean Mass, and Muscular Performance

(23:44):

And the more that these adrenal hormones are produced. Then the higher messaging that occurs with your glucose and your insulin, which impacts your metabolic health in essentially your metabolism. Let’s talk about hydration, your lean muscle mass and muscle performance. Hydration plays a role in your lean body mass. So that’s that muscle tissue and really just how well your muscles and how strong your muscles can be to support your own body weight. But then to be able to do the things that you are wanting to do, maybe it’s to go for a walk or ride your bike or do some type of fun thing or even yoga or it doesn’t have to be an quote exercise, but hiking, biking, just doing regular stuff around your house, even like vacuuming your house or standing to cook a meal or do your dishes, you need muscle strength for that to occur.

Hydration plays a role in this muscle tissue

(25:00):

And hydration plays a role in this muscle tissue in how well your muscle can perform, and water is abundant in the skeletal muscles and dehydration can compromise muscle function resulting in early fatigue, reduced strength and diminished endurance. So again, you see those signs or those symptoms that you could be experiencing, you just feel no motivation to do things you don’t have. You maybe don’t feel weak, but you don’t have the muscle strength to do some of the things that maybe you did last week or two days ago or yesterday because dehydration is driving it. Muscle protein synthesis, which is the building and repairing of muscle tissue, requires optimal hydration. It contributes to the maintenance of electrolyte balance, which is really essential for the proper contraction of muscles and for their performance of your whole body. Now let’s roll into the gut microbiome and hydration. We know that in recent years, the gut microbiome has become more evident of its importance and these trillions of microorganisms that reside in your digestive tract impact your overall health.

Gut Microbiome Health and Hydration

(26:35):

And staying hydrated is important for your overall gut health as well because they facilitate. So hydration facilitates that mucin production, and I have talked about the mucin layer multiple times and that mucin layer, it just sits on the top of all these little villi that you is lined lining your intestines sitting on top of these little hair-like structures that this is where you absorb the nutrients and all of your vitamins, minerals. It’s a protective barrier. All of this, this mucin layer is you want it thick, you want a thick mucin layer to sit on top here so that you protect and you keep that gut barrier strong without the mucin layer. That is when you have problems with intestinal permeability, things slipping through that shouldn’t be slipping through. And I’ve talked about before that mucin layer, how important it is that you have short chain fatty acid production because that’s what increases that mucin layer.

Don’t eat adequate fiber from fiber filled carbohydrates

(27:51):

And when you don’t eat adequate fiber from fiber filled carbohydrates, then you have lower mucin levels because your gut bacteria actually feed off of the mucin. It will eat that mucin layer to stay alive. They need fuel. And if you don’t provide it with fiber, it’s going to consume that mucin layer and now you’re not protect. And that’s when a lot of people have problems with digestive issues and that stem into autoimmune problems and skin problems and the list goes on and on. But mucin production is compromised by dehydration, and what that means is it weakens your gut barrier and increased susceptibility to all kinds of gut problems or gut diseases. But by maintaining adequate hydration levels, you contribute to a health of your gut barrier and the gut microbiome, which in turn contributes to your metabolic and immune systems. It kind of occurs because of your lacking a certain necessary property that impacts, we know that your gut microbiome impacts your metabolic health, your blood sugar and insulin regulation.

Lower hydration levels express

(29:24):

It impacts, appetite impacts, GLP-1, ghrelin, leptin, all of that is connect. And not to mention also your immune system, all of those things are connect. A cross-sectional study examined a young healthy adults hydration status, their gut microbiome and immune function. And the study found that the gut microbiome composition of people with lower hydration status differed from those with higher hydration status. They found that the lower hydration levels express more pro-inflammatory cytokines and fewer anti-inflammatory cytokines. So that means there’s going to be more inflammation because of those pro-inflammatory cytokines. According to these findings, the gut microbiome and the immune function may be regulated by hydration status. Additionally, the study found that the following factors were associated with lower hydration status, the males higher B M I, lower levels of physical activity and higher intakes of soft drinks. So all of those influenced your hydration status.

Hydration’s Link to Fat Distribution

(30:46):

The overall, the studies findings suggest that hydration status is an important factor for maintaining healthy gut microbiome and immune function. What about hydration’s? Link to fat distribution? And there’s some research that appears to be a connection between hydration status and fat distribution. Low hydration levels may increase obesity, risk altering fat distribution patterns compared to well-hydrated individuals. Now we’re going to talk about electrolytes and minerals, kind of the vital components of hydration. And not only do you need water, but you have to have a way to transport the water into the cell, kind of like glucose and insulin. You need a transporter, and that’s where electrolytes and minerals come into play. And these are electrolytes such as magnesium, sodium, and potassium are essential for nerve function, muscle contraction, fluid balance, and pH regulation and electrolyte replenishment is essential for any type of exerciser. So anybody who’s doing physical activity especially the more intense, the more important it is.

So how do you know if you’re adequately hydrated?

(32:15):

Muscle cramps, irregular heartbeats and impaired metabolic processes can result from electrolyte imbalances caused by inadequate hydration. So what are some of the hydration status indicators? So how do you know if you’re adequately hydrated? One could be your urine color and yellow or clear urine can indicate good hydration, but a dark yellow or amber urine indicates dehydration. Think of lemonade would be hydrated and an apple juice would be dehydrated. That’s my easy way of thinking of it. What about urine specific gravity? This measures the concentration of the dissolved solids in the urine and low urine specific gravity indicates dehydration, and this is something that your doctor’s office can do. Body weight dehydration can change in body weight, and a person who loses more than 1% of their body weight daily will likely be dehydrate. Your skin when you pinch your skin and it tense and it stands up, is a indicator of your hydration status.

So how can you stay hydrated?

(33:39):

So if it doesn’t immediately go back down, but it actually can stand up. Then that can be an indicator that you are dehydrate. And then again, thirst. Not always the only way to monitor your hydration status, but it is one. So for people that do have thirst, usually what we’ve always said is if you feel thirsty. You’re already dehydrate. So again, you’re getting to that point where you’re past where you should be. So how can you stay hydrated? Again, paying attention and staying ahead of the thirst and not allowing your body to get so deplete and carry around a water bottle. Make sure you always have something to drink with you and not just like in your car, you carry it with you into appointments, into stores, into places because it’s easy for hours to go buy and you haven’t drank anything. You can set reminders.

Cognitive Function and Hydration

(34:51):

And on your phone there’s also water cups that actually have ounces that are label on there. And there’s actually some apps that will make noises, water noises to remind you to drink. So again, it’s all about finding the things that work for you because your schedule and lifestyle and everything really does impact how what works best, really what works best for you. And then also limit your caffeine and alcohol. And I know my caffeine lovers hate to hear this, but caffeine does have a dehydrating effect because you are losing fluids and you really have to think about this even more. If you have stress issues or cortisol problems, the higher your stress level is chronically, then the more that your adrenals are going to. We talked about that connection with your adrenals and their ability to release the fluids. So the more caffeine can actually increase your cortisol level.

Electrolytes and Minerals: The Vital Components of Hydration

(36:18):

And because you are consuming the caffeine maybe throughout the day, then you might be increasing your cortisol, which is kind of contributing to that dehydration effect because you’re going to have more urination or you’re going to lose more fluid because of that. And then of course, alcohol is just naturally a dehydrator. It automatically causes de dehydration when you have alcohol and it’s one thing that you have to be cautious of. And something that I will say that I do when I drink alcohol is I make sure that I protect myself as much as possible because I want to make sure I’m protecting my gut because it can damage your gut lining. So I’m going to support it in ways when I have alcohol. So that one, I support my electrolytes, so I might add a pinch of the redmond’s real salt and to my water.

Hormones are off

(37:30):

I might do some of our multi-sport powder because it’s the glutamine that it’s going to strengthen that gut barrier and I’m going to support my liver because now all the toxins that it was queue up to process has now been shelve and set on the side to kind of your body just deal with. So if estrogen was in line and you have some alcohol, then it’s going to process the alcohol first. So now your estrogen sits there not being process, which again can raise that estrogen level, creating the next day problems. And you feel like, oh my gosh, it’s my estrogen. My hormones are off. I feel awful. I’m having high estrogen. When it’s not that it’s because you had alcohol, now your liver’s having to detoxify this toxin that you just drank first, and once that is finish, then it will deal with the estrogen.

Imbalance that you don’t want

(38:47):

So again, it kind of creates that imbalance that you don’t want. Make sure you’re staying hydrate in hot weather because this is when you can get dehydrate very quickly because again, you’re going to be sweating more. So again, that’s your body’s cooling system. So the more fluids you lose through sweat, you’ll notice some people can even get a salty feel on their skin and definitely you can get a salty taste on your skin and that you’re losing those salts. You have to replace those. Because you’ve lost that, and if you don’t, you’re not getting adequate salts in your diet, then that can contribute to inadequate hydration because you’re not going to have enough sodium to get the fluid into the cells. And then also you got to think about paying attention to medications. Some medications can affect your hydration levels, especially if you take diuretics or blood pressure pills with diuretics in ’em.

The importance of drinking water

(39:58):

Those will definitely contribute to them. So again, the importance is when you drink water, you maybe start with half your body weight and ounces then at least once a day if you’re not active at least once a day, adding some type of electrolyte. If you’re really good at using salt in your diet, I prefer the Celtic sea salt or the redmond’s real salt because they have lots of additional minerals. So that’s why I like the Redmond’s real salt the most. And I purchase that mostly because of that because it has additional minerals in it and is a great option. But the cell te sea salt is another one that will have additional minerals. So having something like that is good and then getting it into the cell requires a transporter. And there’s two different transporters that are really effective and one is potassium and one is sugar glucose.

Liquid that is not as transportable

(41:05):

So having some type of transporter mix with it is good. And they have a redmond’s relight electrolyte powder that is good. There’s other great ones out on the market element, L M N T is a very highly commercialize one, very high in sodium, which I’m not oppose to, but I would do a little bit more potassium with it, maybe mix it with some coconut water. And then there’s, I really like there’s a body bio relight or Eli I think it is. That one’s a favorite. It’s a liquid and it’s more in line with blood levels. So they’re not excessive like the element. Element is just a little pouch or a tub scoop type thing that’s very transportable. So it’s great in that aspect. And the body bio is a liquid that is not as transportable, but it is more like your blood levels. So I do like that and I have patients that will use that one as well.

Hydration Status Indicators

(42:21):

And it’s just a great way to keep your hydration status in check. And again, I think finding what works best for your life. I have some that they just don’t do the body bio because. It’s in the refrigerator and it doesn’t travel well with them. So they find the element is a better match for them because of that or the redmonds relight because it’s more travel. So in a pinch, say you’re traveling and you’re in a pinch and you’re like. Okay, when my husband and I have gone on bike rides and. Then we stop and eat somewhere and. I’ve been sweating a lot and I know I need some hydration. what I will do is I will ask for three lemon slices and. I will just ask for whatever salt they have and. I will just do a tiny pinch of salt from that. From just the salt packet if they have it, since I don’t have my redmond’s real salt.

Redmond real salt

(43:23):

Now I will say Redmond real salt does have a little travel pouch or not a pouch. It’s like a little container, a real small container that you can take with you in your purse or in your backpack or keep it with you. It would even fit in a pant pocket if you were a guy. So it’d be an easy way to take with you to use that. You would get a blend of a little more minerals that. You could get the potassium from lemon or lime wedges. And then get the salt from the sea salt from the redmonds real salt. That would be one way. But if you’re traveling and you’re not going to have and you don’t have redmond’s real salt. Then just taking a packet of salt and sprinkling in with some lemon wedges or lime wedges. You could even do one little splash of a sugar if you had to mix it up.

Lots of foods are causing problems

(44:24):

If they didn’t have lemons and limes, that would be a transporter. You don’t need much. So you’re taking a little packet or you’re taking a little drop of honey, one drop of maple syrup. And you stir it up with the salt and you drink it. So again, you got to think about, I need a transporter, I need something to get it into the cells. And you got to think potassium and you’ve got to think sugar. So those are the things that are going to give you the best results and keep you hydrated. I do a recipe of a homemade electrolyte drink with some of my patients. Especially who have a lot of sensitivities and a lot of gut problems. And we’re not really sure what’s driving it. Lots of foods are causing problems for them, so they are reacting. So I will use where you just take a juice.

Strategies To Stay Hydrated!

(45:23):

So you could pick whatever flavor of juice you like, maybe an apple juice, an orange juice or something. And it will provide some potassium. And then you do water. You do 32 ounces of water and maybe eight ounces of the juice. And then you do a teaspoon of maple syrup. And then you do like an eighth of a teaspoon of the Redmond real salt. So pretty simple and you mix it up in a pitcher and then you drink on that. But again, that’s just kind of a homemade recipe. Electrolyte drink recipe that you can do that you can have at home. That would give you the transporters that you need to get the fluid into the cells. So that your body can feel great. And that’s the most important piece. So if you want your blood sugar balance to stay stable. Your insulin levels to stay stable so your metabolic health is good. And you’re not increasing your cortisol level, which again adds to that midsection weight and. Adds to that metabolic communication and that metabolism working efficiently, all of those things matter with your hydration status.

Proper hydration is needed

(46:43):

So hopefully this all kind of makes sense and we’re just going to kind of wrap this up because. It’s a lot of information on something so simple. But again, you want this, your muscles need this, your gut health, fat distribution, cognitive function, blood sugar regulation. All of this needs proper hydration and providing adequate electrolytes and water are the key piece. So if you have never really honed in or focused to making sure. You are getting adequate fluids, but then also getting a little bit of electrolytes in. And then I didn’t even go into if you’re actually working out what you do. But that’s where you would work with a professional like myself. Who could really help guide you in finding the right amount of electrolytes that will help you. And what type you need and which one is going to work the best. Because all of this works together.

Conclusion

(47:53):

Your body is one system and one little thing like dehydration can derail a whole metabolic process. That can derail your metabolism because you’re improperly hydrate. So don’t let that be you and make sure that you are putting into place. Maybe take the next 30 days and just really focus on one. Getting adequate fluids in and making sure that you’re not consuming too many caffeinated beverages. But if you are compensating and adding extra fluids and then making sure. You’re getting some of those transporters in the electrolytes so that you actually get it into your cells. So I hope this makes sense and this has maybe given you a new thought to consider. When it comes to your metabolic health. And supporting just an overall healthy metabolism. Something so simple as fluids and electrolytes could be so impactful in a way. That you need to prioritize this to improve your health outcomes. So you guys have a great week and we’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.

Listen, Learn, Enjoy…

Vanhaecke, T., Perrier, E. T., & Melander, O. (2021). A journey through the early evidence linking hydration to metabolic health. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 76(Suppl. 1), 4-9.

Clayton, P., Trak-Fellermeier, M. A., Macchi, A., Galván, R., Bursac, Z., Huffman-Ercanli, F., … & Palacios, C. (2023). The association between hydration status and body composition in healthy children and adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, 36(5), 470-477.

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