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Stay Hydrated: Your Guide to Water and Electrolytes · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  As we move into summer, we're going to start seeing temperatures rise,
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  and of course, we're going to get a little bit warmer, and then probably just plain hot.
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  Welcome to Talking FACS, where we share information you can use to strengthen
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  your family, your community, and our state.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension. My guest today, Dr.
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  Heather Norman-Bergdolf, our Extension Specialist for Food and Nutrition,
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  is here to talk about the many ways that we need to stay hydrated as it gets warmer.
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  But specifically, let's talk about how we need to stay hydrated and why it is
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  so important for our overall health. Welcome, Heather.
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  Good to be back, Mindy. Thanks for having me. I'm so glad that you're here.
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  So tell me, what do we need to do beyond just drinking?
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  Or maybe we just need to drink water, right?
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  This is a great time to talk about this. We're moving into the warmer months.
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  I know myself, my family is going to be spending more time outside.
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  So I'm starting to think about this more.
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  And when we think about hydration, we can start there.
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  It's hard to find a part of the body that doesn't benefit from water.
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  Like you said, just drinking water.
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  It's actually estimated that about 60% of an adult's body weight comes from
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  water and fluids that are found in it.
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  So it's pretty incredible when you think about human beings walking around.
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  Essentially, that water, that adequate hydration is providing the basis for
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  all the fluids in your body.
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  This includes the plasma in your blood, your spinal fluid, and even all those
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  digestive juices that are kind of secreted
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  all day so that you can get the nutrients out of the food you need.
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  That's all you need water for it. It supports energy metabolism,
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  basically helping your body turn food into the form of energy that your cells
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  can use. It helps manage your body temperature.
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  Formation of sweat, that's another fluid your body can make.
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  And it even supports skin, muscle, and heart health.
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  And in many cases in the body, water doesn't function alone.
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  Electrolytes are found within the fluids in your body. And that's helping water actually do its job.
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  So hydration, water, and electrolytes kind of go hand in hand.
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  Water really is the liquid of life. It keeps us going, right?
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  Yes, absolutely. So as we think about hearing about electrolytes,
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  you know, that's something that might feel like a buzzword, but really it isn't
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  a buzzword. It is something that's really important.
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  So what are they exactly and why do they matter so much?
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  A little just basic physiology, biology.
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  Our body is made of cells and we can find water inside of our cells,
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  outside of those cells and within your blood vessel network throughout your body.
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  So these electrolytes actually help water stay balanced between all those different
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  compartments within the body.
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  So in most cases, electrolytes are important minerals that are found in our diet.
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  And when they're in water, they have an electrical charge, meaning they can
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  either be positively charged or negatively charged when they're dissolved in water.
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  And this is how you get electro in the name electrolytes. They actually have an electrical charge.
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  So positively charged electrolytes are going to be sodium, potassium,
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  calcium, magnesium. You've heard of those, right? Right, exactly. We talk about our food.
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  And then a negatively charged electrolyte, an example is chloride.
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  So you've also heard that. And there are others, molecules that serve as electrolytes,
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  but our body can make them on their own.
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  So the ones that I listed primarily come from our food and drinks.
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  And in our body, the positive and negative charges are important because it's
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  a way that our body can move water around.
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  It also, in our body, is they're going to cancel each other out.
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  So you're going to have negative and positive charges in the same place.
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  So essentially, you have that neutral balance of charges.
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  And that's just one of those important functions of electrolytes themselves.
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  Now, you're right. It is right now kind of a buzzword, but we absolutely need them.
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  You cannot live without electrolytes. There are very serious health consequences
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  when we have too few of them, and there are serious health consequences when we have too many of them.
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  And so like water, their supporting functions and these physiological processes
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  in the body, more of them is not necessarily a good thing.
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  So I want to give you a couple examples, just a rundown, of why your body needs electrolytes.
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  Are you good with that? Sounds good.
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  So, you need appropriate levels, I say appropriate levels, of electrolytes to
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  help manage your blood pressure and the amount of fluid that is pulled into
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  your blood that makes your plasma.
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  Their electrical charges are how your muscles contract. Everything from you
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  may be lifting up a can of vegetables out of the pantry that uses muscles to
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  holding an ink pen and writing. You need them.
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  They help your body absorb nutrients in the gut, and they help transport nutrients
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  and other molecules into and out of cells. So, it's how we can actually use
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  the food. it's in our food.
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  They are how signals are passed between neurons within your nervous system.
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  They support your heart muscle function and the rhythmic contraction,
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  which makes your heart beat.
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  And there's a lot of talk about trying to like, you know, balance pH in your
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  body with these different products and things like that.
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  But they are one of the main mechanisms your body has to balance your pH naturally.
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  Lots of folks think you need a special diet or products for this,
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  but appropriate amount of electrolytes do this for you.
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  So those are just some really high-level examples of why electrolytes are important for the body. So...
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  If we think of this in terms of a battery, if you don't have enough of a battery
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  charge, then you're kind of waning.
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  You don't have enough gumption to go.
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  And if you have too much of a battery charge, then you might blow all your circuits.
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  Yeah, so it's all about balance. Yeah, exactly. Okay, so how does sweating affect
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  hydration and electrolytes?
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  And what should we be mindful about as temperatures rise?
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  Great. Great segue into the summer. So stepping back, the most obvious loss
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  of water and electrolytes from the body is urine each day.
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  So yes, everyone is going to the restroom.
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  This is also the main way that our body gets rid of too much of a certain electrolyte.
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  So going to the kidneys and your kidneys say, hey, you know,
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  we've got plenty of these electrolytes. I'm going to go ahead and get rid of
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  in our waste what we don't need.
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  So our kidneys are filtering out the electrolytes. And this is one of the main
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  reasons why those with kidney disease or kidney failure they actually tend to
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  have a buildup of toxic electrolytes in the body because you've kind of lost
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  your natural way of getting rid of them, that that process isn't working well.
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  So that's a perfect hint that even though electrolytes are critical for health,
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  too much of them can be considered toxic. So not always more is better.
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  So I'm glad you brought up sweating because during the warmer months and especially
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  physical activity, sweating is the other major way that our body loses water and electrolytes.
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  So since electrolytes like to be in water, we're losing electrolytes in the sweat.
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  Those primary ones are going to be sodium and chloride.
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  So sweating is normal, and it's actually a really neat way that our bodies help
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  maintain our body temperature by releasing heat out of the body through that
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  water, helping our body stay at that ideal temperature.
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  And the more someone sweats, the more electrolytes they are going to lose.
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  For water, if you lose more fluid than you consume, you can become dehydrated.
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  So when dehydration sets in, all those important functions that we listed for
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  water and electrolytes, they're going to start to be negatively impacted or
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  they're not going to be able to work the way that they should be able to.
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  You said that too much of a good thing is not always good.
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  And so it seems like there's a new product on the market every day that has
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  something to do with nutrition.
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  And often we see that these include, you know, get more electrolytes.
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  Does that necessarily mean that we should be looking for waters or energy drinks
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  or sports drinks that include lots of electrolytes.
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  This is a question I've been getting more often. Like, do we need these electrolyte
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  packets and sports drinks and hydration products? Or is water simply enough?
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  And so there is a lot of marketing hype right now focused on these types of products.
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  And to be honest, they really aren't necessary for most people.
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  Drinking plain water alongside a balanced, varied diet is perfectly fine.
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  And all that you really need to replenish your water and electrolyte levels
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  throughout the day in the body.
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  And we can get water from both our food and drinks. It's actually estimated
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  about 20% of our water, our hydration every day, comes from foods that we eat.
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  So eating our water is a phrase that's actually true.
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  And then as a general rule of thumb for water, women want to look at about 9
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  to 11 cups a day. And men need a little bit more at about 13 to 15 cups a day.
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  And that's kind of like the baseline.
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  So if you're sweating a lot more, then you're going to want to increase that.
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  But yeah, for those who are really physically active, you'll want to be sure
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  that you hydrate before, during, and after.
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  And this is also not necessarily the case for people who exercise vigorously,
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  but we've got a lot of people in Kentucky who work outside.
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  In some of these warmer months, we've got farmers, producers,
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  contractors, landscapers.
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  I know I'm forgetting some, but just especially some of those more common,
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  physically demanding jobs outside, we want to be mindful of their hydration
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  levels as well. Even indoor workers who are welders or something that really is a hot job.
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  Oh, you're working in a greenhouse. Yes.
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  Absolutely. Absolutely. So for someone who sweats excessively,
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  you may benefit from a sports drink that has those added electrolyte or some
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  of these other electrolyte products on the market.
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  However, those who aren't very active, if you're not very active and you're
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  concerned about hydration and electrolytes, you're probably just fine drinking
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  your plain water throughout the day, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, dairy, grain.
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  Those protein foods, you're getting those minerals in your diet.
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  I will also say you'll save money as well.
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  A lot of those products touting hydration and electrolytes really are not cheap. So it's a.
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  If someone does decide to try a marketed product for hydration and electrolytes, can they overdo it?
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  Are there risks associated with too many electrolytes? While electrolytes are
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  important for hydration, there is a risk of over-consumption of some of these minerals.
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  So many hydration products like electrolyte packets and sports re-hydration drinks,
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  they contain high amounts of electrolytes compared to foods that might be a
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  part of your balanced diet.
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  And just be mindful they may be marketed as necessary for hydration,
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  but really that might not be the case.
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  A lot of those products aren't regulated in any way. And so they can make claims
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  and say things on their labels.
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  And we just want to be mindful of whether or not that's backed by science.
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  So just remember for most people, a balanced diet provides the body what it
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  needs. Just because they're beneficial doesn't mean more is helpful.
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  And this is a really great opportunity for us to think about some nuance and
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  nutrition because we like to think black and white, but there's some gray space.
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  If you do choose to use a product that has large amounts of electrolytes,
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  I encourage you right off the bat to talk to your healthcare provider and let
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  them know if you are supplementing.
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  You might not think of these packets you're pouring into your bottled water
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  or that, you know, that sports beverage that you're drinking as a supplement,
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  but really you're adding high levels of a nutrient and a concentrated food or form.
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  They're chemicals. They could have some implications. We need to make sure that
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  that there aren't any other health conditions you have that might be impacted
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  by large amounts of minerals in the diet.
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  So for example, I mentioned how those with kidney disease or kidney failure,
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  you've lost kind of your natural mechanism to get rid of excess.
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  And so they're gonna build up over time. So if you have any kidney health concerns.
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  And you start to take in large amounts of electrolytes, you really need to let
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  your healthcare provider know because that could be problematic.
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  Another one is those who have high blood pressure.
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  Really need to be mindful of large amounts of sodium. And some of these products
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  on the market have almost an entire day's worth of sodium in one packet or drink.
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  And you might be consuming multiple a day.
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  So just being mindful that you might be counteracting your high blood pressure
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  medication that you're taking, or if you've been asked to lower sodium in the
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  diet, and this is a way you're probably taking it in and you might not realize how much it is.
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  So these are just things to be mindful of, like any type of supplement,
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  any type of nutrient, just being mindful of how that could interplay with your
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  pre-existing health, the other foods you're eating in your diet,
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  and any medications you might be taking.
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  You really need to talk about this with a healthcare provider.
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  I cannot echo that enough. No matter what you're taking, you need to make sure
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  that your healthcare provider is aware of that because you don't know how it
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  might interact with your other medications.
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  So my key takeaway from all that we've talked about is you must hydrate.
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  You must make sure that you're getting enough water from the things that you
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  eat and the things that you drink so that you are not finding yourself in a
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  situation where you don't have enough water.
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  But if you keep that water bottle close and also use it, not just keep it close,
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  you've got to actually drink it, right?
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  But especially those who are spending more time outside or are doing things
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  that are more strenuous maybe than just the regular everyday activity need to
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  make sure that they are staying hydrated.
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  Exactly. Heather, I appreciate you taking the time to share with us today because
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  I know that this is a topic that is on the minds of many.
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  Thank you for having me back. If you are just tuning in, you are listening to Talking FACS.
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