Hydrate for better health

FRANKLIN — Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Everyone has heard it a million times. So why the pressure to drink water?

First, it doesn’t need to be water. It can be 90 ounces of any liquid, except alcohol, since that causes other dehydration-related problems.

Second, it doesn’t even have to be liquid. Soup, gelatin, or anything that will melt into a liquid counts, as do juicy fruits like watermelon or even some vegetables.

Why is hydration so important? The American Heart Association notes that staying hydrated helps the heart pump blood more easily, and helps muscles work efficiently. This is why, when the body gets dehydrated, someone may faint, feel weak, or even have a heart attack or stroke.

A 2015 research article in the American Journal of Neuroradiology found that dehydration also affects brain volume. Studies are looking at the link between dehydration and an increase in asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups. In fact, to keep those critical systems hydrated, the body will take water from other body cells, causing them to shrink and causing additional problems, like sunstroke.

Sunstroke, or heat stroke, is when the body temperature rises too high and damages kidneys, heart, and brain. This damage can become permanent, and even death can result, as during the 1995 Chicago heat wave that led to 739 heat-related deaths.

The body is mostly water. According to the USGS, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys 79%, and even bones are 31% water.

So this summer, and year-round, make sure to drinking water or eat cucumbers, and soup, just as everyone’s been told to do.

For more information, call Franklin VNA & Hospice at 603-934-3454 or visit www.FranklinVNA.org.