We know it’s a good idea to drink water, but have you ever given much thought into the ways we can lose water from our bodies each and every day and how can we actually become dehydrated? Is it possible that water is the simple missing element in your health and wellbeing regime? Urination……obviously! The colour of our wee is a great indication of how hydrated, or perhaps dehydrated we are and the aim is for it to be generally clear, almost transparent throughout the course of the day. If you notice your wee is more concentrated, dark yellow or even orange in colour and smells strong, this might mean our kidneys are hanging on to as much water as possible and we are, you guessed it – dehydrated. The first water we pass in the morning may stronger in smell and darker in colour, however after the first morning wee, the aim is for it to be almost transparent in colour. The amount of water we pass is going to vary from person to person depending on how much we take in through fluids and food and whether we can hold on to that water in the body and direct it to our cells. For some of us, water can pour straight through us, similar to a dry plant hanging basket and in this instance, it is possible to drink plenty of water and still be dehydrated. Water alone is not the total solution – yet it is fundamental to our health and hydration. Bowel: We lose water through our bowel movements and being constipated is a clear sign of dehydration. So what’s the aim for our number 2’s? We all have our own kind of ‘normal’ bathroom habits, however, in short: You need to be going at a minimum of once daily. Any less than this and it doesn’t matter how healthy the food is that you eat – if it stays in your body too long it will create toxins. Any more than 3 times daily and again, it doesn’t matter how healthy the food is that you eat – if it moves through you too quickly, your body doesn’t have time to absorb the nutrients from it. It should be dark brown in colour (but never black), you should feel as though you have completely emptied your bowel, no pain – no strain and should look as closely to number 4 on the Bristol stool chart as possible

(And if you haven’t seen this chart before beware, once you see it you will never ‘unsee’it)

When you’re constipated your body is absorbing back every single drop of moisture that it can find which makes our faeces drier, compacted and hard and can often look end up looking like animal droppings. On the other end of the spectrum, loose, watery bowel movements, or diarrhoea (number 6 and 7 on the Bristol chart) will lose much more water from the body. It is possible for chronic diarrhoea to be a deeper form of constipation as the bowel may have inflammation in addition to being constipated. When this happens, it may be trying to get the waste out as quickly as possible. Perspiration: Our skin is our bodies largest organ of detoxification and we have a great capacity to sweat out water based toxins through it – which is a good thing!  The amount we lose through our skin will vary from person to person, depending on the type of exercise we do, climate, stress, and if we are ill and suffer from fever. Respiration: If you have ever breathed out on some cold glass or a mirror you will see that our breath condenses to water. Like perspiration, the amount we lose every day through breathing will vary. It can increase when we breathe more deeply such as with yogic exercise, or when we are stressed and breathe more shallowly and faster. Menstruation: Ladies lose water through blood lost each menstrual cycle so it’s critical to keep the body hydrated in the days leading up to your bleed and throughout your period. Crying Breast feeding Injuries: Including burns and blood loss in trauma. ‘Acute Episodes’: such as vomiting and diarrhoea when sick.