Avoiding dehydration & excess sugars, carbs
My role as a Nutritional Consultant is to provide guidance pertaining to the building and maintenance of nutritional well being to individuals. Let’s start with the basics of sound nutrition.
Water: The human body is 2/3 water and water is essential for every function of our body. The average person needs between 6-8 8-oz. glasses of water daily, based on level of activity, diet, climate, and overall health. Although we might think we consume enough water, many things contribute to dehydration. For instance, caffeine dehydrates and is found in coffee, tea, colas, over-the-counter medications and some energy drinks and power bars. Alcohol, salty foods, and high- protein diets also contribute to dehydration. However, fruit and vegetables supply water and help hydrate your body.
One of the highest concentrations of water is actually in your muscles. If you are experiencing frequent muscle cramps during your workouts you may need to increase your water intake. Any weight loss during exercise is fluid loss and should be replaced by fluids as soon after exercise as possible.
Waning Signs of Dehydration and Heat Stress
Early Signs
- Fatigue
- Loss of Appetite
- Flushed skin
- Heat intolerance
- Light-headedness
- Dark urine with a strong odour
Severe Signs
- Difficulty swallowing
- Stumbling
- Clumsiness
- Shrivelled skin
- Sunken eyes and dim vision
- Painful urination
- Numb skin
- Muscle spasm
- Delirium
Carbohydrates: Our bodies need carbs. Unfortunately, most of us tend to eat more bad carbs vs. good carbs. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of blood glucose which is it’s major fuel. Good carbs or complex carbs provide an immediate energy source; critical nutrients that our bodies need, and provide us with fuel to increase our metabolic rate. Good carb sources include plant foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. Good carbs or complex carbs actually digest slower in your body so you actually burn more calories and you feel satisfied longer. Complex or good carbs include fibre. Fibre bulks up our stools and helps clean out our system thus avoiding toxic buildup. It also binds with substances such as excess cholesterol and removes it from the body. Oatmeal is a great source of fibre.
However, bad carbs or simple carbs are found in refined and processed foods, soft drinks, desserts and candy. Simple carbs are empty calories because they do not have the nutrients that our bodies require. Simple carbs raise our blood sugar quickly. Sugar contains simple carbs or empty calories with no nutritional value. High amounts of sugar gets stored as fat in the body. High amounts of simple carbs are contributing factors to disorders such as hypoglycemia, Type 2 diabetes, cardio-vascular disease and obesity. Watch out for low fat foods. Many of them are low in fat but very high in sugar.
How much sugar are you eating? Sucrose (table sugar) is the only ingredient that must legally be labeled sugar. If you see some of the following labels on a food product they contain some form of sugar: barley malt, beet sugar, blackstrap molasses, brown sugar, cane sugar, caramel, corn fructose, corn sweetener, corn syrup, date sugar, demerara sugar, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, fruit fructose, glucose, grape sugar, grape sweetener, herbal sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, polydextrose, raw sugar, sorbitol, sorghum, sucrose, turbinado. To reduce your consumption of these sugars, read labels and cut back on foods that contain these sugars.
