Re-Hydrate Naturally
Dehydration, as you must know, can happen to anyone. It usually happens when water leaving the body is greater than the amount being taken in. Losing water is actually normal because you lose water when you breathe, when you sweat, when you urinate, or when you move your bowels. However, losing water becomes unfavorable to your health when it is excessive, as what occur in vomiting, diarrhea, too much sweating, burns, and diabetes. In such cases, not only water is lost, but electrolytes as well.
You know when you are suffering from dehydration when you experience the following signs and symptoms: thirst, decreased urine output and concentrated urine. When the dehydration progresses, you may also experience dry mouth, lightheadedness, muscle cramps, confusion, weakness, and if the situation worsens, coma. As you can see, you simply cannot take dehydration for granted.
Replacement of fluids is essential in treating dehydration. Most likely, you will be advised to drink not just clear water, but other forms of clear fluids as well. Clear soup, Gatorade, Jell-o, Pedialyte, and the like, may also work well. You can also come up with your own electrolyte water. All you have to do is mix a quart of water with ½ teaspoon each of baking soda and salt, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Alternatively, you can mix a cup of water with a teaspoon of salt, three teaspoons of sugar, and two teaspoons of lime juice.
It is also a good thing to nibble on some bananas, because bananas have rich potassium content, and as you must know, great amount of potassium is lost with dehydration. Another fruit that is rich in potassium is raisin. Eating raisins during bouts of dehydration helps to restore the potassium you have lost. You should also eat plenty of watery fruits and vegetables, like cantaloupe, water melon, strawberries, and cucumber. Drinking decaffeinated tea also works well if you have dehydration. It’s important to emphasize, though, to use decaffeinated and not the caffeinated kind because caffeine has a mild diuretic effect, thus it increases you water loss.
Quite possibly, you will experience stomach cramps. It is a normal occurrence with dehydration. In the event that you suffer from an episode of stomach cramps, eat foods that are easily digested. Gelatins and soda crackers are stomach-friendly.
It is normal, too, to experience muscle aches and pains. To relieve yourself of this, mix eight ounces of apple cider vinegar to your warm bath, and soak yourself in it for at least 15 minutes.
A great and easy way to restore fluids to dehydrated children is to have them suck on popsicles.
For mild dehydration, you can mix a teaspoon of lime juice, pinch of salt, and a teaspoon of sugar into one pint of water, then drink this throughout the day. Drinking fruit juices can also help. Fruit juices, after all, are rich in vitamins and minerals, so you not only restore the fluids lost from your body, you are also, in turn, boosting your energy levels.
Thank you for reminding me! It’s so easy to forget the basics like drinking water to maintain our health.
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