Summer is winding down and school time is gearing up! Hydration is an important topic as we establish new routines and conquer changing environments and temperatures.
Water is an essential nutrient. It is responsible for maintaining our body’s temperature, flushing waste, transporting oxygen and nutrients around our vessels and more.
Understanding Dehydration
Being dehydrated can negatively impact your child’s ability to focus in school, run and play at recess and generally feel their best. It can be a challenge for children with autism or other language issues to express feeling dehydrated and so it is an extra responsibility for parents to monitor.
It is really easy to get behind on your water intake, but especially in the heat of the summer. Children are more vulnerable to dehydration than adults. Kids tend to have a lot of surface area relative to their body size, which means they quickly lose water via their sweat glands.
How do you know if you are dehydrated? Monitor the color of your urine. Light colored urine indicates proper hydration. This is much more accurate than counting glasses or ounces of water as your hydration needs vary day to day with variations in exercise, temperature, foods consumed, sodium intake, medications and more.
Note: medications, certain foods (eg beets!), vitamins and supplements may change the color of your urine.
Preventing Dehydration
The first step to preventing dehydration is to not wait until you are feeling thirsty. Our thirst mechanism is not very sensitive at any age, and declines with each passing decade. By the time your body senses thirst, you may already be dehydrated by several cups of water.
Drink your preferred temperature. If you like hot drinks year round, keep your kettle going and enjoy hot water, hot water with lemon and a variety of teas. If you prefer arctic drinks, keep your ice maker running, a pitcher of water in the fridge, freeze fruit for flavor and chill your water.
If your child drinks best from a certain cup or water bottle, make sure that it is available. Many kids (and adults) drink a greater volume when using a straw.
Eat an abundance of fruits and veggies - they’re excellent for your health and loaded with water. Have fruits and vegetables with each meal and snack.
Be mindful while traveling on trips, to school, to practices and anytime we are on the go. We aren’t focusing on water as much when we are on the move!
About Balance 360 Nutrition
Balance 360 nutrition focuses on research-backed recommendations to optimize brain health, development and performance. By providing education and support around our pillars of nutrition we empower you to set a foundation of a brain-healthy lifestyle. Through one-on-one meetings with our nutrition experts we meet you where you are and help you set realistic, achievable goals to elevate your brain health.
Our primary areas of focus consist of fuel, hydration and reducing systemic inflammation. Fuel provides our bodies and brains the nutrients needed to function at an optimal level. Proper hydration affects every cell in our bodies. We work to identify and minimize common dietary drivers of inflammation including added sugars, ultra-processed foods, dyes and artificial sweeteners.
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