Staying hydrated is important for staying healthy. Hydration affects our digestion and the state of our gut microbiome. Staying hydrated can improve gut health and overall health.
Everything seems to be linked to gut health these days. But can our hydration status really affect how healthy the state of our gut microbiome is? This article tells everything you need to know about the link between hydration and gut health.
What is gut health?
Gut health refers to the gut microbiome and how healthy it is. The gut controls so much of our health that it is referred to as “the second brain”. Many of the metabolites that are given off when our microbes digest our food help to control our nervous, immune, and every other system in our bodies.
When the gut microbiome is balanced, it has more helpful bacteria and microbes than opportunistic or pathogenic ones.
With a balanced gut microbiome, you feel healthy, think clearly, and recover quickly when experiencing injuries or infections. When your gut microbiome is imbalanced, you’re experiencing dysbiosis. Dysbiosis is common with the following conditions and symptoms:
- Overactive immune system
- Onset of diseases
- Brain fog, difficulty focusing, low cognitive performance, and memory issues
- Abdominal discomfort, cramping, and/or bloating
- Constipation, diarrhea, or both
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Slow recovery from illness or injury
- Feeling sick all the time or getting sick easily
- Feeling sluggish or tired
- Other diagnoses or autoimmune disorders
Gut health is important for your overall health. A healthy gut means a healthier life and dealing with fewer illnesses and conditions.
How does hydration affect our health?
Hydration is important for our health because the majority of our body is made of water. All of our cells, organs, and systems need an adequate water supply to function properly.
For most of our cells 70% of their mass is water. So when we don’t get enough water, our cells cannot carry out their tasks as easily. Cells make up our organs and control their functions. When we look at things from the cellular level, we realize that since everything in our body is made from cells, and cells are mostly made up of water, hydration is important to our overall health.
So how does hydration affect our health outside of the cells?
- Water lubricates our joints and digestive tract.
- Water helps to thin lymphatic fluid so it can move at a faster rate to remove toxins and cellular debris.
- Water helps the body absorb nutrients.
- Water helps the body maintain a healthy temperature.
- Water makes up 75% of the brain and your brain needs adequate water to function properly. Many cognitive issues can be relieved by adequate water intake.
- Water helps to normalize sugar and sodium levels.
Water is incredibly important for all parts of the body and for maintaining homeostasis.
Why Hydration is Important for Gut Health
In the gut specifically, water is extremely important. Dehydration can lead to many different conditions. One of the first and main problems we experience from dehydration is constipation.
Constipation is when you do not have bowel movements frequently enough or you have a hard time passing stool. Constipation, especially if you’ve been dealing with it for a long time, can lead to other problems.
We need to stay hydrated because the intestinal lining needs enough water to stay strong and lubricated. This allows the stool to pass through more easily.
We also need adequate water intake so that the stool is the right consistency. Constipation is the result of not having enough water for the stool to be soft enough to pass.
Our gut microbes need enough water so that they can stay healthy and so that pathogens in the gut microbiome can be removed. This helps maintain a good balance within the microbiome so we don’t deal with dysbiosis. An interesting study showed that people from different areas have different microbial profiles based on where they get their water from. The different areas had differing qualities of water and it highly affected their gut microbiome balance.
When stool takes too long to move through the digestive system, it can cause bacteria to grow in places it doesn’t belong. It can also cause the body to absorb some of the toxins that should’ve been removed with the stool, leading to other complications.
Staying hydrated is also important because the gut controls many of your immune responses. Your Th17 cells can be affected by inadequate water intake, making them slow and ineffective when they’re needed. This affects your immune response and can lead to further complications down the road.
Your gut health is highly impacted by your hydration practices.
Tips for Staying Hydrated
So it’s obviously important to stay hydrated, but how can you do that when life gets so busy? Here are some of our top tips for staying hydrated.
- Avoid/limit drinking things that can dehydrate you. This includes highly caffeinated drinks and alcohol. When you drink things like this, you feel like you’re hydrating yourself, but you’re actually doing the opposite, and it can lead to dehydration.
- Keep your gut healthy. We talked about constipation being a result of dehydration, but diarrhea can cause dehydration. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can keep your gut healthy and avoid dehydration. If you’re experiencing dysbiosis, Atrantil can help to get your gut back to health so you can stay hydrated. Some conditions and medications can contribute to dehydration or diarrhea/constipation, so figuring these out can help as well.
- Eat foods that have high water content. Many fruits and vegetables have high water content and can contribute to your water intake for the day. Watermelon, grapes, cucumbers, and tomatoes are all great foods to get more water intake. Foods like soups can be helpful too because of the broth base and the added nutrients.
- Maintain healthy electrolyte levels when you’re exercising and sweating. Electrolytes and water can be lost through sweat. That can affect your body’s hydration levels. So make sure you’re eating a healthy balance of electrolytes in your diet to make up for what has been lost during your workout.
- Keep water with you at all times. Get a water bottle that you love drinking from. If you hate the taste of water add some fruit into it for some flavor. But whatever you do, keep water with you all the time. This can be a major way to keep yourself hydrated and healthy all day long.
Hydration is so important for our health, so make sure you’re staying hydrated every day and see what positive benefits you notice!
Side note: some people take hydration too far and end up depleting their electrolytes because they drank too much water — yes, that is possible. Talk to your doctor about how much water is right for you and enjoy a healthy new habit that supports your health!
