Hydration is important for overall health. Dehydration can lead to health complications and slow digestion. Dehydration can contribute to gut problems.
Being dehydrated has been linked to worsened symptoms in conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and high blood pressure. Gut health is also linked to both of these conditions. So this poses the question: can dehydration lead to gut problems? Let’s find out!
What is dehydration?
Dehydration is an imbalance of fluids in the body. It happens when you lose more fluids than you take in and leads to disrupted electrolyte levels.
Dehydration is usually the result of low fluid intake, increased fluid loss, or a mix of the two.
Age, medications, activity level, or sickness can increase the risk of dehydration. Usually, young children and older adults are most likely to be dehydrated. Those who exercise or do other activities that cause intense sweating are more likely to become dehydrated if they do not replenish their fluid losses. Fevers and diarrhea are the most common illness symptoms that can lead to dehydration. Diuretics, NSAIDs, and medications that treat blood pressure or diabetes can all contribute to dehydration, as well.
If left untreated, dehydration can cause many health concerns and, if severe enough, can lead to organ failure.
How do you know if you’re dehydrated?
If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, or a combination of them, you may be dealing with dehydration.
- Feeling thirsty
- Dark, yellow urine
- Urinating less frequently
- Headaches
- Feeling faint, dizzy, or lightheaded
- Feeling more tired than usual
- Dry mouth, lips, or tongue
- Confusion
- Low blood pressure
If you’re experiencing these symptoms, you should get a drink of water and rest. If symptoms worsen or don’t get better after resting and rehydrating, go to your doctor so they can figure out what is going on.
While most cases of minor dehydration can be dealt with at home, more severe cases may require hospitalization to get fluid levels and electrolytes rebalanced.
Health Conditions Related to Dehydration
Some health conditions raise your risk of becoming dehydrated. Other conditions can be instigated or worsened by dehydration. Here we will highlight both areas so you know what to be on the lookout for, especially in sensitive populations like older adults.
Some health conditions that can contribute to dehydration, or which dehydration is a common symptom of include:
- Diabetes
- Crohn’s disease
- Celiac disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Cystic fibrosis
- Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
- Cancer
- Addison’s disease
- Hyperthyroidism
- Stomach flu
- Sepsis
Anyone who has any of these diagnoses should make sure they stay hydrated. Some of these conditions affect electrolyte levels, so working with a dietitian to improve your dietary intake can help with symptom management and the potential for dehydration.
On the other hand, dehydration (especially chronic dehydration) can lead to health conditions.
Dehydration has been linked to:
- Cognitive decline (has been known to exacerbate symptoms in dementia and related conditions)
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Constipation and slowed motility
- Kidney problems
- Kidney failure
- Seizures
- Higher fall risk in older adults
- Low blood volume shock
- Heat stroke
If left untreated, severe dehydration can even lead to coma and death.
How does dehydration affect gut health?
Gut health refers to the state of your gut microbiome — an important portion of your digestive system. Digestion begins when you start producing more saliva in your mouth. Saliva is primarily made of water, but it also contains enzymes that help to start the process of breaking down your food.
As the food travels through your digestive tract, water is necessary for:
- Having enough saliva to break down food and make it easier to swallow and digest
- Dissolving nutrients so they can be more easily used
- Helps transport nutrients to and through the bloodstream
- Keeps the intestines lubricated so food can pass through more easily
- Maintains a healthy balance of helpful bacteria in the gut microbiome, preventing the opportunistic strains from taking over
- Sustains transit times to prevent stool from lingering in the digestive tract for too long, which can lead to toxin absorption
- Controls immune cell function and differentiation in the colon — especially Th17 cells
- Removes pathogenic bacteria from the digestive tract and gut microbiome
When you are dealing with dehydration or inadequate liquid intake, it can contribute to microbiome disturbances, constipation, and related conditions.
How to Improve Gut Health and Dehydration
Addressing dehydration can have a major impact on your gut health. Some simple ways to do this include:
- Drinking more water
- Eating foods with high water content, like watermelon, cucumbers, and soups
- Upping electrolyte intake when you’ve been sweating for extended periods of time. With this suggestion, make sure you’re using clean supplements that don’t add unnecessary ingredients, additives, or dyes. Alternatively, get them in your diet through different foods that contain healthy sources of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
If you suffer from health conditions that contribute to your dehydration, getting your gut microbiome in check can often help. Your gut determines most of your immune health, and when you are dehydrated, your immune cells become affected and do not respond correctly to issues in your body. Your gut microbiome houses most of your immune cells, and this can create an endless loop of feeling unwell.
If you address the dysbiosis, it can settle down the reactions with your immune system and improve how the immune cells are used and respond to inflammation. The best way to improve your gut health is by leading a healthy lifestyle (getting in the sun daily, eating a healthy diet, staying hydrated, exercising regularly, and sleeping well) and using Atrantil.
Atrantil was created to restore health to the gut microbiome. It feeds the healthy bacteria so they can replicate and create a healthy balance. It reduces inflammation. And it can shut down opportunistic bacteria and archaea that may have taken over your intestinal tract. Sometimes it’s hard to live a healthy lifestyle when you’re feeling sick and unwell, and Atrantil can be a great beginning piece to achieving these healthier goals.
Atrantil can help when your dehydration is from gut disturbances that lead to diarrhea, constipation, or cycling between the two. It helps by bringing balance to the gut microbiome so you have normal stool transit times and a healthy immune response. Atrantil should not be used as a hydration or electrolyte supplement. And as always, consult your doctor before adding any new supplements or changing routines.
For general hydration purposes, a healthy diet and maintaining your fluid levels can be enough. Again, consulting your healthcare provider with any concerns will be your best course of action. This article should not replace any advice from your healthcare professional and is for informational purposes only — it is not to diagnose, treat, or cure any conditions.
