Dehydration

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Lesson 1: The Dangers and Signs of Dehydration

Water is our very essence. It is the most important nutrient in our body.

Water makes up 70 percent of our muscles and 75 percent of our brain. The

only thing that our bodies crave more than water is oxygen.

Water helps us maintain proper muscle tone, prevents dehydration, improves

our skin and hair, and helps to rid the body of waste and harmful toxins. It

increases our energy level, suppresses our appetite, helps us maintain our

weight and is absolutely essential to our good health and well-being.

Throughout the day, the average adult can lose up to ten cups of water

through regular activities, evaporation, exhaling and urinating. Ten cups!

And that 's before doing any sort of strenuous exercise.

We must be aware of our body's need to replenish the losses each day. If we

do not, we are in danger of dehydration. Dehydration is defined as the

condition in which the body suffers from lack of water and blood salts. Our

vital organs like kidneys, heart and brain must have the proper amounts of

water and salts to function properly.

New weight loss surgery patients must be especially careful to make sure in

the early stages following surgery, that they do not become dehydrated. The

signs of dehydration are as follows:

Mild: Thirst, Dry Lips, Dry Mouth

Moderate: Very dry mouth, sunken eyes, skin that doesn't bounce back to the

touch

Severe: All signs of moderate dehydration plus weak pulse, cold hands and

feet, rapid breathing, blue lips, confusion, lethargy and difficult to

arouse.

While mild and moderate dehydration can be self treated, if you are severely

dehydrated you must seek medical attention. IV therapy may be used to

restore fluids quickly and can be life-saving. To prevent dehydration,

experts recommend that people drink at least 64 ounces or six to eight

glasses of water a day. The recommended drinking water quota includes the

three to four typically consumed through foods like fruits and vegetables,

which are about 80 percent water. Although six eight ounce glasses is the

standard recommendation for the typical adult, weight loss surgery patients

must be sure to get at least that much each day. That can be quite a

challenge for new weight loss surgery patients, who often take several

months to work up to the required 64 ounces.

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