bluemindaze:

iopele:

magnolia-lascivious:

jumpingjacktrash:

adigitalmagician:

the-rain-monster:

grimdarkthroes:

equalityformost:

grimdarkthroes:

as ur friendly Neighborhood Nursing Student™ i feel somewhat compelled to remind everyone with the hot weather:

1. every liquid except sea water and alcohol hydrates you. It’s not CHUG WATER OR DIE. in fact, gatorade and the like are designedto hydrate you efficiently.
   
2. yeah, this includes coffee and tea and soda. the diuretic is notenough to cancel out the liquid. juices and milk have solids in them, sure, but they’re also mostly liquid! it counts. 
   
3. your body can only absorb so much water at a time, so chugging 64 oz of water at noon and calling it good will do a wonderfuljob of flushing your kidneys, but not so much of hydrating your tissues. it’s more important that you’re getting consistent fluid throughout the day. 
   
4. there’s a lot of fancy ways to determine How Much Water (Liquid) I Should Drink but honestly? 8 oz (1 cup) every other hour on cool days and 8 oz every hour on hot days should be fine (assuming you sleep for a normal amount of time per day…. i’m assuming ur awake 16 hours a day.)
5. figure out how many oz each of ur favorite cups is. it’ll help your guesstimation. 
6. if ur urine is darker than light yellow, you’re dehydrated. 
7. if u pinch the skin on the back of ur hand for a couple seconds and it takes more than a second or two go to back to normal then ur dehydrated. 

In regards to #1, don’t take this as an excuse to drink the sugar water that they call sports drinks. They aren’t bad for you per se, but please choose water.

actually this entire post was written in the spirit of ppl using it as an excuse to drink sports drinks and soda etc

ppl have been commenting abt sodium levels in soda and sugar levels in sports drinks and thats all well and good but what i’ve noticed is that people who internalize “well, ONLY WATER hydrates me” but who HATE WATER remain horrifically dehydrated cause they dont drink anything. 

so like. if ur a person who haaaaates tap water, this is absolutely me giving you permission to drink whatever fluid you can stomach. please take this as a direct excuse to drink nothing but gatorade if that’s what it takes to get enough fluid into ur body.

it’s not the healthiest for you, sure, but you’re a smart enough person to know that. please drink fluids anyways. 

if u like water thats gr8. if you can stomach water that’s gr8. if you can’t, that’s okay too, and you need to stay hydrated just as much as anyone else, so pleasedrink. 

I used to hate tap water, and in some places (looking at you, Iowa) it is legit disgusting, but one thing I do which helped a ton and was long term cheaper than buying soda or juice was to get a bottle of Angostura bitters. It’s a cocktail additive with a strong distinctive flavor, so although a tiny bottle is like $6 it will last you for ages. Put a small drop or dash in your glass then fill with water. It has a pleasant sort of herbal metal taste (I understand that those words don’t seem like they should go together but it’s hard to describe) which masks tap water. It also helps me smooth an upset tummy but your mileage may vary. It’s not something that will get you drunk, just a flavoring like vanilla extract.

If that all sounds like too much bother, dropping a lemon wedge into water also helps.

I am learning that lemon wedges are magical in almost everything I like to drink.

here is the magic that made me stop being chronically dehydrated:

because yeah, i can’t STAND plain water – it tastes like the inside of my mouth. it tastes like spit. imagine drinking a glass of ice cold spit. ugh. but add a squirt of this stuff to your glass of tapwater, and now it tastes like apple, cherry, lemonade, whatever.

i also got a bunch of these

and pre-prep them with flavored water, iced tea, iced coffee, whatever (or ask my helper to do it), and then when i’m thirsty but distracted and want to just grab some kind of liquid without thinking about finding a clean glass etc., i can just grab one of these.

because yeah, hating water is a thing, and dehydration SUCKS. so drink SOMETHING, don’t be a water purist. better to chug iced coffee than go without.

mio was a damn genius for comin out with that shit

can I just speak up here as someone who has been a nurse for 17 years? I heartily endorse this post and also give you permission to DRINK WHATEVER THE HELL IT TAKES TO KEEP YOU FROM BEING DEHYDRATED

especially in the summer, you can’t play around with that. drink something. seriously. for the love of kittens. DRINK SOMETHING. 

I thought of this earlier today, too: If you’re trying to be really conscientious of the sugar levels in many drinks, a simple thing I do is cut my juice or gatorade like 1:1 with water. That way, it has just enough flavor, but it’ll also dilute some of the sugar content. Tbh, I find that some juices and such have too much flavor for my preferences anyway, so this also helps me want to drink more often.

HYDRATION FRIENDS! If you do not care for sports drinks or the like, but still want something that will help replenish depleted electrolytes, can I recommend…

SEKANJABIN?

Sekanjabin is a drink used across Northern Africa and the Middle East today and has its origins in medieval Persia. It is a vinegar-based drink (which sounds weird but I promise you can barely taste it if made properly). Modern sekanjabin is traditionally made with mint, or mint and cucumber. The first written copy of the recipe was simply honey and vinegar (10th century, in Fihrist of al-Nadim).

Here is my actual award-winning Pomegranate Ginger Rose Water sekanjabin:

Ingredients

1. 2 C sugar
2. 1¼ C water
3. ½ C vinegar (white, white wine, or red wine)
4. 1 C pomegranate juice
5. 1 T rose water
6. 3 ginger candies

Instructions

1. Bring the sugar, water, and vinegar to a boil. Stir for three minutes (sugar should now be fully integrated).
2. Add ginger candy; stir until melted. Remove from heat.
3. Add rosewater and pomegranate juice, stir.
4. Let cool to room temperature, then bottle.
5. To drink: add 1 part syrup to 5-10 parts water. Can be prepared hot or cold, but I think it tastes best over ice.

Notes

1. Sekanjabin is shelf-stable and will last a very long time. Feel free to play with the flavors and proportions of the base ingredients – other popular flavors include mint, lavender, and quince. It’s also worth noting that the different vinegars will affect the flavor of the final product.
2. I use Gin-Gin ginger candies. You could also use ginger syrup (1 teaspoon per candy, or 1 tablespoon/3 candies). You can even use powdered ginger, although the end result will have “floaters” in it as a result.
3. If you live in a large city, you may be able to find rose water in your local grocery store (in the middle eastern food area). Medium cities: you can find it at your local Middle Eastern grocer. Oftentimes in health food stores. Small towns: you may want to order online.
4. Rose water is not a common flavor in modern Western cooking. It is VERY easy to over-do  the rosewater; if you are concerned about it tasting like soap or perfume, start with a teaspoon and add more.
5. It’s fun to experiment! Hate ginger? Try adding mint (both have soothing qualities for the stomach). Think pomegranate is boring? Try quince. Know you can’t stand roses? Go for lavender! You could make a bunch of sample bottles to see what works for you.
6. Storage: I put mine in (thoroughly cleaned-out) glass booze bottles. I also currently have two gallons in an old water container. A little bit goes a long way.

Awesome things about sekanjabin: it’s an AMAZING recovery drink. I had folks drinking mine when they were sick and thanking me afterward because it was the only thing they could keep down and likely kept them from dehydrating to the point of hospitalizaiton. I also had folks drinking it as a hangover cure – a higher syrup:water ratio than I’d usually recommend, but it worked for them. 

Hydrate in whatever way works for you! But if you want those electrolytes, make you some sekanjabin.

http://www.hextilda.com/2017/08/01/summer-sekanjabin/

biggest-gaudiest-patronuses:

So I’ve been drinking water like you guys said.

Didn’t realize there was this much peeing involved. 0/10 dehydration is more convenient

So the thing is… if you’re constantly dehydrated, when you start drinking more water you will pee a LOT because of all the waste products your body hasn’t been able to flush out, it will be like “THIS IS A CODE HYDRATION! GO! GO! GOOOOO!!!!!!”. Also your bladder is just kinda… out of shape?

If you keep with it eventually you’ll start peeing a somewhat more “normal” amount. Also your body should reward you by feeling less lethargic, making your gut happier, reducing headaches etc.

… I say this as someone who is almost constantly dehydrated. But do what I say, not what I do kids.

whatshouldwecallpiccolo:

Person currently marching in 96° heat and 75% humidity: I don’t like eating breakfast! I’ll be fine! 

That Person, later: 

(bonus) The whole staff: 

i have put lil bowls of water all over the house and will hide lil treats everywhere so that my dogs can drink enough on these extremely warm days and have something nice to look for and distract them

jenroses:

earhartsease:

highlybread:

howlandscowl:

highlybread:

WHY DID I ONLY RECENTLY LEARN ABOUT THE SALT LICK TEST?!?!

I swear, learning how to easily tell if you are deficient in salt has been Groundbreaking in learning how to care for my body.

For the uninitiated, if you feel dizzy or weirdly tired, or you cant seem to hydrate properly, no matter how much water you drink, you may easily be lacking salt.

Yes salt! The thing everyone tells you to try and minimize as much as possible. You are likely not getting enough, and there is an easy way to test it:

Go into you kitchen and grab some plain salt, flaky or fine preferably, since rough salt has less surface area, but it still works, just slower.

Grab a pinch of it and just drop it on your tongue, and let it dissolve on it. What does it taste like? This is just salt. Does it taste kinda mild? Slightly savoury even and actually quite good? Could you easily go for another pinch, just for the taste? You probably should, cause that’s your body telling you i Wants More Salt, it Neeeds it!

Do that a couple times over the next few hours, letting your body adjust in the meantime, until it suddenly tastes Too Salty. The same amount of salt, suddenlt tasting quite different, too salty, unpleasant, bad. Thats a sign that you no longer need more salt.

For me it took like two days from barely tasting the salt, to feeling much better and suddenly not wanting more salt.

This has recently helped me so much, why was i not taught this super simple but useful way to check in with my bodily needs?

Signs of low salt can also include nausea, headache, and muscle weakness. Seizures can also happen, but being aware these other symptoms can be signs of low salt and taking corrective action makes that less likely to happen. Also, over-hydrating yourself can cause low salt, but were going into summer so stay hydrated, but eat salt!

Reduced salt levels was the first side-effect they warned me off with my new meds. Its not something you want to fuck around and find out about.

#salt is good and we need it to live#this whole fatphobic eat clean healthy living as a cult mentality has fucked with us a bit I think#we’re afraid to eat things we need to actually stay alive 

Fucking THIS!!!!!!

also if you suddenly drink a load in order to stay better hydrated you can often mess with your electrolyte balance, and you’ll need more salt to compensate

I was drinking mostly seltzer and homemade lemonade or limeade with stevia because plain water left my mouth too dry, and I realized that since I stopped drinking coconut water and I don’t eat bananas that potassium might be an issue, and I’m always a little low on salt, so I started doing this:

In a quart mason jar:

¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon potassium chloride, stevia to taste (I use the highly concentrated stuff from Trader Joes in the little cylinder, it works in certain beverages fine, but not anything carbonated).
Then a couple ounces of lemon or lime juice, swish it around in the jar, then fill the jar with water.

With the potassium and sodium in it, it tastes wetter. I drank like a quart of this one morning and was suddenly able to be up and around for a while without getting dizzy.

Now, I don’t put sugar in it because I’m diabetic, but it’s a spoonful of sugar away from basic rehydration beverage.

It’s like this: Salt has a VIP + Guest pass through your cell membranes, while water has regular admission; salt is 100% on board to help water skip the line, but it can only do that if it makes it to the venue (your cells) in the first place.

As I always say, hydration beats copulation!

What about sweating?-MSU

Since we are entering the warmer weather, I thought it would be worthwhile to consider perspiring, or sweating. We are all going to be doing it. What does it mean to the body?

It is important to stay hydrated and avoid excessive heat during the hot summer months because we lose a lot of body fluid through sweat. But does this mean you should avoid sweating at all costs? Not at all.

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