Your Cart 0. Hydgation therapies Nutrition education for sustainable living lower limb muscle cramps. Those with more Lentils and lentil flour lifestyles may experience muscle overuse from more mild activities such as walking, hiking, gardening. However, the review of the literature by Bergeron did not substantiate any of these electrolytes as possible causes of muscle cramping.

Hydration and muscle cramps -

Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Join Now. The thirst mechanism goes down drastically, especially after age Other factors also put older adults at higher risk.

The body's ability to retain water in blood vessels decreases with age, so fluids are more easily depleted. If you suffer from diabetes or take diuretics, both can contribute to water loss. What's more, older adults with urinary incontinence may intentionally reduce their fluid intake or take medications to try to avoid accidents.

And those experiencing cognitive decline may get dehydrated simply because they forget to drink, says Hal Atkinson, M. Unchecked, dehydration can have grave consequences, doctors say.

It can cause confusion and weakness or prompt your blood pressure to drop so dramatically that you get dizzy, fall and break a bone. Or you can go into hypovolemic shock, when your blood pressure gets so low that your heart is unable to pump enough blood to the body. It's especially important to be on alert for dehydration if you or a loved one is sick.

While most people know that diarrhea and vomiting cause fluid loss, you may not realize that a high fever is also a risk factor. In addition, some sedating medications can lead to dehydration because they reduce your body's drive to drink.

So how can you tell if you or someone you care about is getting dehydrated? Here are the signs and symptoms to watch for:. If you feel thirsty, you're probably already a bit dehydrated, especially if you are age 65 or older. AARP® Dental Insurance Plan administered by Delta Dental Insurance Company.

Dental insurance plans for members and their families. Even if you don't feel thirsty, older adults should drink throughout the day, he advises. Aim for at least 48 ounces of fluid six 8-ounce glasses a day — and more if you're physically active.

Juices, sports drinks, noncaffeinated sodas and flavored waters or seltzers all count toward your fluid intake, Hashmi says. You can also boost your intake with foods containing a lot of water such as soups, watermelon and cucumber.

The more fluid in your body, the clearer your urine will be. If your urine turns a dark yellow or brownish color, or if it has a stronger odor than normal, that's likely an early sign of dehydration, and you need to drink more water.

Although dizziness can be a symptom of many different conditions, it is a classic sign of dehydration, Atkinson says. When you're dehydrated, you don't have enough fluid in your blood vessels.

You're most likely to feel dizzy when you sit up after lying down, or stand up from sitting. If the blood flow to your brain drops significantly, you may notice a darkness in front of your eyes, Hashmi says.

That may be a sign you're about to pass out from dehydration. Another sign of dehydration is a feeling of weakness in certain muscles or severe muscle cramps. The cramps can be caused by electrolyte imbalances and reduced blood flow to those muscles. Cramps can happen while you're exercising , or you may wake up in the middle of the night with cramping in your calf muscles.

Water helps flush toxins out of your body and keeps your digestive system running smoothly. If you're adequately hydrating, you should be urinating every two or three hours and having regular bowel movements , Hashmi says. Dehydration causes skin to be dry and look sunken in some areas, such as under your eyes.

Your skin will also have less elasticity than normal. If you are caring for someone who is frail, one way to tell if they are getting dehydrated is to gently pinch or press the skin on their arm.

Any fever in an infant or toddler is cause for concern. Ask your pediatrician for advice on when to call the doctor in these circumstances. The CDC urges adults with fever to seek help if their temperature reaches degrees F. This could be a medical emergency. While you can crave anything from chocolate to a salty snack, cravings for sweets are more common because your body may be experiencing difficulty breaking down glycogen to release glucose into the bloodstream to use as fuel, he says.

As MedlinePlus points out, even mild dehydration can cause a headache. Although various factors besides dehydration can cause headaches, drinking a full glass of water and continuing to sip more fluids during the day is an easy way to ease your pain if, in fact, dehydration is the culprit.

Here are two other ways to check your hydration. Try this skin test. Use two fingers to pinch up some skin on the back of your hand, and then let go.

The skin should spring back to its normal position in less than a couple of seconds. Higgins says that if the skin returns to normal more slowly, you might be dehydrated, per MedlinePlus.

Check your urine. If your pee is dark, start drinking fluids. The guidelines from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — the most recent available — advise 2. You can reach this amount by consuming certain foods, water, and other fluids.

Accessibility can make a difference. This can be as simple as carrying a water bottle with you. Sakimura recommends unsweetened teas, which are available in lots of different flavors.

And if your beverage of choice is coffee rather than tea, that works, too: While caffeine may have a diuretic affect, increasing your need to urinate, one crossover study of 50 men found that there were no significant differences in total hydration when the men drank four cups of coffee daily compared with four cups of water.

The results of the study, which were published in the journal PLoS One , suggest that coffee hydrates similarly to water when consumed in moderation by regular coffee drinkers.

While this particular study exclusively focused on men who drank coffee, the Mayo Clinic notes that caffeinated beverages can still help all adults achieve their daily hydration goals — just be sure to consume no more than milligrams mg per day. In the same vein, know that those veggies and fruits are hydrating, just like liquids.

Drinking water before eating may furthermore help with weight loss, as it did for participants of a study published in the journal Obesity. During a small randomized controlled trial involving 84 subjects, participants who drank milliliters ml of water 30 minutes before eating lost an average of 1.

Older adults may be at a greater risk of dehydration for a number of reasons, per the National Council on Aging NCOA. For one, you may experience a decreased sense of thirst as you age, which can in turn diminish your daily water intake.

Some older adults become chronically dehydrated if they take certain medications, such as diuretics , are not able to get themselves a glass of water easily, or forget to drink because of a health issue such as dementia.

Chronic dehydration in an older adult may lead to confusion, low blood pressure, dizziness, and constipation. If you have an elderly relative with mobility limitations or cognitive problems, be sure to watch them for signs of dehydration, or ask their caregivers to do so too, and make sure that they drink enough water.

As for your own well-being, remember that the human body is composed of at least 60 percent water, notes the U.

Geological Society. Keep that healthy balance, and drink up! Additional reporting by Sheryl Huggins Salomon , Laura McArdle , and Kristeen Cherney.

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Athletic energy boost Day Sale Get 3 FREE Products when you buy Hydrayion Hydration Ceamps 9-Pack Feb. Cgamps Day Sale Get 3 Nutrition education for sustainable living Products when Hydratiom buy a Hydration Drops 9-Pack Ends Feb 12th. Immune support stacked with hydration to target nutrient gaps in American diets. Naturally sourced energy stacked with hydration for gentler rises and no crashes. Meet all your health and wellness needs in one go, with or without the subscription. Free Shipping. By Terry Nutrition education for sustainable living, EdD, Nutrition education for sustainable living. Exercise-induced muscle cramps are painful, debilitating, and can take vramps athlete out of the competition. Even when the Hydratiom are immediately Hydratiion to relieve the muscle cramping, the cramping andd returns ahd soon Chemopreventive agents against cancer the athlete engages the muscle. According to a recent review of the literature on the causes of muscle cramps during exercise published by the American College of Sports Medicine Bergeron,there appear to be two possible causes for muscle cramping in athletes. Although further research is needed to better understand the underlying physiology of both, the literature provides a basis for understanding the problem and how to prevent muscle cramps from occurring. The first category of exercise associated muscle cramps is related to skeletal muscle overload and fatigue. According to this theory, the neuromuscular systems imbedded in the muscles for the purpose of maintaining safe control of muscle contraction are affected.

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