This is how dehydration makes your body weak

Sixty per cent of our body-weight is water (about forty-four litres in a person weighing seventy kilograms) and sixty-five percent (about twenty eight litres) of this water is in our cells. In other words, our cells are the biggest reservoir of our internal water. To make sweat, the water is drawn out from the cells.

Why we must think about our body-cells? Let’s understand this from the point of view of a body-cell.

This is what a human cell would think:

I am just one of the trillions of cells in your body, and we are the basic structures that form your tissues, organs and organ systems. We are tiny, pretty small indeed, and have a membrane that holds our contents together – we contain water and we float in water (tissue fluid).

Although there are different types of us, most of us have the same components. We consist of a nucleus and cytoplasm (fluid part) that is contained within the cell membrane. The membrane regulates what passes in and out. We hold many secrets in our nucleus that contains chromosomes. (Chromosomes are your genetic material packed with information about your ancestors), and a nucleolus, which produces ribosomes. Ribosomes produce proteins, which are enclosed by a packaging apparatus called the Golgi bodies so that they can cross our membrane and go out to build your body. Some of us produce hormones and enzymes that support your life. The cytoplasm consists of a fluid material and organelles, which could be considered as our organs.

Let me give you a simple example of mitochondria – our important organs that generate energy for our activities that keep you alive. Most important factor for our function is our water and mineral content. Agreed we are the biggest reservoir of water for you. In crisis, when your body loses too much water, to compensate the loss, the water is taken away from us. We give without complaining, because we know that your blood volume needs to be maintained at any cost.

Decrease in blood volume means less oxygen for your heart and brain, a perilous situation indeed. Even when you are healthy and fit, rapid water loss happens when you sweat a lot. First the water is drawn from the blood to make sweat. The water from the tissue quickly replaces that loss to maintain blood volume and we quickly give our water to the tissues to maintain a healthy water environment – putting ourselves at the risk of cellular dehydration.

To keep us well hydrated even when you sweat a lot does not mean gulping down gallons of water in one go. That will only dilute your blood that has a fine mineral balance, which is risky. The key is wisely drinking fluids that contain some minerals lost in sweat.

Many of you do not understand that drinking caffeinated drinks loaded with sugar have a diuretic effect and must be avoided at any cost.

Many of you do not realise that you are putting us, your cells, in constant state of dehydration, making us weak, and not allowing us to function well. This has an overall deteriorating effect on your body.

To understand how you keep us, your cells, well hydrated read the next article that has recipes of drinks that keep us hydrated even in crisis and even after we give our water to you to make sweat.

Till than have fun – the summer is coming and sweaty days are here again!