Drinking more water is a health habit we’ve probably all thought about or tried at some point. But you may not realize just how important hydration is, especially when trying to recover from illness or prevent infection, a super power we all need this January!
Hydrating your body enhances two important anti-viral functions: it helps improve the barrier function of your skin and mucous membranes to keep viruses out, and it helps to flush toxins and pathogens out of your body. Your digestive tract, skin, and kidneys are your main organs of elimination, and they all rely on adequate amounts of fluid to do their job. Even mild dehydration can have a big impact on that—losing just 2 percent of your body’s water can decrease skin elasticity and strength, slow down transit time in your gut, and put extra strain on your heart and kidneys. The reality is by the time most people feel thirsty, they’re already dehydrated, so it’s important to monitor and maintain adequate fluid intake before that happens. And keep in mind that if you do get infected, symptoms like coughing, sneezing, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea all create dehydration and can prolong symptoms, so hydration is a big part of both prevention and recovery from pathogens.
Brain fog after a viral illness often has multiple contributing causes, but improving it may involve some simple tactics, like drinking more water. Your brain is 75 percent water, and when you’re dehydrated it has a much more difficult time functioning. In young people symptoms of dehydration can be reversed by just replacing fluids. But as we get older, our brains become more vulnerable, and dehydration can lead to cognitive impairment, especially if there was already some preexisting decline. Brain fog and cognitive impairment aren’t single entities; they’re complex conditions with multiple different factors that contribute to their development. If you have post-viral symptoms and risk factors for neurological dysfunction, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, or a nutrient deficient diet, and you’re also dealing with dehydration on a regular basis, the fluid loss can tip you over the edge and create an opportunity for brain fog and impairment to set in. It’s like being sleep-deprived, physically exhausted, taking medication that makes you drowsy, having a few beers, and then deciding to take a drive. Any one of those things on their own might be manageable, but the combination can be deadly when you get behind the wheel of a car.
If you’re over sixty and dealing with post-viral symptoms, especially if you’re female, you need to be particularly attuned to your water intake. Women are more sensitive to the neurological effects of dehydration because they have a higher percentage of fat tissue than men, which has a lower water composition compared to lean tissue. Older women are especially vulnerable: a study examining the hydration status of adults over age sixty found that dehydrated women performed much worse on tasks related to attention and processing speed, and significantly worse than men who were dehydrated.
So how much water do you need to make sure you’re adequately hydrated? You may feel like you’re already drinking a lot, but current hydration recommendations are actually more than they have been in the past. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that in order to stay adequately hydrated, men should drink about 120 ounces of water daily and woman should drink about 90, but a solid rule of thumb is to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water. Make sure you’re drinking enough to result in frequent clear urination. (If your pee is yellow, you’re definitely still dehydrated.) And despite all the marketing around sports drinks, rehydration solutions, and electrolyte replenishers, plain old water is still the best way to hydrate yourself. Here are a couple of additional options for fluids that won’t disrupt your microbes or the rest of your body:
Gutbliss Approved Hydration
- Water
- Carbonated water
- Unsweetened, unflavored coconut water
- Herbal tea
- Smoothies
- Vegetable juices (with no added sugar or sweeteners)
Making sure you’re well hydrated strengthens your defensive barriers, improves elimination routes for pathogens, and can play a big role in preventing and recovering from post-viral symptoms like brain fog. Now would be a good time to pour yourself a tall glass of water and drink up!
