Rarely do doctors talk to parents about hydration. Proper hydration is the major building block of your child's brain.
It is remarkable that most human beings do not drink enough water for their body to function properly. The average adult body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age. Fatty tissue contains less water than lean tissue. Fatty tissue is inert, does not contribute to the function of a healthy body.
If a child is dehydrated, their blood becomes thick and cannot reach the smallest capillaries in their brain. This can cause atrophy in those areas. It can make it hard for your child to process or retain information at the most important growth period of their development.
Hydration is also very critical in the elderly to keep the brain functioning well. Commonly older adults do not drink enough pure water to maintain their brain function. Gradually the brain dies without water.
Obesity can be caused by lack of hydration. As long as the body is dehydrated, it will feel hungry, crave intake. Sadly, the body does not define it's cravings between water and food. What seems like hunger for food may be the body asking for a drink of water. Drinking the proper amount of water can stop hunger cravings. when you feel like a snack think about whether you have given your body enough water.
Unfortunately most humans habitually currently eat a majority of non fluid based foods, causing the body to run in a constant dehydrated condition. This can mask as food craving resulting in overeating.
Also very important, you or your child will become constipated without proper hydration. If there is not enough fluid in the body, the bowels cannot work properly. Fecal matter will build up in the lower intestine and literally poison the blood stream with old matter that should be expelled.
Not only will lack of hydration affect the blood, it affects the skin as well. If the skin does not have enough water hydration, it can result in lack of circulation causing bacteria to build up. This can result in severe acne and other skin aberrations and defects that are very traumatizing during puberty. It can cause premature aging of the skin.
Another symptom of dehydration are muscle cramps. If there is not enough hydration in the muscle tissue, it cannot operate properly.
If your child plays sports while dehydrated, they can experience crippling painful muscle cramps from lack of fluid in the muscle tissue. On a hot day they can be severely affected. They need to constantly replace what they are sweating out.
The good news here is that drinking pure water can quickly stop muscle cramps. It takes very little time for the body to distribute water intake.
The most important detriment of dehydration is in the classroom. Without the proper hydration, your child's brain development can be slowed or stunted. This will affect them for the rest of their lives. If your child is experiencing lack of focus, determine whether they are actually dehydrated before administering behavior masking drugs.
Pure water is the best hydration for a young child. Fruit juice contains sugar which affects the brain as well as the pancreas, it also can rot the teeth. Vitamin C is important, but fruit juice should not be the default drink for young children.
Children are growing fast, they need calcium and water to feed the new cells they are creating every single day. Brain, bone and muscle.
Remember, sugar is addicting. If your give your child fruit juice or soda drinks they will develop a craving for them. If you provide plenty of water, they will drink when they are actually thirsty.
Hunger is a symptom of both the need for food and for water. In many cases a child that over eats actually needs water. It is the parent who trains the child to overeat. You drive the car, and you control what goes in it.
If you start your child out with good hydration habits, they will develop all the brain cells, bone and muscle they require to be a well oiled machine!
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