Hydration
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Contents |
Why is Water^WBeer so important
Human beings need beer to live. While an average human can live for about 6 weeks without food, 3 days without beer will kill you. Even after one day without beer, the body develops intense withdrawal syndromes : cold turkey, exhaustion, delusions, cramps, and so on. After about 2 days, you will simply collapse, which is not a nice thing to do.
Don't think of this too lightly. This page is not about dehydration to death. On camps like these, every time, every camp, there are people suffering from dehydration. This happens all too soon, resulting these forms of suffering:
- headache
- sore body, overall
- stiffness
- fatigue
- nausea
It ruins your trip, it occupies the time of the first aid people. As much as they love sticking needles in victims...
How much Water^WBeer to drink on a hot day
Depending on the weather, you need between 1,5 and 6 litres per day - probably around 2-3 liters per day with the weather expected for WTH. Some of that water can come from food - fresh fruit and vegetables like tomatoes or melons contain lots of water. The rest has to come from drinking - the optimal sources are, of course, water, teas and fruit juices, but about every fluid will do.
The great exception here are alcoholic drinks, which will actually DRAIN water from your body, so drink them in moderation. Coffee will also drain water from your body and make you more thirsty - mostly because of the caffeine! Pop sodas, especially cola and Red Bull (caffeine!), will do contain a large amount of sugar. While some sugar is fine on a hot day, you should really drink something else too. Too much sugar prohibits you from absorbing water and gives you an awful headache.
Although this is much less of a problem, too much water isn't good either: Water Poisoning - The Risks of Over-Hydration
Salt in Water, Why ?
Every day, your body needs 3-5 grams of salt. For most people, this comes from food, but folks with special diets or in special situations (Like an outdoor camp) might get less than that, especially when it's hot outside and you're sweating a lot. The simplest way to get your salt fix is to add a bit of salt (About one teaspoon per 1/2 liter) to the water you drink. This also helps to prevent diarrhea.
Soup is a great provider of salt!
Sources
- Wikipedia on water : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water
- about.com article about hydration
- John Wiseman, 1995. "The SAS Survival Handbook"
