Tips to Prevent Dehydration and Heat Related Illness

Tips to Prevent Dehydration and Heat Related Illness:

Heat Related Illness Can be Deadly

A heat related illness such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke can be dangerous no matter is the person is at home, at work, exercising, cutting the grass, working in the garden, boating, or camping or hiking in the wild.

Action Steps to Prevent Dehydration and Heat Related Illness

Before a person continues to become overheated and dehydrated there are a number of “preventative maintenance” actions and behaviors that a person can do to prevent a heat related illness. The following list represents some of these preventative maintenance behaviors:

First:

Eat less food per sitting. Eating smaller portions reduces the work the body has to do to digest food, allocate nutrients, and remove waste. Less work by your body usually means reducing the risk for overheating and for dehydration.

Second:

Before you overheat yourself, slow down and stop exerting yourself. Take a rest so that your body can cool down.

Third:

Sip fluids throughout the day rather than guzzling a quart or two of juice or water a few times per day. Stated another way, don’t wait until you are extremely thirsty before you drink. Spread your drinking throughout the day so that you remain hydrated.

Fourth:

Before going to a restaurant, eat something light and low in sodium to help balance the food at restaurants that are typically high in sodium. Too much sodium is strongly related to high blood pressure and blood pressure that is too high can cause a stroke. Either one of these respiratory problems are not helpful when it comes to dehydration or heat-related illnesses.

Fifth:

Trade salty snacks for fruits and vegetables. Or make your own trail mix with organic dried fruit, unsalted nuts, raisins, organic cereal, and coconut shreds.

Sixth:

Not all liquids are the same. Drink water, lemon water, and vegetable juices and stay away from carbonated, caffeinated, and alcoholic beverages. You want to drink fluids that hydrate rather than dehydrate the body. Caffeinated, carbonated, and alcoholic beverages are diuretics, and diuretics dehydrate one’s body.

Seventh:

Rather than eating animal fats and proteins, eat more plant proteins and fats because the latter are easier to digest. This in turn helps the body conserve energy by because it doesn’t have to work so hard.