Source:thewatercoolercompany.com

From the chart above, it’s obvious we are all water creatures. Water makes up 60% of your body, 70% of your brain, 80% of your blood, apart from the effects it has on your physical being as a whole. While it’s possible to go without food for a month or so, your body can’t survive one week without water.

It’s imperative to watch our daily intake of water to replenish that which is lost through perspiration & urination. It is a fallacy to believe that just because you don’t perspire as much as when you are having your work-out exercise or feel thirsty, you don’t have to drink.

With grandpa & grandma, it’s easy to forget the importance of drinking sufficient water daily. As we age, our body’s capacity for holding water decreases, so all the more water intake is important. It’s no joke to note that with grandpa & grandma, who constantly not feeling thirsty, stop taking liquids.

It’s not tumour in the head or Alzheimer’s that lead to old people getting confused easily, but the lack of water replenishment. Dehydration sets in quickly. Dehydration tends to be severe and affects the whole body. It can cause mental confusion, an abrupt fall of blood pressure, increased heart rate “rapid heart beat”, angina (chest pain), coma and even death. In the best age, which begins at 60 years, we have little more than 50% water in the body. This is part of the natural aging process. Therefore, the elderly have lower water reserves.

Elderly dehydrate easily not only because they have less fluid reserve, but also because they are less likely to perceive a lack of water in their body. Even if the senior is healthy, it degrades the performance of chemical reactions and functions of the entire body.

But there is another complication: even dehydrated, they feel no desire to drink water, because their internal balance mechanisms do not work very well.

It is important for grandmas and grandpas: voluntarily make a habit of drinking liquids. By liquid it is understood we mean water, juices, teas, coconut water and milk. Soup, jelly and fruits rich in water, such as melon, watermelon, pineapple, orange and tangerine also work. The important thing is, every two hours, put some liquid inside. Remember this!

If they are rejecting liquids, overnight, they can become confused, irritable, staring out into space and demonstrate a lack of attention to surroundings. It is almost certain that these symptoms are caused by dehydration as medically pointed out. You are advised to: “Get liquids into them and quickly seek medical assistance.”

To maximize its effectiveness to the human body, it is recommended to take water in the following manner:

• 2 glasses of water after waking up – helps to activate internal organs
• 1 glass of water 30 minutes before meal – helps digestion
• 1 glass of water before taking a bath – helps to lower blood pressure
• 1 glass of water before sleep – to avoid stroke or heart attack.