Medical Office of Manhattan and LabFinder’s own Robert Segal, MD has given medical perspective聽in a piece on 聽about dehydration. He was quoted as saying:
The old adage, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e thirsty, you鈥檙e already dehydrated!鈥 is actually still up for debate among experts, but one thing is certain: Thirst is far from being your only signal that you need to hydrate, stat. Dehydration occurs when your body is losing more fluid than it鈥檚 taking in, according to Robert Segal, M.D., founder and medical director of LabFinder.
When the weather is toasty, it鈥檚 easy to remember to grab some water, but as it turns cooler, the chances of dehydration can increase, Dr. Segal notes. For example, if you鈥檙e running in chilly temps and you鈥檙e wearing multiple layers, it can be tougher to keep hydration in mind (Here’s聽).
When you lose fluid, the nerve signals from your brain to your muscles don鈥檛 work as well, says Dr. Segal. So, it鈥檚 easier for muscles鈥攅specially in the legs, he says鈥攖o react by cramping.
Organs like your liver use water to function, Dr. Segal says. One of those tasks is releasing glycogen, the molecule that stores sugar. 鈥淚f the liver can鈥檛 get fuel, it cannot release glucose and other energy stores,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hat do we do in return to try to replace them? Eat.鈥
That can be particularly dangerous because it means that your body isn鈥檛 getting rid of toxins as quickly as it should鈥攜ou could even be setting yourself up for problems like kidney stones, a condition in which dehydration often plays a role, adds Dr. Segal.
Most of the time, symptoms like these are mild, says Dr. Segal, and they can be minimized or eliminated by simply drinking more water. 鈥淟isten to what your body is telling you, and don鈥檛 ignore these seemingly meaningless symptoms,鈥 he says.
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