Yes, I know, I live in the American South where it’s supposed to be hotter than blazes here all summer. But it’s not usually that hot at 3200 feet where we live and the climate is generally pretty mild. So we’re headed for our first 90-degree days of the summer this week and we’re already feeling the heat.
It’s time to think about water—and think about it most of the time. When you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated, so keep steadily sipping away at that water bottle to prevent a shortfall.
Who wants to drink hot or even tepid water? Yuck! My favorite way of keeping cool water close at hand is to fill my containers about 1/3 full and leaving them in the freezer overnight. I fill them with cold water before I go out and the built-in ice cube keeps the water cold for hours.
We learned this trick when we were on television shoots in Africa—and it worked there and it works here!
Drink more
Also be aware that if you normally need 80 ounces of water a day, in the hot weather, you will probably need 50% more because you are rapidly losing fluids when you sweat. If you are exercising, be sure to drink extra water before and after exercise.
You can get extra fluids from the summer fruits we all love so much. There was one particularly memorable gathering here at our house a couple of years back when 10 adults and about 5 kids polished off five full-sized iced watermelons on a hot day!
It’s probably better to slack off on the more difficult to digest proteins and carbs in hot weather since they’ll just make you feel logey and lazy.
Ditto for alcoholic beverages. Even though that ice-cold beer might taste delightful, it further dehydrates you.
Watch out for kids and pets
All of this also goes for kids and pets.
For kids, be sure there is always lots of water available and appealing “popsicles” made with frozen homemade lemonade with stevia are a real hit. Kids will forget to drink, so you need to remember for them.
For animals, be sure their water dishes are clean and full at all times. I sometimes add a pinch of salt to their water to encourage more drinking, a trick I learned from a veterinarian friend. Dogs and cats cannot perspire except through their tongues and the pads of their feet, so if your dog is panting and she hasn’t exercised, she is probably overheated already. If your cat is panting, he is already in trouble.
Of course, you know never to leave a child or an animal in a parked car, even for a few minutes, even with the windows open. Temperatures can rise to 150 degrees in minutes.
Symptoms of dehydration
Here are symptoms of dehydration in humans. Please don’t let yourself or your loved ones ever get this far:
Increased thirst
Dry mouth and/or swollen tongue
Dizziness
Weakness
Muscle cramps
Heart palpitations
Sluggishness, weakness
Fainting
Inability to sweat
Decreased urine output
Treatment
What to do for these symptoms:
Drink water!
Get out of the sun and rest, by a fan or in air conditioner, if possible.
Take off any extra clothes.
Suck on ice; rub it on your body, especially in the back of your neck and inner wrists.
Call your doctor if symptoms don’t improve within 24 hours or if the person has a fever over 101 degrees or diarrhea. Severe cases of dehydration may require intravenous fluids, especially in older people.
Homemade healthy sports drink
You can also concoct a homemade re-hydration drink with a quart of cool water, ¼ teaspoon of unrefined sea salt and 6 teaspoons of real maple syrup. You can add the juice of a lemon, if you like. This will help restore mineral balance. Avoid sports drinks, which contain lots of sugar and chemicals.
Also, don’t miss this article from my assistant about Haymaker’s Punch!
Yes, I know, I live in the American South where it’s supposed to be hotter than blazes here all summer. But it’s not usually that hot at 3200 feet where we live and the climate is generally pretty mild. So we’re headed for our first 90-degree days of the summer this week and we’re already feeling the heat.
