Frontline Health
Troy Duell with Centurion is providing you with health information and guests to elevate your health and help make your life better. Centurion is a pharmaceutical company that chooses to put people over profits and allow science to dictate what products we bring to market. Our goal is to provide products that you can both afford and are beneficial to your health. It doesn't matter how good a product is if you can't afford it. This podcast will provide you with the best health information possible through sharing studies and current data. We will also interview the leading health experts across the country. We will share sides of the story you may not have heard. Our promise to you is to source all of the information we share with you and speak the truth. We hope this truth is used by you and your loved ones to elevate your health and life.
Frontline Health
#100 - Beyond Thirst: The Science of Proper Hydration in Summer Heat
The difference between optimal performance and fatigue could be as simple as water—but not in the way most of us think. Proper hydration isn't just about drinking eight glasses daily or waiting until you feel thirsty. It's a delicate dance of fluids and electrolytes that affects everything from your cognitive function to your heart health.
We unpack groundbreaking research showing that losing just 1-2% of your body's water—before you even feel thirsty—significantly impairs memory, focus, and mood regulation. That mid-afternoon mental fog? It might not be lack of sleep, but dehydration quietly affecting your brain function. University of Connecticut researchers found that even mild dehydration causes headaches, fatigue, and concentration problems in women who weren't even exercising.
The stakes get higher as summer temperatures soar. We walk you through the dangerous progression from heat exhaustion to potentially fatal heat stroke, explaining critical warning signs your body gives before a crisis. You'll learn why your urine color is a better hydration indicator than thirst, why chugging a gallon of water at once isn't effective (and can be dangerous), and the surprising truth about whether coffee and alcohol count toward your daily fluid intake.
Whether you're an athlete pushing performance limits, working outdoors in summer heat, or simply wanting to optimize your daily energy and focus, our practical hydration strategies will transform how you think about water intake. Take control of this fundamental aspect of health that most people get wrong—your body and brain will thank you.
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Today on the Frontline Health Podcast.
Speaker 2:Because studies have shown that losing just 1-2% of your body's water can actually impair your cognitive function, which means you no longer are able to remember things, you can't focus as well and your mood even starts to shift and change. There was a study out of the University of Connecticut that found that mild dehydration in women led to headaches, led to fatigue and they even had difficulty concentrating even without exercise.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to the Frontline Health Podcast, where we share health news, tips and insights to help you take ownership of your health. I'm Evan Patrick. With me today is founder and CEO of Centurion Health, mr Troy Duell. Troy, always good to be with you on this podcast.
Speaker 2:Great to be here, evan, and super excited about today's topic. I know it's one that sounds simple, but most people are getting wrong, including myself from time to time and that's all about hydration.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and with Summer in Full Swing, it's not just about drinking more water, it's about understanding what hydration really is, scientifically speaking, and how it impacts your entire body.
Speaker 1:So, troy, I can tell you from personal experience that there are a few things that I fear more than being dehydrated, and it's probably because this is one of the things that was very forcefully instilled in me in basic training.
Speaker 1:So, basically, when you're in army basic training, they give every person a camelback which is like a small backpack with a pouch for kind of a bladder pouch for you to carry on yourself at all and you're expected to literally have it on you or within arm's reach 24, seven, and if it's not near full, whenever a drill sergeant sees you with it, you run the risk of getting yourself, and sometimes even your entire platoon, smoked and doing pushups for an hour, which is kind of funny. That that's the punishment for potentially being dehydrated. That that's the punishment for potentially being dehydrated, what they'll tell you. The reason for this in basic training is that there are more deaths on the battlefield due to dehydration than anything else, which I believe is a myth and has been heavily debunked. But it's still an effective way for helping people to value hydration and make sure that that is not an issue. So now I even have a little bit of anxiety if I don't always have a water bottle within arm's reach.
Speaker 2:And with good reason. I've heard stories of people who got to that dehydration point and all their muscles basically just lock up and they can't do anything and you're just cramped up. Just lock up and they can't do anything and you're just cramped up. You're basically in a fetal position because your body cramps up and is trying to squeeze all the water that it possibly can out of those muscles. So it's a big, big issue, but kind of to jump on this and make sure that we are all on the same playing field, let's start with just understanding what hydration is.
Speaker 1:Most people believe that hydration is just not being thirsty, or it means drinking eight glasses of water a day, or it seems like that goalpost is always moving as to how much water you're actually supposed to drink in a day. But what's actually going on inside the body with hydration?
Speaker 2:I think it's important to understand that it's not just about fluids. It's about maintaining the balance of fluids and electrolytes that are really inside and outside of your cells. Every cell in our body relies on that delicate balance to function properly. We know that we're not just hydrating our bloodstream, we're hydrating our tissues, we're hydrating our organs and even the fluid around our brain, which is why you can think through some of those things when you get dehydrated and you have all these effects.
Speaker 1:And the term for that is homeostasis right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. So when you're dehydrated, it's not just about lacking water. You can have plenty of water, but still be dehydrated if your body doesn't have those necessary electrolytes like sodium, potassium and magnesium, that allows you to use that water effectively.
Speaker 1:If you've ever played competitive sports, you probably have had an experience similar to kind of like what you were talking about earlier, troy, where you reach the point of dehydration and you lock up and you've waited too long for it to before you can address you've waited too long to address the issue before you can do anything about it. So I learned this the hard way when I drank a gallon of water my senior year of high school, leading up to a tennis tournament, and after drinking that gallon of water I actually had this happen and that was exactly kind of like what we're talking about. Before I didn't have that homeostasis, I actually flushed out all of the nutrients that my body needs to be able to maintain that hydration by just drinking water alone. So let's kind of break this down and talk about these consequences of dehydration what happens, not starting at that severe level, but when you're mildly dehydrated.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's interesting because studies have shown that losing just 1% to 2% of your body's water can actually impair your cognitive function, which means you no longer are able to remember things, you can't focus as well and your mood even starts to shift and change. There was a study out of the University of Connecticut that found that mild dehydration in women led to headaches, led to fatigue, and they even had difficulty concentrating even without exercise.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so you'd have to imagine for athletes and people who are exercising, or really even anyone working outside in the heat, that this hydration is even more critical. We know dehydration can affect strength, endurance and even recovery.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We know that it thickens your blood, which is going to make your heart work harder because it's having to pump harder to get that thick blood through your veins. And that is truly one of the more dangerous signs, because during heat waves, if you have cardiovascular issues, then you're not able to pump as much blood and oxygen throughout your body and then we also know that you can't regulate your body temperature near as effectively and that's when you get into dangerous territory like heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm. So you hear those two terms a lot heat exhaustion and heat stroke. But what are those things exactly?
Speaker 2:I think probably the best way to look at it or to think about it is heat exhaustion is basically the precursor to heat stroke.
Speaker 2:It happens when your body overheats, can't really cool itself effectively, and usually happens when you've been out in the sun or hot temperatures for a long period of time, especially when you have that high humidity, like we do in the South, and you've been doing some type of strenuous physical activity.
Speaker 2:If you start to have weakness or fatigue, nausea, vomiting cramps, or if you faint out in the summer sun, then typically that's going to be heat exhaustion. Out in the summer sun, then typically that's going to be heat exhaustion. It's definitely not fun, but it's not yet life-threatening and you can still recover some relatively easily from heat exhaustion. You'll certainly be tired, but heat stroke, on the other hand, is the most severe form of heat-related illness and it occurs when your core temperature rises to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, which is really really hot, and your body can no longer cool itself like sweating, so you can't sweat anymore, your organs start to fail and then it affects typically your brain, your heart and your kidneys and then that can be truly a fatal risk of heat stroke and people have died all over the place. As you mentioned earlier, more people died in battle than from heat and dehydration, than they have from the actual battle itself, which you've already proven to be not so, but um a good point nonetheless to stay hydrated.
Speaker 1:To be fair, that was probably true, like back in ancient times, uh, but today not so much.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Probably because we know what we know about hydration.
Speaker 2:Yeah, totally agree. And and we have water that's clean and, uh, readily available, whereas they didn't have that quite as readily available back in the day.
Speaker 1:That's right. So, speaking of myths about hydration, let's start with one that I think is prevalent today Drink eight ounce glasses of water per day.
Speaker 2:That's a great, great guideline, but it is not a rule because, as we've talked about before, everything varies by person, and hydration is certainly one of those things. So the more you weigh, the higher your activity level, how healthy your diet is, and your environment itself can lend itself to either needing to drink more or less. So really and we've talked about this on podcast prior you need to monitor the color of your urine. So if your urine is pale, that is typically ideal, or golden, that's ideal. But if it's clear, it means that you're overhydrated and you're flushing out all those minerals and vitamins that your body needs. But if it's dark yellow, it typically means you're flushing out all those minerals and vitamins that your body needs. But if it's dark yellow, it typically means you're going to need more fluids and you need to start drinking a lot more water.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and another myth you're not dehydrated if you're not thirsty.
Speaker 2:That is a very, very dangerous myth, because we know that thirst is really a late stage signal for dehydration. You can be about one to two percent dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. So you want to stay ahead of ever getting to that thirst point, especially when you live in a climate that's very humid and very hot.
Speaker 1:All right. So now I'm going to ask a question that might ruffle a few feathers. What about caffeinated drinks like coffee, and not caffeinated, but also something that we know serves as diuretic alcohol? Do they count toward your hydration or not?
Speaker 2:Well, because caffeine is kind of that mildly diuretic level, studies have shown that coffee and tea still can contribute to hydration, so you are getting the fluids that you need. We know that tea and coffee also have some of the vitamins and minerals that could help with hydration. So the jury's still a little out on that. Obviously, you want to avoid high levels of caffeine, but I think you could still drink coffee and tea.
Speaker 2:Alcohol, on the other hand, totally depletes your hydration levels. We know that it causes your body to retain water and that's why oftentimes people, if they have been drinking the night before, they will oftentimes wake up dehydrated, because it just suppresses the fluids that are in your body and can make you feel pretty, pretty miserable and you want to stay hydrated. So if you do have some drinks, be sure that you're drinking two glasses, two eight ounce glasses of water for every drink that you have, and that's a good way to maybe minimize it. Now there comes a point where too much alcohol it doesn't really matter and besides the fact, too much alcohol, they may even forget to have the water yeah.
Speaker 1:That's good, so give us your top tips for staying hydrated this summer, especially with the heat waves that are rolling in now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think always start your day with water. So get that 16 to 20 ounces of water first thing in the morning. You've gone through the whole night You've been sleeping, you're not getting any water. So start it off by getting that into your system. Add electrolytes and you can do that by adding electrolyte powders, but make sure that you're trying to avoid anything that has sugar in it or anything that's artificial and that can make a big difference. Certainly, eat the right foods, get the right diet. So if you have fruit and vegetables like watermelon, cucumbers, oranges or strawberries, they have a lot of water and it's certainly going to count towards you staying hydrated and it's going to have the electrolytes that you need. And then watch your urine color Again pale, yellow, golden yellow is really where you're going to go for. And then use your timing. Don't chug a gallon at once, but sip on it throughout the day, because your body certainly, just like food, absorbs better in smaller amounts than in going overboard all at once.
Speaker 1:Those are all great tips, troy, and do you have any personal stories about hydration challenges or anything? I know that you have definitely played a lot of soccer in your day. You have coached youth sports. Is there anything that sticks out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I don't even think on this one that it sticks out from a sports standpoint, but it was from working in the yard, probably in the last year, when it was really, really hot.
Speaker 2:I was just trying to push myself to say, okay, I'm going to get this done, and then I'm going to go back in and get whatever I need. And I thought I was drinking plenty of water, which I was. I think I counted it up, I'd had about 80 ounces of water over a five-hour period, four-hour period, but I didn't have anything to go along with it, nothing that had electrolytes or the nutritional value to go along with it. So my body started to really get overheated. I got a little dizzy and you could tell that it was time for me to step back, get into some cool area before it got bad and unfortunately I didn't get accomplished exactly what I wanted to accomplish. But at the same time, unfortunately, I didn't get accomplished exactly what I wanted to accomplish, but at the same time I didn't have a heat stroke either. So that was probably good. My wife probably appreciated that.
Speaker 1:You know, it's funny how your body tends to tell you what you need to do for your health, even when our brain tries to tell us otherwise. I mean, I just think that's so true for us. With hydration, with sleep, even with movement, with all kinds of different things your body will typically tell you what you need to do if you listen to it.
Speaker 2:That's right, unless you're David Goggins. And then he tells you don't listen, just keep going.
Speaker 1:That's it. Well, this has been a great conversation to everyone listening. Don't wait until you're thirsty. Be sure you think ahead and you're proactive about your hydration not only drinking water, but also including those electrolytes that your body needs to retain its hydration as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think it's important to understand that health isn't something that you're going to wait for. You've got to be proactive with it, and that's what we talk about here all the time. You've got to take ownership of your health, because you are your best health advocate.
Speaker 1:Thanks again for tuning into this episode of the Frontline Health Podcast. Troy said it. We'll see you next time. If you enjoyed what you heard today on the podcast, please consider leaving us a review. We would love to hear your feedback and connect with you further. You can also follow us on Instagram X, tiktok and YouTube, and for safe, effective and affordable health and wellness products made in the USA, visit wwwcenturionhealth. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.