Few people realize the importance of hydration for their bodies. While your organs need regular hydration for optimal functioning, there are many more ways that your body uses hydration on a daily basis. One benefit of proper hydration that gets overlooked is the role it plays in hormone production. Since our bodies use hormones to regulate a wide range of functions, making sure you stay sufficiently hydrated is essential.
How Common Is Dehydration?
Before looking at the relationship between hydration and hormone balance, you might wonder if this is a problem that affects you. Unfortunately, dehydration is something that can affect anyone of any age, race, lifestyle, or climate. It’s also a more common problem than people realize. The National Institute of Health estimates that nearly 75% of all Americans suffer from dehydration. In 10-20% of cases, poor hydration is serious enough to lead to hospitalization.
The most common cause of dehydration is insufficient water intake, but that’s not the only way that people become dehydrated. Excessive sweating, frequent urination, and illness can all lead to dehydration.
People living in cooler climates are less likely to suffer from dehydration. That’s because hotter climates cause excessive sweating. In addition, certain medications act as diuretics and cause excessive urination and fluid loss. People who exercise regularly also face a higher risk of dehydration. Infants, children, and senior adults are more higher risk.
The signs of moderate dehydration include:
- Extreme thirst
- Disorientation or confusion
- Rapid respiration or heart rate
- Muscle cramps
- Low blood pressure
When dehydration becomes more severe, the symptoms might lead to a fever, shriveled skin, and sunken eyes. Without immediate treatment, dehydration results in a fever, seizures, or coma.
How Dehydration Affects Hormones
There are numerous ways that dehydration affects hormone balances in the body. Primarily, these issues result from changes in blood volume. Thicker blood takes longer to travel throughout the body, inhibiting organ functioning. In particular, this altered process lowers the delivery of iodine to the thyroid. The thyroid uses iodine to produce hormones, so a change in this process leads to lower hormone levels in the body.
Thicker blood that lacks the diluting effects of proper hydration leads to insulin resistance as well. There’s a higher concentration of glucose in the blood supply. In response, the body releases vasopressin into the blood. This compound forces the kidneys to retain water. At the same time, the liver releases more sugar into the blood supply. The heightened glucose levels disrupt the ability of insulin to push sugar into the cells for consumption.
As the concentration of glucose increases in the blood supply, the body will suppress the release of human growth hormone (HGH). This can lead to unexplained weight gain, more frequent instances of depression, and other changes. Since the condition encourages the release of cortisol and other stress hormones, heightened anxiety is also a common result of dehydration.
In men, this process commonly leads to a testosterone deficiency. In addition to affecting the thyroid and the release of HGH, dehydration interferes with the release of testosterone into the blood supply. Consult your doctor if you experience fatigue, weight gain, or other signs of low testosterone.
Your doctor will confirm low testosterone and other hormonal imbalances with a blood screening. After the test, your healthcare provider might recommend TRT (testosterone replacement therapy). Be sure to talk with your physician about testosterone side effects before beginning treatment.
Some side effects that men commonly experience include:
- Weight gain
- Fluid retention
- Breast enlargement
- Mood changes
- Polycythemia (high red blood cell count)
Your doctor can help you monitor and manage the side effects of testosterone replacement therapy. For this reason, it’s important to report any changes to your doctor after beginning the therapy.
How to Stay Hydrated for Hormonal Balance
You can prevent low testosterone and other hormonal imbalances by taking more steps to stay hydrated. Improved hydration provides a wealth of benefits that result from proper hormonal balances. You’ll have more energy, better mental clarity, and more physical mobility. Better hydration promotes proper organ functioning as well. You might experience gastrointestinal health changes, boosted heart health, and more positive physical benefits.
You can stay better hydrated by making the following lifestyle changes:
- Drink eight pr more glasses of water daily
- Improve your electrolyte balance with a higher intake of sodium, potassium, and magnesium
- Eat plant-based foods with hydrating properties (watermelon, cucumber, oranges, etc.)
- Lower your intake of dehydrating fluids, such as caffeine and alcohol
- Watch for the early signs of dehydration, such as headaches and excessive thirst
The easiest way to watch your hydration levels is by monitoring the fluids your body expels. Profuse sweating, excessive urination, and diarrhea often lead to dehydration. When you experience these conditions, increase your intake of water and electrolytes.
Keep an Eye on Your Hormone Production With Routine Checkups
It’s difficult to know exactly how well your body produces hormones, so it’s important to pay attention to biological changes. Any new experience, such as unexplained weight changes, increased fatigue, or reduced libido, should prompt you to visit your doctor. Together, you can determine if the change is the result of a hormone imbalance or another medical condition. Whether you need TRT or another type of therapy, speedy treatment can restore your optimal quality of life.
