Fatigue, Brain Fog, & Depression – Behind The Food Nutrition by Veronica Lim

Category: Fatigue, Brain Fog, & Depression

Balance Your Hormones

What You Can Do About Brain Fog (Part 2)

23 November 20198 November 2020
by Veronica Lim

Out of the blue, the words fell out of my mouth.

“The Gruen Transfer.”

“How did you remember that?” Jeff asked.

“I don’t know. It just came out,” while inside I was grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

We were talking about a programme we used to watch on TV while we were living in Australia for a while.

It felt damn good to be able to think quickly, to get that piece of information out as if it was always on the tip of my tongue, to find the words right off the bat.

But I know what brain fog feels like.

And it was food that made the biggest difference for me.

I discovered this when I was back in investment banking before the degree. I had decided to try out an exclusion or elimination diet – where you remove certain foods for a limited period of time, and then reintroduce it, to test whether your body has an immune response to it, and with it, symptoms like brain fog (among many possible others).

Within less than a week, my eyes were clearer, I could see better, everything looked brighter and sharper, I had more energy, I felt lighter and you guessed it, no more brain fog! And no more sugar or carb cravings either.

So, what’s going to move the needle for you and make the biggest difference?

Following on from last week, here is what you can look at and do in relation to your food. Make sure that every meal or snack you have, includes at least one of each of the following.

(1) Healthy fats

Our brain is made up of some 60% fat. (Now you know where the phrase ”fat head” came from. Well, OK, I just made that up, but it’s true that your brain is made up of that much fat).

If you’re not eating enough of the right types of fats, your brain will suffer and so will your ability to think. Because your body uses fats to build your cell membranes (not just in your brain, everywhere).

It also helps maintain brain messaging pathways and the production of neurotransmitters (brain messaging chemicals).

Too little fat and your brain shrinks and can’t communicate so well. And too much of the wrong type, and your brain can’t function properly.

What you can do: Eat oily fish twice a week for their omega-3 fats (salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies). Also eat lightly roasted or raw and unsalted nuts and seeds for a combination of omega-3, omega-6 and monounsaturated fats (walnuts, macadamia nuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds). Choose other healthy fats too, like avocados and grass-fed meats. Use extra virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil on top of your salads.

(2) Rainbow foods

Think vegetables and fruits of all the different colours. They’re filled with vitamins, minerals and polyphenols (plant chemicals), which have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. What’s more, polyphenols have been shown to be neuroprotective and can help to improve cell to cell communication in the brain.

What you can do: Challenge yourself to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you’re eating each day. Aim for two servings of fruit and five or more servings of vegetables a day. Use your hand as a guide – the size of your fist is one serving. How many do you eat right now? Increase gradually until you get there.

(3) Protein

Proteins are often called building blocks for our body. For good reason too. It’s broken down by our bodies into the smallest unit, called amino acids. These are then used by the body to make a whole load of different things and in a whole load of different processes.

For example, they are used to make neurotransmitters, which is one of the ways in which your brain communicates. They’re also used by the liver as part of its detoxification process to convert what the body doesn’t need into substances that we can pee or poo out. If the liver can’t function properly and we don’t get rid of these, that could result in brain fog. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

So, getting enough protein is key. Now, there are 21 amino acids all up, of which 9 are “essential”. This means that your body cannot make them, so you must get it from your diet.

What you can do: Eat one serving of good quality protein with every meal. One serving is about the size of your palm. If you can, focus on choosing organic and grass-fed meats.

If you’ve chosen to be vegetarian or vegan, it can be a bit tricky to make sure you’ve got all the amino acids your body needs… because we can get into eating ruts, eating the same thing over and over again. You know what I mean? So, be sure to get the right education and know-how you need to be able to design your meals (and your supplementation) so that they are well balanced.

One last thing. Watch out for when you eat too. If you find yourself getting light-headed or dizzy between meals, or having to eat every three hours or so, it’s possible that you’re either not eating enough of the right things and/or your blood sugar balance isn’t quite right. That can contribute to brain fog and unclear thinking too.

Alright. Between Part 1 on this subject and this, I think that’s plenty to be getting on with, don’t you?

Let me know what you’ve implemented. Just send me an email. I’d love to hear.

Balance Your Hormones

What You Can Do About Brain Fog (Part 1)

17 November 20198 November 2020
by Veronica Lim

Brain fog.

That was me in the early days of my degree. I’d be fully present, hanging on to every word the lecturer was saying, capturing notes intermittently as we went along. Then the lecturer would say, “…….a, b, c, d and e….” and I’d think, “Ooh, must get that, “ and I’d write in my notes, “a………d and….”.

I just couldn’t remember the in between, or sometimes even the end, even in that short space of time. No sooner was it said, it was gone from my mind.

My mind and my memory were things I’d always prided myself in. Jeff often called me “elephant memory” but I had been noticing that accessing some of those things in the memory I was so proud of was just not happening, more often than not.

I’d draw blanks. I wouldn’t even be able to remember what letter of the alphabet that something I was trying to remember started with.

It wasn’t just the elephant memory piece, it was also my short-term memory. I’d begun to notice that I couldn’t remember whether I’d done something or talked something over with Jeff.

Not to mention the time I was back in investment banking and couldn’t find the words to answer the question that I knew I knew the answer to, only to find my 30-year old colleague saying what should have been coming out of *my* mouth.

What if these were early stages of Alzheimer’s (mild cognitive impairment)? What if I’d progress with my studies and find that I couldn’t remember what I needed to know? What if I was losing my sharp thinking and my ability to think on my feet?

These were key elements of my sense of self, my identity. And it was scary to think about.

I knew that forgetfulness wasn’t a given, as far as aging was concerned. My mother, who is now nearly 96, had better recall than I had then. So was my brain fog due to the menopause?

Regardless, simply accepting it as the status quo isn’t where it’s at.

The question isn’t about the what. It’s about the why. Why the brain fog in the first place? Because identifying and addressing the root cause is where it’s at. It means that you can do something about it.

(1) Reduced oestrogen levels
Falling oestrogen levels as we get to menopausal age, may mean that you notice a reduction in mental focus and increased brain fog. Oestrogen has many roles to play in the body, not just as a sex hormone. For example, it helps with neurotransmission and stimulating nerve cell growth. Not only that, it can act as an antioxidant which may help with oxidative stress levels (see below).

What you can do: Include phytoestrogenic foods in your diet, such as ground flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, mung beans and fermented soy. These can mimic the oestrogenic effect and give you a bit of a boost.

(2) Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance between the production of free radicals (highly unstable molecules that cause damage to nearby cells) and the level of antioxidants available in the body to neutralise them. Too much oxidative stress can result in oxidative damage and inflammation. And when this happens in the brain, you can get brain fog.

What you can do: Eat anti-inflammatory foods and antioxidant-rich foods. Avoid processed, packaged foods and rancid vegetable oils. Choose butter, olive oil or coconut oil instead.

(3) Reduced blood flow to the brain
Your brain needs enough blood flow to bring fresh oxygen, nutrients and fuel, and to clear out waste matter, in order for it to work properly. Otherwise it’s like a clogged up sink. Stuff stuck in the drainage and the dirty water fills up the sink, complete with debris and muck. Imagine the murky water; that’s like foggy brain.

What you can do: Move regularly to get the blood flowing and to increase the level of oxygen you’re taking in and the amount of waste products you’re breathing out. Get a standing desk, go for a walk, stretch. Besides, exercise also triggers the growth of new blood vessels and nerve cells in the brain.

(4) Gut microbial imbalances
Yes, it’s true. Some people find that their brain fog kicks in with a vengeance shortly after they’ve eaten certain foods, and this may be due to a gut microbial imbalance. It could be due to an overgrowth of candida or yeast or an overgrowth in certain bacteria that produce a substance called D-lactate, which causes brain fog.

What you can do: Get tested. The combination of a stool test and an organic acids test will give you a comprehensive view. (If you want to do these tests, do ask me. I love them!)

(5) Poor sleep
I know. This can be a real pain when going through menopause if this also happens to be one of your symptoms. It can leave you so tired that you can’t think, or you don’t have the energy to feed yourself well. Then when you get to bed, you can’t sleep, You’re tired but wired. And then this adds to your stress levels and the vicious circle goes round. That’s why it’s often one of the first areas I work on with clients.

What you can do: Learn how to manage your blood sugar levels, as they have a key role to play in both sleep duration and quality. If you’re tired, get a nap in the middle of the day if you can. Have a regular sleep routine, go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. Have either a warm bath or a cold shower right before going to bed – experiment and see which one works better for you! Avoid blue light at night, and get plenty of daylight, especially first thing in the morning, to regulate your circadian rhythm.

(6) Dehydration
Even mild dehydration (1-2% of body water) can make you less alert, less able to concentrate and more forgetful. It can make you feel moody, anxious or irritable too.

What you can do: Drink sufficient water or herbal teas throughout the day. Gauge how much is right for you, from the colour of your wee. Very pale yellow or nearly colourless is what you’re going for.

(7) Too much stress
I’m not going to say much about this. You know what to do

(8) Other factors
Sadly, we now live in a world that’s filled with toxins. Chemicals from air pollution, pesticides, extensive use of plastics, unfiltered water, chemicals in our make-up, cosmetics and toiletries and the list goes on. And for some, there’s also excessive alcohol and smoking (including vaping).

What you can do: Reduce your exposure to all of these as much as you possibly can.

“But Veronica, what about nutritional shortfalls?”

Ah, I knew you’d be asking that.

Next week, my friend, next week. Can you wait?

In the meantime, pick something from the list I’ve given you so far. Something you know you can do, and do that. With action comes clarity. Get that going, then pick the next one.

And if you want support, accountability and a guide to help you with this, shoot me a message and we can talk.

Case Studies

Fatigue for over 10 years to Healthy and Energetic

28 June 20198 November 2020
by Veronica Lim

Not every nutritional therapist practices in the same way. In common with nutritionists, we all care about the nutrients that one gets from food and that food can be medicine. However, as a nutritional therapist trained in the Functional Medicine approach, my approach goes much wider and much deeper. Like Sherlock Holmes, I look to understand what is happening in your body and how your diet and lifestyle may be contributing or may have contributed to your health challenges. And with the aid of laboratory testing, a detailed picture is pulled together to form the foundation of a fully personalised and powerful programme.

This is how Elizabeth overcame more than 10 years of fatigue to regain the energy she needed to have a full family and business life once again.

One caveat though. Please be aware that all the recommendations provided to Elizabeth are individualised and unique to her. It is based on a deep dive into her health history and personal biochemical make up, to establish the interactions in her body that could be contributing to her symptoms, which is the essence of Functional Medicine.

Meet Elizabeth

Elizabeth, 55, is chief executive of her own consultancy. She had always been active and full of zest and positive energy. Inspiring and charismatic, she was a dynamic business-woman, who had led an active lifestyle with her husband and two young children. She practised yoga, and loved travelling, regularly holidaying abroad.

About ten years earlier, Elizabeth had started to feel fatigued. She originally put it down to having had her children late, and running a growing business at the same time. Her fatigue worsened after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent subsequent treatment, but four years afterwards, her tiredness wasn’t getting any better. Instead, she was feeling tired all the time. She had also started to suffer from brain fog, and was unable to think as clearly.

Food first

The first task was to review Elizabeth’s food diary in conjunction with her Health Programme Questionnaire. A few things jumped out.

Elizabeth had been mostly vegetarian since her teens, eating fish only occasionally. She had also started eating the odd serving of chicken once in a while. She wasn’t eating much by way of processed or refined foods, and was generally eating quite healthily. However, she was falling short in two key areas. Elizabeth needed more protein, and the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. For example, protein is required to make haemoglobin, which is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Low levels of haemoglobin could therefore contribute to lack of oxygen, and ultimately fatigue.

Also, research has shown that fatigue arising from chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment, which Elizabeth had undergone several years before, can persist for several years afterwards. It is thought that this may arise from altered immune system signalling in the body, that can increase inflammation and contribute to feelings of tiredness. The omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, have been found to play anti-inflammatory roles in the body, and as Elizabeth was not eating much by way of oily fish, this could have been contributing to a reduction in the body’s ability to reduce inflammation. Although she may have been consuming some omega-3s in plant form, such as through pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or walnuts, the body’s ability to convert these into the active forms, EPA and DHA, is low and variable. Hence, the recommendation to eat one to two servings of oily fish a week.

I also considered whether Elizabeth might be low on vitamin B12 and iron, which are common nutrients that can be deficient in vegetarians and which can contribute to symptoms of fatigue, as shortfalls can result in anaemia. I recommended that Elizabeth increase her intake of iron-rich foods, found in foods such as beans, nuts and dark leafy greens. Poultry and eggs are also good sources of iron, and Elizabeth agreed to start eating these foods, which would provide her with increased protein too.

With Elizabeth’s consent, I wrote to her GP, requesting that she be tested for anaemia, so that we could eliminate that as a possible cause of her fatigue.

Next Steps

Although Elizabeth had identified stress as being a trigger that worsened her fatigue, she indicated that she did not have a stressful lifestyle. She felt tired in the evenings and regularly went to bed at about 9 p.m., waking up the following day at 7 a.m., but still did not feel refreshed.

Due to Elizabeth having undergone cancer treatment several years before, I wanted to gain insight into how effectively her energy production cycle might be working, her gut health and whether she might have an imbalance in her gut flora, known as dysbiosis. Research had shown that chemotherapy can lead to inflammation in the gut, and this can adversely alter the gut microflora. Think of your gut flora as being similar to a garden. If you strip it bare in many places, this leaves it open to weeds taking a hold and growing where you don’t want them to. So similarly, if the chemotherapy had reduced Elizabeth’s gut flora significantly, this could have provided unfriendly bacteria or yeast with an opportunity to fill in the gaps.

Elizabeth agreed to do an Organic Acids test, which is a urine test. Her results showed several bottlenecks in her energy production cycle, and elevated nervous system activity. It was as if her nerves were “on” all of the time. She also had elevated levels of chemicals known to be produced by yeasts or fungi, and indications of an imbalance in her gut flora. This prompted a stool test, which showed that she had a very high level of growth of a yeast known as Geotrichum and the presence of a parasite. Interestingly, Elizabeth had visited India just over ten years earlier, which may explain where she might have picked this up. This provided the insights we needed, as to the factors that may have been contributing to Elizabeth feeling constantly fatigued.

I recommended a supplement programme that included a four-pronged approach to helping rebalance her gut flora: anti-microbials and anti-fungals to reduce the yeast and parasite overgrowth, probiotics to support beneficial gut bacterial growth, and a small amount of an amino acid called L-glutamine to help with gut healing. In addition, I also recommended a supplement which contained calming herbs to provide support for her nervous system, and specific supplemental vitamins and minerals to break through the bottlenecks and help the energy production cycle.

Making Progress and Seeing Results

Six weeks later, Elizabeth’s energy levels were better than before but she was still “not bouncing around”. Her energy levels were more stable and she was not as tired in the evenings.

At our first consultation, she had scored herself an 8 out of 10, for how much her fatigue was bothering her, and this had now reduced to a 6.

I explained that we could have taken a harder hitting approach with her gut rebalancing programme. However, because of the very high overgrowth in both the yeast and the parasite, a rapid die off of both of them could cause a marked increase in the level of toxins being released, which could lead to her feeling sick and even more fatigued. Her programme was a gentler approach, and now that she had been on the anti-fungal programme for several weeks, I added some krill oil to her programme, as this is high in phospholipids and astaxanthin, which can help with reducing free radical activity and supporting mitochondrial repair.

One month later, I saw Elizabeth again. Her fatigue score which started at 8 out of 10 for the extent to which it was bothering her, had gone down to 6 at the previous consultation, and was now at 1! She said that she had experienced a massive difference since the last consultation. She no longer had a foggy head and her eyes now felt like “different eyes”. When out to dinner at a friend’s, she no longer had to go home by 10:30, and was happily able to stay until midnight. Elizabeth was also better able to enjoy her business life once again. She could now give client presentations for two days in a row and not feel completely worn out. She said that she was “feeling really good” and she gave herself a wellbeing score of 9 out of 10.

Follow Up & Wrap Up

I did not need to see Elizabeth again after that. However, as I was writing up this case study, I followed up with her to see how she had been getting on. It’s now been four months since our last consultation. She wrote, “Working with you on my health last year was one of the top highlights of my year. You have transformed my energy and my life and you have set me up for a healthy and energetic next phase of my life – so a huge thank you!”

Our body systems are inter-related, and simply taking a pep pill would not have worked. There’s plenty of research and detective work that goes on behind the scenes to uncover possible contributing factors, and Elizabeth was incredibly committed to the process. She was willing to radically change her dietary habits when she understood the biochemistry behind the food, and how that may have been contributing to her health concern. She was also vigilant with her supplementation programme. She even involved her children who loved the 2-ingredient breakfast pancakes recipe I shared with her. I have been honoured to witness Elizabeth’s transformation, and am so pleased to have been able to walk with her on this journey.

Energy, Thyroid and Adrenals

Chances Are You’re Sitting Too Much And Why You…

4 May 20198 November 2020
by Veronica Lim

If you’re reading this, it’s more than likely that you sit too much – in the car, at your desk in the office, during your commute, in the evenings after work. Even playing games these days is usually done sitting down, in front of a computer. It’s no wonder that most of us spend between 55 and 70 percent of our day sitting down, with some estimates putting this figure at closer to 90 percent when sleep is included in the equation.

Studies from Canada, Australia and the US show an association between a sedentary lifestyle and premature mortality. But before you stop reading this article thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you work out regularly, think again. Studies have differentiated between too much sittingand too little exercise, whereby one can be an “Active Couch Potato” – someone who’s physically active (spending at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week), yet sits for extended periods of time.

“Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death,” says Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative.

Coined as “the new smoking”, prolonged sitting can compromise our metabolic health and here are some reasons why you should care.

Reduced Brain Function & Depression

Activity increases blood flow and releases mood-enhancing and cognitive chemicals. With inactivity comes reduced blood flow throughout our body, leading to a slowing down of brain function. The result is brain fogginess. One study also suggested that sitting for more than seven hours a day increased the risk of depression by 47% when compared to sitting for four hours or less per day.

Heart Disease

With blood pooling, blood flow tends to get sluggish allowing fatty acids to build quicker resulting in plaque, elevated cholesterol and eventually heart disease. If we are up and moving, fatty acids are better flushed from the circulatory system.

Colon cancer

Prolonged sitting for a good portion of your work day can also increase the risk for certain cancers. While not fully understood, scientists think the lack of movement could be linked to an inflammatory cascade of metabolic processes, triggering overactive cell growth, particularly in the colon and also linking to endometrial cancer.

Muscle degeneration and tightening

When we are up and moving about, standing or even sitting up straight, our abdominal muscles support our back. But when hunched over, the abdominal muscles relax and hang loose. As a result of this lack of use, the muscles weaken and extra pressure is transferred to the back muscles. This muscle imbalance can eventually lead to a condition called sway back, resulting in back pain.

In addition, sitting for extended periods can also lead to a shortening and tightening of the hip flexors. Over time, this reduces the range of motion in the hips, increasing the risk for imbalance and instability, leading to an increased risk for falls.

Herniated discs are also a common condition brought about by prolonged sitting. The psoas muscle – the muscle running from the hips to the spine that provides stability – tightens. Over time, it shortens up from non-use and pulls the lower spine forward putting excessive pressure on some of the intervertebral discs. Eventually these disks, which function as sponge-like shock absorbers in between the vertebrae, squeeze out, causing pain and sometimes surgery to correct the condition.

So, should you race out and invest in a standing desk?

Not necessarily, because standing still for prolonged periods is not without issues either. It can bring on blood pooling also, along with heart disease, varicose veins, joint pain in the knees and muscle fatigue. However, standing is more active and therefore better than sitting on its own, with a UK study finding that there is a significant increase in heart rate and energy expenditure, when comparing the two.

A sit-stand desk may therefore be of benefit, but the bottom-line is that it is neither standing nor sitting per se, but intermittent movementthat is the key.

In other words, the solution is to frequently move around and not sit or stand for too long at a time. In fact, studies have found that positive changes to metabolic biomarkers were associated with breaks in sedentary time. This included transitional movements, from sitting to standing, or from standing still to walking.

The bottom-line then is to think how you can make your day more active. The ideal would be to move between 5 and 10 minutes out of each hour. What simple changes could you make to your day?

Here are some suggestions.

Get up and get a cup of coffee or glass of water
Hand deliver a message or walk over and talk to a colleague instead of emailing it
Take a walk for 15 minutes after eating lunch
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Park further away from your office building or get off one stop sooner than usual and walk in the rest of the way
Use the loos that are further away from your desk
Stand and stretch every now and again
Combine your movement breaks with the “pomodoro” technique – a productivity strategy that uses short, frequent breaks
Stand up during a meeting or have walking meetings when possible
Pop out to get your own lunch instead of asking a colleague to get yours when they’re out to get theirs
Set your timer at intermittent intervals to remind you to take a break, or download an app like the Dejal Time Out which dims your screen when it’s time for a break

Adopt the curiosity that comes with a youthful mind and experiment to find what works for you. It’s not always easy when you start but like any habit, it becomes easier with both time and practice. And the next time that colleague who’s been annoying you, because they seem to take such frequent breaks, goes for yet another walk? Rather than getting vexed again, take that as your cue to take a leaf out of their book and do your health a favour!

Balance Your Hormones

3 Quick Tricks To Make Drinking Water A Simple…

4 May 20198 November 2020
by Veronica Lim

Most of us know that we should drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water per day as part of our good health strategy. According to the European Food Safety Authority, adequate water intake for sedentary individuals needs to be 2 liters/68 ounces per day for women and 2.5 liters/84 ounces per day for men. This amount increases, depending on the weather, level of physical activity and if pregnant or not. What’s more, as women get older, thirst sensitivity to changes in the level of fluid in the body reduces, and risk of dehydration can increase, due to drinking less fluids.

Water makes up about 60-70% of our body, and is present in our cells, tissues and organs. It is absolutely essential for life; while we can get away without eating any food for an extended period of time, we can only go for a few days without water. Maintaining the balance of water in our bodies is so important, that we have numerous amazing mechanisms to monitor and adjust the physiological functioning of various organs in our body to make sure we remain in a state of “euhydration,” defined as “the absence of absolute or relative hydration or dehydration”.

This diagram gives you a simplified indication of what actually goes on in our body to do this. No need to read all the detail unless you want to, but it’s good to glance it over to get a sense of how hard our bodies work to keep us alive through regulating our hydration.

Source: Je’quier and Constant (2010)

Reasons to Drink Plenty of Water

We get our water from what we drink, what we eat and what we produce internally. But we aren’t able to produce enough water through our metabolism nor is there enough in the foods we eat to fulfil our body’s needs, and so, we need to make sure that we consume sufficient water.

Water is needed as a building material; more is needed when the body is growing. It is also needed for the metabolism of the food that we eat (being involved in hydrolysis of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and other nutrients), as well as being a transport medium for carrying nutrients to cells and removing waste products or toxins from them. It is also the main constituent of blood and is essential for the proper functioning of our organs and our body systems. It’s no wonder that too much loss of water in our body is life-threatening.

Water also provides lubrication for our joints, mucus, saliva, gastro-intestinal secretions, and helps our cells maintain their shape and function – just think, water is taken out of our cells when we are dehydrated and this causes our cells to shrink. It also helps us regulate our body temperature, through adjusting how much we sweat or pee.

Water also helps keep you mentally alert. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration (1-2% of body water) can affect alertness, the ability to concentrate and short-term memory function, and can also affect mood and feelings of anxiety and irritability.

Further, dehydration can lead to the development of headache, as a result of reduced total blood volume and dehydration in the brain tissues. Some observational studies further note that this can also trigger migraines and prolong them. For those with water deprivation-induced headache, relief from consuming water was experienced within 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Water can also help you maximise your physical performance. Athletes commonly lose about 6-10% of body weight in water during high intensity exercise, but it was found that even with mild dehydration as low as 2%, physical performance was reduced. Intense exercise or high heat can lead to experiencing more fatigue, reduced motivation, an altered ability to regulate body temperature and reduced endurance. It can also affect the perception of difficulty, making exercise feel more challenging, both mentally and physically. Thankfully, replenishing our level of hydration can reverse this and also reduce oxidative stress that results from high intensity exercise.

What’s more, water can also boost your metabolism and assist with weight loss. In two studies, consuming just half a liter (17 ounces) of water increased metabolic rate by 24-30% for up to an hour and a half. Some of this effect was a result of the body heating the temperature of the water to body temperature, and hence, it is more helpful to drink the water cold. Remember though, that drinking water alone will not increase your metabolism enough to show any appreciable weight loss by itself, but when added to your other weight loss efforts it will help, plus it will keep you from being dehydrated – a major nemesis to weight loss.

Sadly though, the majority of us do not drink nearly as much as our body needs to function at optimal efficiency.

3 Tricks to Make Drinking Water a Simple Healthy Habit

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” – H. Auden (1907-1973)

Due to the way in which our thirst mechanism works, the feeling of thirst disappears before water balance is reached. So, how can you tell whether or not you’re dehydrated? Here’s a list of signs and symptoms:

Signs of mild to moderate dehydration	Signs of severe dehydration
Dry, sticky mouth	Extreme thirst
Sleepiness or tiredness	Extreme fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in adults
Thirst	Very dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
Decreased urine output	Lack of sweating
Few or no tears when crying	Little or no urination – any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
Muscle weakness	Sunken eyes
Headache	Shrivelled and dry skin that lacks elasticity and does not “bounce back” when pinched into a fold
Dizziness or light-headedness	Low blood pressure
	Rapid heartbeat
	Fever
	Delirium or unconsciousness

Source: Mayo Clinic (2008) cited by Je’quier and Constant (2010)

Here are 3 tricks you can use to help get your daily water quota:

1) Eat water-enriched foods

About 80% of our daily water intake comes from drinking; the other 20% comes from the food we eat. Vegetables, such as lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes are 95% water. Fresh fruits like blueberries, apples and oranges are 85% water and are loaded with good nutrients and minerals; watermelon is 95% water. Supplementing your daily water intake with the recommend daily amount of fresh fruits and vegetables is a good way to ensure you are getting enough water.

2) Add flavour to your water

Adding flavour to your water does a couple of things. Firstly, it’s a simple way to make it taste better, which is not only great for a change, but also makes you more likely to drink it. And secondly, it can help provide some of your daily amount of vitamin C and replace electrolytes lost through sweating. You can add lemon to your water, for example. The juice of one large lemon has over 30% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and provides potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium. You could also try lime, cucumber, strawberries, kiwi fruit, ginger, mint – let your imagination run wild and try different combinations, like strawberry, basil and cucumber.

3) Put a day’s worth of water in a bottle

If you don’t track what you’re drinking, you’ll most likely not drink enough. A really easy way to keep track of how much water you’re drinking is to fill up a 2 liter (68 ounces) bottle with water and keep that in the refrigerator. You could also keep it on your desk, and getting up every now and again to grab your bottle from the fridge gets you moving which is another simple healthy habit (read why here). Keep drinking and refilling your glass throughout the day until the entire bottle is empty. This way, you’ll know you’ll soon get into the habit of drinking at least 2 liters a day, and you can gradually increase it to your own optimal level after that. Once you get used to drinking this amount of water each day, you’ll really notice how much better you feel.

OK! All set? Drink up more water for the week and let me know how you go!

References

Boschmann, M., Steiniger, J., Franke, G., Birkenfeld, A.L., Luft, F.C. and Jordan, J. (2006) Water Drinking Induces Thermogenesis through Osmosensitive Mechanisms. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 92(8): pp. 3334–3337

Boschmann, M., Steiniger, J., Hille, U., Tank, J., Adams, F., Sharma, A.M., Klaus, S., Luft, F.C. and Jordan, J. (2003) Water-Induced Thermogenesis. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 88(12): pp. 6015–6019

EFSA NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies) (2010) Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for water. EFSA Journal 8(3): pp. 1459-1507.

Ganio. M.S., Armstrong, L.E., Casa, D.J., McDermott, B.P., Lee, E.C., Yamamoto, L.M., Marzano, S., Lopez, R.M., Jimenez, L., Le Bellego, L., Chevillotte, E. and Lieberman, H.R. (2011) Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. British Journal of NutritionVol. 106(10), pp. 1535–1543Je’quier, E. and Constant, F. (2010) Water as an essential nutrient: the physiological basis of hydration. European Journal of Clinical NutritionVol. 64(2), pp. 115–123.

Paik, I.Y., Jeong, M.H., Jin, H.E., Kim, Y.I., Suh, A.R., Cho, S.Y., Roh, H.T., Jin, C.H. and Suh, S.H. (2009) Fluid replacement following dehydration reduces oxidative stress during recovery. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 383(1): pp. 103-107.

Popkin, B.M., D’Anci, K.E. and Rosenberg, I.H. (2010) Water, Hydration and Health. Nutrition Review 68(8): pp. 439-458.

Stachenfeld, N.S. (2014) Hormonal Changes During Menopause and the Impact on Fluid Regulation. Reproductive Science 21(5): pp. 555-561.