{"id":7066,"date":"2025-07-11T09:35:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T07:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/?p=7066"},"modified":"2025-07-11T09:35:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T07:35:06","slug":"hot-summer-days-why-water-is-your-first-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/hot-summer-days-why-water-is-your-first-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Summer Days: Why Water Is Your First Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-columns stk-block-columns stk-block stk-a53d7ad\" data-block-id=\"a53d7ad\"><div class=\"stk-row stk-inner-blocks stk-block-content stk-content-align stk-a53d7ad-column\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-d0dcfc9\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"d0dcfc9\"><style>@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-d0dcfc9 {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 25% !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-d0dcfc9-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-d0dcfc9-inner-blocks\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-47dc05d\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"47dc05d\"><style>@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-47dc05d {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 50% !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-47dc05d-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-47dc05d-inner-blocks\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Canicule-EN-45x45.jpg 45w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-column stk-block-column stk-column stk-block stk-9dd128c\" data-v=\"4\" data-block-id=\"9dd128c\"><style>@media screen and (min-width: 768px){.stk-9dd128c {flex:var(--stk-flex-grow, 1) 1 25% !important;}}<\/style><div class=\"stk-column-wrapper stk-block-column__content stk-container stk-9dd128c-container stk--no-background stk--no-padding\"><div class=\"stk-block-content stk-inner-blocks stk-9dd128c-inner-blocks\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Water is not just a beverage \u2013 it is your most essential nutrient. It supports energy levels, sleep quality, and immune function. The human body is made up of about 60% water, but this percentage decreases with age, dropping to around 50% after age 70. Even mild dehydration, as little as a 2% water loss, can impair both physical and cognitive performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a heatwave, water needs rise significantly due to increased sweating. It is advisable to drink between 2.5 to 3 liters of water per day, depending on your activity level and heat exposure. But hydration doesn&#8217;t come only from fluids. Fruits and vegetables contain what is known as \u201cactivated water\u201d, rich in minerals, trace elements, and natural sugars that help repair tissues and provide energy. A cucumber or a lettuce leaf is over 95% water, but also provides potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C \u2013 all essential for restoring mineral balance after sweating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In older adults, dehydration is often chronic and goes unnoticed. The thirst mechanism weakens with age, and water is often replaced with coffee, tea, or sugary beverages. This can lead to fatigue, dry mouth, mental fog, and a gradual decline in overall health. Studies show that elderly people hospitalized for dehydration have a 50% mortality rate within the following year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After physical activity, especially in the heat, plain water is not enough. Sweating causes loss of key electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Rehydrating with only water can dilute the blood and create imbalances. What helps? Water enriched with minerals, or simply fresh fruits and vegetables post-exercise. They naturally restore hydration, electrolytes, and energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caffeinated and alcoholic drinks might feel refreshing, but they increase fluid loss. Just six cups of coffee per day can raise urine output by 750 ml and lead to depletion of sodium and potassium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, flying in hot weather increases the risk of dehydration-related blood clots. Dry cabin air, alcohol, lack of movement, and prolonged sitting all contribute to the risk of deep vein thrombosis. The best prevention includes regular water intake, avoiding alcohol during flights, and walking every 2\u20133 hours. Most clots occur after flights longer than 14 hours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Water is not just a beverage \u2013 it is your most essential nutrient. It supports energy levels, sleep quality, and immune function. The human body is made up of about 60% water, but this percentage decreases with age, dropping to around 50% after age 70. Even mild dehydration, as little as a 2% water loss, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[233,231,232,236,237,235,234],"class_list":["post-7066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthy-tips","tag-dehydration","tag-heat","tag-hydration-2","tag-potassium-2","tag-regulation","tag-sodium-2","tag-water"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7066"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7069,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7066\/revisions\/7069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hertoghe.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}