In the summertime when you get hot, sweaty and sticky, it is quite natural to reach for a nice, cool glass of water to quench your thirst. In the Fall and Winter, however, it is easy to forget to drink an adequate amount of water to stay hydrated.
Think about it. You are indoors, covered with layers of warm clothing and subject to the dry heat produced by your furnace wood stove, or fireplace. Talk about a recipe for dehydration.
Today I discuss some reasons why you need to drink water for survival. This may see rather simplistic and you may be saying to yourself, “yeah, I know that” and move on. Before doing so however, keep in mind that in a stressful disaster, survival, collapse, or SHTF situation, you are going to need to be healthy, alert, and physically able to deal with the toils of the environment and the chaos around you. And for that, you need to be hydrated.
Simply stated, dehydration occurs when your body does not have sufficient water and fluids to function in peak form. To re-nourish your cells, the remedy is to drink water and lots of it. Let me tell you why.
Eight Reasons to Drink Water
1. Protect Your Immune System: The lack of water can dry out the mucous membranes of your lungs, stomach, intestines, and sinus passages. This is especially true in the winter. When this happens, you lose your resistance to disease since these barriers can only protect your body against bacteria, viruses, and pollutants when they fully hydrated and intact.
2. Lose or Maintain a Healthy Weight: A well-hydrated body has a higher level of oxygen in the bloodstream, translating into an increased ability to burn fat as fuel. In addition, drinking water reduces hunger by quenching your appetite so you eat less.
3. Prevent Headaches: Drinking plenty of water can mitigate headaches. You will often hear that someone who has been vomiting will come down with a massive headache. This is not fallacy and has happened to me. The reason for this is the lack of fluids and electrolytes.
General dehydration can also bring upon what is commonly referred to as a low-grade headache. Whatever the type, a headache is no fun and a severe headache, such as a migraine, can be debilitating for hours if not days.
4. Prevent Indigestion and Constipation: I am not trying to be gross, but to keep things moving down your digestive track, the solids need water. Plain and simple. Keep the digestive track well-flushed so that you can flush frequently yourself!
5. Relieve Fatigue: Dehydration has been associated with decreases in mental concentration and physical coordination. The result is fatigue. The dehydrated body has to work hard simply to perform its most basic functions, sapping energy and leaving you exhausted. Feeling tired? Drinking water will give you an instant energy boost.
6. Energize the Muscles for Better Exercise: Cells that don’t maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel. This can result in muscle fatigue. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer. As long as you are going through the effort of working out and staying fit, why not get the most out of your efforts by staying well hydrated?
Note: the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines recommend that people start drinking fluids about two hours before exercise. During exercise, they recommend that people start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating.
7. Healthy Looking Skin: The skin is an organ, and just like any other part of the body, the organ is made up of cells. And skin cells, like the other cells in the body, are made up of water. If your skin is not getting a sufficient amount of water, the lack of hydration will present itself by turning your skin dry, tight and flaky. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling. This is not a pretty picture and no amount of creams, ointments, or salves will improve your skin if you do not take in an adequate supply of water.
8. A Positive Outlook: According to the Mayo Clinic, even mild levels of dehydration can hinder your emotional state. Although drinking water is not known to directly cause positive moods, it can give you a lift by preventing lethargy. You will feel good and that in itself will make you happy.
Are You Dehydrated?
The most obvious clues that you are dehydrated are thirst and dry mouth. For some, these symptoms may be so common that they do not connect the dots and do not realize they are dehydrated. Besides headache, fatigue, sallow and dry skin, constipation and other woes, the color of urine can be a clear indication of your hydration levels. The darker the yellow, the greater the level of dehydration. When you see this, toss back a few glasses of water and at the next potty-break, you should see some definite improvement.
To summarize, here is a list of the symptoms of dehydration:
- Little or no urine, or urine that is darker than usual, especially if it is almost orange
- Dry mouth
- Sleepiness or fatigue
- Extreme thirst
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- No tears when crying
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, grab some water fast. Better yet, since your electrolytes most likely are also low, add a quarter to a half a teaspoon of sea salt to your glass of water and you will feel a lot better sooner.
How Much Drinking Water Do You Need?
For prepper’s, the standard rule of thumb is to store 1 gallons of water per person per day. Okay, I get that. But how much does your body absolutely need? Here is a very general rule of thumb:
Take your body weight in pounds, divide in half, and and that is a general guideline for the amount of water, in ounces, you need to consume daily while performing normal activities. If you are chopping wood, fighting off bad guys, or otherwise exerting yourself in a survival situation, the amount will be more.
Also, consider the fact that vegetables and fruits contain a goodly amount of water that can contribute to the daily requirement. Alas, fruits and veggies may be difficult to come by in a survival situation but if you have a bountiful garden, you will be in luck.
Want something other than plain old H2O? You can also drink unsweetened beverages such as herbal teas, juices, and yes, to some extent, even coffee. The later is a bit controversial but leading health authorities including the Institute of Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine say that’s a myth. While caffeine does signal our kidneys to rid our bodies of excess water, it does so for only a short time, so we still retain more fluid than we lose after sipping a caffeinated beverage. You be the judge.
Water Storage and Purification
While not the subject of this article, it goes without saying that in addition to stored water, you should have a number of water purification methods on hand. There are many excellent systems available at various price points in including the Berkey, ProPur, LifeStraw, and SolarBag.
It would also be a good idea to have some water purification tablets on hand. I keep a bottle in my car and also in all of my various survival packs.
The Final Word
You have probably heard this before but let me repeat it: you can survive for 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.
When it comes to water and water storage, remember that you need to drink water and stay hydrated if you are going to survive. Whether you use the official 1 gallon per person guideline, or the simple little calculation above, storing water and then actually drinking it is a should be a priority both before, during and after a disruptive event.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
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Bargain Bin: Survival is all about learning to fend for yourself. Growing your own food, cooking and building stuff are all essential. In addition to items related to water, here are some ideas to get you started.
Potable Aqua Water Treatment Tablets: Potable Aqua Water Purification Tablets make questionable water bacteriologically suitable to drink. Easy to use and the water is ready to drink in 30 minutes. One 50 tablet bottle treats 25 quarts of water.
Celtic Sea Salt, Fine Ground: Sea salt is an important component of DIY electrolyte drinks. This is one of Amazon’s top sellers.
AquaPod: Have you considered storing water in your bathtub? The AquaPod is a bladder that you can use in your bathtub to store water if you know that a storm, flood, or hurricane is brewing. (I call these “disruptive events”.)
DryTec Calcium Hypochlorite, 1-Pound AKA “Pool Shock”: This is 68% Calcium Hypochlorite. As of this writing, the price is under $10 with free shipping. I purchased Ultima Pool Shock which is 73% Calcium Hypochlorite. For more information, read How to Use Pool Shock to Purify Water.
Puralytics SolarBag Water Purifier: The SolarBag is an easy to use water purification system that is lightweight and portable. Where is really excels is in removing contaminants from water, plus, it can be used hundreds of time. Highly recommended! Read my review: The SolarBag Water Purifier.
LifeStraw Family Water Purifier: Taking care of water needs is high at the top of my list. The Lifestraw Family contains no chemicals, no batteries and no moving parts to wear out. It features a a high flow rate and is the perfect solution to your portable water purification needs – whether bugging in or bugging out. As of this writing, shipping is free. Here is my review: Clean, Drinkable Water – LifeStraw Family Review.
LifeStraw Personal Water Filter: The LifeStraw is considered the most advanced, compact, ultra light personal water filter available. It contains no chemicals or iodinated resin, no batteries and no moving parts to break or wear out. It weighs only 2oz. making it perfect for the prepper. For more information, see my LifeStraw review.
Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things: For less than $11, this is a great resource for your less-is-better library. Lots of tips for cleaning and fixing stuff as well as using common household items to solves those little problems around the house.
Lodge Logic 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet: This purchase changed the way I cook. I use my cast iron cookware for everything from bacon and eggs, to baked chicken, biscuits, grilled sandwiches and more. There is no excuse not to own this survival basic. Be sure to select the “value pack” to get the best price. Don’t forget the Lodge Set of 2 Pan Scrapers, a must have for cleaning those food bits from your cast iron cookware.
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Amazon has a feature called Shop Amazon – Most Wished For Items. This is an easy tool for finding products that people are ‘wishing” for and in this way you know what the top products are. All you need to do is select the category from the left hand side of the screen.
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