Why Hydration is Important When You’re Sick
It’s flu season! 2017-2018 has had the worst flu outbreak since the swine flu pandemic in 2009. Each year, 5 - 20% of the US population gets the flu. While the flu may only last for a few days for most people, it can be a cause of death for others. This year’s flu vaccines are basically ineffective, and for most of us, quarantining in our bed isn’t an option. Did you know staying hydrated is the most important factor for flu recovery and prevention? Explore the details about hydration, health and your immune system and stay healthy by staying hydrated.
Why Hydration is Important When You’re Sick
Unfortunately, dehydration is a major wellness issue that people suffering from the flu or other illnesses can find easy to ignore, especially when facing nausea. Why is hydration so important when fighting an illness?
Sickness-fighting proteins transport via bodily fluids. Dehydration creates a hurdle for these proteins as they attempt to move through the body and do their job. In contrast, loading up on fluids will help to reduce headaches, relieve flu symptoms, and strengthen the body’s immune response system, ultimately diminishing the sickness all together.
Hydrating properly allows you to:
-
Improve your oxygen flow, flushing out harmful toxins
-
Help your digestion run more efficiently, preventing vomiting and diarrhea
-
Keep your eyes and mouth wet, blocking contaminants that can cause infection
The Best Fluids for Hydration
So, how do you choose? There are so many options for hydration. Some people choose to drink soup or indulge in juice-rich fruits. For others, sports drinks or water is preferred. These may be adequate, however some fluids are more effective for fighting sickness. Many people consider Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier to be the better choice, because it hydrates up to 3 times more efficiently than water alone, and sometimes it’s hard to choke down a bunch of water when you’re not feeling well.
Liquid I.V. delivers hydration to the bloodstream faster and more efficiently than water alone, helping to rebalance electrolytes and blood volume— the two most important factors for recovery from a cold, the flu, and other similar illnesses.
Hydration Prevents Illness
Up to 75% of Americans suffer from chronic dehydration, ultimately increasing the chance of illness. Living a busy lifestyle, it can be easy to neglect the little things that are necessary to remain healthy. Daily routines, both positive and negative, have a compound effect on a person’s well-being. Instead of waiting to hydrate once already sick, people who care about their health should develop a daily habit of proactively drinking plenty of fluids. This will help to strengthen the immune system, optimize the body’s natural operations and prevent illness.
How to Make a Hydration Plan and Stick to It
The key to preventing illnesses like the flu is developing a hydration plan and committing to it. The good news is that maintaining a healthy hydration plan is actually very simple to do. All it takes to maintain consistency with your hydration is to create a schedule.
Here are two ways to begin accomplishing this:
-
Set Reminders. For example. you may say, “I’m going to drink fluids every day at 10:00am, 1:00 pm, 4:00pm, etc.” but setting a reminder on your phone can help you to solidify your routine.
-
Base your hydration schedule off your daily events. If making a strictly time-based hydration schedule doesn’t seem feasible, there are other ways to make a routine that works for you. For example, you can say, “I will drink before I go to work, during my lunch break, after the daily sales meeting, and during dinner.”
Create a hydration routine that works best for you and stay healthy during flu season and all year long. By remaining conscious of your hydration and making this routine a priority in your daily life, you will begin to realize the many daily health benefits of hydration and better protect yourself from seasonal illness.
