Staying hydrated is linked to lower risk for disease

[nightwing1240]

You may know that being adequately hydrated is important for day-to-day bodily functions such as regulating temperature and maintaining skin health.

But drinking enough water is also associated with a significantly lower risk of developing chronic diseases, dying early or being biologically older than your chronological age, according to a National Institutes of Health study published Monday in the journal eBioMedicine.

“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” said study author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH, in a news release.

snip

Using health data collected over 30 years from 11,255 Black and White adults from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, or ARIC, the research team found adults with serum sodium levels at the higher end of the normal range — which is 135 to 146 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L) — had worse health outcomes than those at the lower end of the range. Data collection began in 1987 when participants were in their 40s or 50s, and the average age of participants at the final assessment during the study period was 76.

Link - https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/health/hydration-disease-aging-death-risk-study-wellness/index.html
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There you have it, drink up and live longer. Got my water right beside me as I usually do

[werdna]

1. Also reduce sodium consumption.

Anything in can/jar/box, pre-prepared foods, frozen dinners and entrees, unless specifically labeled a no sodium product, even many reduced or low sodium products, are extremely high in sodium. Know what daily sodium intake is safe for you, it varies from person to person based on various factors, and do the math. Choose to live long and prosper!

[elias7]

2. Weak study

Researchers acknowledge that they didn’t quantify how much fluids people drank.

They only measured serum sodium, which is a reflection of the salt and water balance in the body, but not really a reflection of overall water stores or hydration status. Relatively low serum sodium actually can be pathologic, and is classified based on total body water status, i.e. hypervolemic, hypovolemic, or euvolemic hyponatremia. The actual serum sodium level will not tell you the patient’s fluid volume status.

The most common clinical scenario in which we will see high serum sodiums is in nursing home patients who do not have access to water and are free water deplete. However, the osmotic balance in anyone’s body varies and is generally keeping the serum sodium between 135 and 145. The study does not necessarily take into account all the entities that contribute to a relatively lower serum sodium, such as a reset osmostat as we age, SIADH (a sodium lowering entity caused by many medications), diuretic use (for hypertension or chronic edema) which also can lower serum sodium.

Using serum sodium is at best and indirect measure of hydration status and not really a good reflection of how much water a person drinks.