Brain Health & Hydration

Water – the body’s most life-sustaining compound.  But how does water directly impact Brain health, cognitive function and Dementia risk-avoidance?

The Brain is approximately 75% water, therefore water is vital for keeping the Brain in ‘homeostasis’ (this means balanced at the point of normal/optimal functioning, all-other-things-being-equal).  Dehydration occurs when 1-2% loss in body weight is experienced due to insufficient fluid in our system.  This affects our cognitive function by increasing the risk of, or actualising, a decrease in cerebral blood flow (reducing the delivery of oxygenated blood into the Brain) and raising Cortisol (our stress hormone).  These imbalanced status’s may then impair attention, memory, and learning.  When you think about it, feelings of thirst or hunger are highly distracting, (at least, they are for me), and in extreme cases (as sometimes occurs with people with Dementia) this can manifest as symptoms such as confusion and delirium.

Water is also an important part of nutritional nourishment; electrolyte balance is dependent on controlled-but-sufficient water intake, and the B-Complex Vitamins & Vitamin C are water-soluble which means they can only be absorbed and utilised by the body when accompanied by water, (standalone or integrated into food/drink).  And we know from previous Blog Posts how important B-Complex Vitamins are for Brain health, cognitive function and Dementia risk-avoidance…

One slight misunderstanding about hydration, in my professional Registered Nutritionist opinion, is that there needs to be a hard-and-fast rule on how much standalone water each day everyone should drink.  The Brain’s requirement for water is delicately balanced and I do not think this can be realistically standardised, for that runs contrary to personalised nutrition & medicine.  How much water you should be drinking is nuanced by your gender, age, stature, health status / health conditions, levels of activity and frequency of sweating, and is optimally achieved when spread little-and-often throughout the day.  Just like everything espoused by Nutritional Therapy and Functional Medicine; hydration should be personalised; your body will tell you when it feels thirsty therefore needs water, and you may be indirectly adding to your hydration through food or herbal teas (if you drink them).

Having said this, as we age our ability to feel thirst declines and our Kidney function becomes less efficient at conserving water, thus our natural aging does increase our risk of dehydration.  It is therefore important to always have easy access to water to sip.  A nice way to manage this eventuality is to place sources of water in readily accessible and noticeable areas.  (If caring for someone with Dementia avoid glass containers to hazard-minimise, and provide straws – red in colour if possible as red is the most noticeable colour for those with Dementia.)

So, this was a brief introduction to the role adequate hydration plays in your Brain health & cognitive function.  As a Registered Nutritionist I will always prioritise a ‘food first’ approach, so here are four hydration tips to support Brain health & cognitive function:

•      When feeling particularly thirsty or your urine is dark yellow, avoid dehydrating foods & drinks such as alcohol, caffeine, ultra-processed ‘fast’ ready-made food, fried food and processed meats, (typically very high in salt), and surprisingly asparagus, (which may act as a diuretic and give urine a noticeable odour [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814860/]).

•      Having said this, the majority of dark green leafy vegetables, salad foods, and mucilaginous vegetables such as mushrooms are usefully hydrating, so keep them in your diet.

•      Fruits are also a nourishing source of hydration - they are rich in water, vitamins and fibre (the latter if the skin is retained).  Of particular use to Brain health & function are colourful berries and kiwi fruit, (although not the skin of a kiwi fruit).

•      When you have an unexpected pang of hunger outside of your typical meal times, try drinking a small amount of water first to see if you are mistaking hunger for what may actually be thirst.

IMPORTANT NOTE 1: if your urine is brown-or-darker or has traces of red/pink blood in it, see a Medical Doctor / your GP with immediate effect.

IMPORTANT NOTE 2: if you chronically/frequently feel a thirst-that-cannot-be-quenched, consult a Medical Doctor / your GP since it may be a sign of underling suboptimal-health symptoms.

Expansion on this material is available at the specialist Dementia risk-avoidance organisation I am trained through (Apollo Health), so if you are interested in reading more about hydration and cognitive function the link is: https://www.apollohealthco.com/dehydration-effects-on-the-brain-and-cognition/

As I hope this post has highlighted, this is a highly complex and personalised area contributing to a much bigger picture of systemic health, so if you feel you, a friend of a family member needs bespoke and personalised support please do not hesitate to get in touch.

In the meantime, don’t forget Eat, Drink, Think Nutrition and spare a thought (no pun intended) for your Brain health.  Losing your Brain power can be even more devastating to you and those around you than losing an aspect of your physical health, so why wouldn’t you start to look after your Brain right away since diet and lifestyle modifications actioned NOW could save a lot of distress and heartbreak later in life.

REMEMBER: if you are taking any medications always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist as well as your Doctor before making significant dietary or lifestyle changes.  This blog post is written for educational purposes only and in reference to ‘food’.  It is NOT advocating taking dietary supplements.  It is very important to please always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist or your Doctor before introducing any dietary supplements into your health regime as these qualified professionals will be able to offer personalised recommendations.

If sleep, Brain, cognitive and/or memory are issues which you are struggling with and you want to discover the inspiring & sustainable diet & lifestyle programmes offered by Nutritional Therapy, get in touch via the Contact Me page on this website, or directly on info@eatdrinkthinknutrition.co.uk for more information about 1:2:1 Consultations with Eat Drink Think Nutrition®.