Dehydration and Your Fertility
Being properly hydrated is important for the function of every single cell in the body. From a fertility point of view, when we’re looking at support individual egg and sperm cells, the health of those cells does depend on their fluid health.
Fluid deficiency also shows up with low blood volume. When we’re wanting to support ‘non essential’ organs like the uterus, ovaries and testes with blood to help ovulation, sperm production and implantation, we need more blood volume.
But why if we’re all drinking so much more water, are we all still so dehydrated? We’re carrying about expensive emotional support drink bottles, smoothie cups, Stanley cups of water and yet almost every person I treat in the clinic shows signs of dehydration.
“Hydration isn’t about how much water you drink, it’s about how much your cells absorb.”
You could be drinking 3-4L of water a day. But if your cells aren’t able to absorb the water, you’re just keeping the Kidneys busy making lots of urine.
A few things have contributed to our difficulties to absorb fluids. Low salt diets, bland, baked foods and lack of ‘wet, cooked food’ and inflammation.
Salt (sodium) and potassium are needed for cells to absorb water. These electrolytes ‘open’ little gates into each cell to allow water into cells. High salt diets are of course a health issue, but so are low salt diets.
Keep in mind that added salt – as in seasoning your food with salt, only contributes to 10% of your salt intake. Most high salt diets are due to takeaway foods, packet mix sauces and condiments. If you’re not consuming a huge amount of takeaway foods and you’re either not having sauces or making sauces from scratch, you may need some more electrolytes.
From a Western diet point of view, we also don’t have many ‘wet, cooked foods’. China has congee – a wet, sticky rice, Japan has a similar dish called Okayu – a savoury rice porridge dish. This can be made with water or a meat broth and added herbs and spices.
These are a staple part of breakfasts, lunches and dinners in Asian countries. They are known to improve digestion, help with fluid absorption, support immune system and blood quality and movement.
In Western countries, we consume a lot of dried, fried, baked, air fried foods. We are also highly inflamed. Chronic inflammation from poor diets, reduced movement, busy and stressful lifestyles as well as autoimmune conditions is all increasing heat in the body and increased fluid requirements.
Some signs and symptoms of dehydration:
- Dry tongue, dry lips
- Dry skin
- Desire for cold water
- Thirsty but no desire to drink
- Light period
- Brown, sticky period bleed
- Regular headaches – especially frontal (forehead)
- Long menstrual cycles
- Reduced or absent egg white cervical mucous
- Constipation
- Dark, yellow urine
From a Chinese medicine point of view, some small consistent changes can be really effective in changing this.
- Enjoy more ‘wet, cooked foods’ – Ramen, Pho, casseroles, cooked meals, oven meals cooked in sauces, soups
- Enjoy water fruits and vegetables – watermelon, celery, lettuce, cucumbet
- Season your foods with whole foods – add salt and pepper, spices, bone broth and avoid packet sauces, takeaway and fried foods
- Avoid oven baked, air friend and deep friend foods
- Enjoy a variety of other fluids – fresh squeezed juices, herbal teas, coconut water, good quality soda water, hydration powders (there’s so many available now!)
- Try some congee or rice porridge
- Avoid coffee – it’s a diuretic and encourages water loss
- Avoid over exercising or overuse of saunas
- Address medical concerns that could be affecting hydration – hyperhydrosis, heart or kidney health, inflammation
And of course Acupuncture can help.
I use acupuncture points to improve the way the body absorbs water, to calm the nervous system so that ‘non essential organs’ like the uterus, testes and ovaries get more blood flow and warm your digestive energy so absorption can be easier. We have dedicated acupuncture points that cool inflammation, improve water metabolism and move stuck blood and energy flow.
If you have any questions, please get in touch hello@paigewatersacupuncture.com.au
