Drinking Water But Still Dehydrated?

You may be saying, " I'm good, I drink water all day." Or you may be saying, "I drink water all day and I still feel thirsty." Maybe you are the person who drinks water all day and also has to go to the bathroom 20 times a day because of it. Just because you are drinking all of this water does it mean you are hydrating your cells efficiently? The answer is no.

Even with all the water drinking most people's body is still actually dehydrated.
What are some signs and symptoms of cellular dehydration and fascial dehydration?
1. Thirst
2. Bad breath
3. Headache and migraines
4. Constipation
5. Dry skin
6. Difficulty falling asleep
7. Waking in the night to urinate
8. Brian fog, short attention span
9. Joint stiffness and pain
10. Soft tissue pain that doesn't go away with stretching or exercise
11. Muscle pain, chronic knee, hip, low back or neck pain
12. Craving sugar or carbohydrates
13. Wrinkles of the skin
14. Hot flashes for women

What does it mean to be dehydrated? Basically, anytime a person uses or loses more water than it takes in and absorbs that person's body will be in a dehydrated state. There are degrees of dehydration from mild to the extreme which can result in death. The body can tolerate a 3-4%  loss of body water. We begin to notice some or all of the above symptoms when the % moves to 5-8%.  Besides degrees of dehydration there are 3 types of dehydration: losing equal amounts of water and sodium at the same time, losing more sodium than water or losing more water than sodium. If you lose more water than sodium your cells and possibly your brain will shrink. On the other hand if you lose more sodium than water your cells and possibly your brain will swell. If cells swell too much they will burst and thus you have cell death.


The body is composed approximately of 50-65% water. This varies depending on gender, fat composition, age and other factors. The most important thing you can do for your health is maintain optimal levels of water in your body. When we discuss how an individual should hydrate the first thing we speak about is water intake. There are some who say everyone should drink at least 2 liters a day.  In my opinion I think it is more important to look at individuals and go with the baseline recommendation of 1/2 a person's body weight in ounces over a 24 hour period. This ensures there is a safe and proper balance between the fluid inside and outside a person's cells. As always too much of a good thing can be bad. Too much water can burst cells. In the extreme, too much water, consumed too quickly can cause death. We have all heard of this related to college hazing where students drink an entire Sparkletts bottle of water in less than an hour and end up dead.

Ideally we want to be consistent with our water intake. Which means its better to sip from a 32 ounce bottle of water throughout the day than to down the whole 32 ounces in a couple of hours.

Besides the speed at which we drink water, what is the main center regulating how we absorb the water we put into your mouth? The small intestine is where we will get most of our water absorption.  Making sure you drink water at least an hour before meals is another good way to help increase your ability to effectively hydrate. If we eat while drinking water then the water has to wait in the stomach as the stomach breaks down the food. Some of the water will bind to the food and actually be passed out the bowel instead of being absorbed into the blood stream or cells.

Now many of you know I'm big on coconut water after a massage or some kind of electrolyte water. The reason is due to the need to hydrate effectively after a massage. Water by itself is not enough to get it into the cells to be absorbed, it must have a companion. Coconut water is filled with minerals that serve as companions to water. The biggest water carrier is sodium. Sodium in turn requires glucose and amino acids for its transport across a cell.  Again all of these can be found in coconut water. Basically, to achieve the proper balance between the inside and outside of a cell you need the proper balance of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium etc), the proper amount of glucose, the correct amino acids and clean water. After a large majority of the water is absorbed in the small intestine, the next up take will be in the large intestine and then finally in the colon. Therefore, it is the utmost importance to have a highly functioning digestive system. Hence, the reason for periodic cleanses to increase the changes of effective absorption of water and other essential nutrients.

When there is too much water outside of the cell the body will eliminate it through the bowels and the urine. Mostly, we see excess water leaving via the urine. So when you are drinking your 20 glasses of water and going to the bathroom every 5 minutes you know you have more water outside your cells and you have not been absorbing it into your blood stream where its going to do the most good.

In speaking about intracellular hydration you can also get water from certain foods to help with your, 1/2 your body weight baseline. Consuming pears, celery, cucumber, watermelon and spinach (to name a few) will help increase your water intake (as all of these have a high water content), if you just can't get all the water you need in a glass.

Now when factoring in consuming the proper amount of water you also have to take into account your activity level. The more active you are the more water you will need.  You will also need to factor in your environment and the temperature of that environment. Water helps regulate body temperature. The hotter it is outside your body the more water your body will need inside. For women, when you lack a water reserve and your hormones are out of balance if the room temperature is warm your there won't be enough water to cool you down. In the face of inadequate internal water the body's alternative means of cool the body down is to sweat. Thus during menopause if you are dehydrated you will experience more hot flashes. Going along with this women, at night your body produces less water. If you already have a low reserve in general then your body will sweat at night to help keep you cool, leading to one reason for your night sweats during menopause. So ladies entering or in menopause, consider drinking coconut water or electrolyte water of some kind an hour prior to going to sleep.

Moving away from the fluid inside cells we come to extracellular fluid. The Extracellular Fluid (ECF) serves as a bridge between cells and organs, while also influencing the volume and strength of the intracellular fluid (ICF). When speaking of ECF we are also discussing the plasma and interstitial fluids as well as fluids such as cerebrospinal, intraocular and synovial fluids. Research is not showing these fluids are the world of fascia. Therefore, the desire to hydrate the fascia is a need to bring the proper water content to the ECF regions of the body.

Through journals such as the Journal of Canadian Chiropractic Association, we are being introduced to the new and current research on Fascia and the make up of ECF. Because fascia and the ECF come in so many forms it can be considered a colloidal substance changing between a free flowing water state to a more gel state. In it's most unhealthy state is acts like rawhide and does not move at all. From the new research we learn about the histology of fascia being a type of cell called a fibroblast. It is these fibroblast we are attempting to affect when we seek to hydrate fascia and thus the ECF matrix. A dehydrated fibroblast becomes like rawhide and becomes difficult to re-hydrate. You can think of this journey to a rawhide state similar to leaving a soft contact lens out of water for too long. If you realize soon enough that you missed putting the lens into its container and find it on the counter you can soak and gently rub it in contact solution and it will re-hydrate and you can wear it without issue. Now miss your container and go to bed. Well, when you wake up in the morning and find that lens on the counter, it is now rolled in on itself and is hard and brittle. You will not be able to re-hydrate it and definitely will not be able to wear it.  Ideally, you want to catch your fascia before it becomes like a contact lens left out over night. Getting to your fascia soon enough to hydrate it properly can be related more to the action of putting water into a sponge. You want to add water to the sponge, then apply a force ( a squeeze) to extend the water through all parts of the sponge and allow excess to leave. Now you are ready to use the sponge most effectively. This is true of your fascia and how massage (manual manipulation) helps to hydrate your tissues. 

If we think of the sponge again, let's put that sponge in a bucket of water. Take it out but don't squeeze it and now try to use it. What happens, the sponge won't absorb more fluid and it is a dripping mess. This is another answer to why after drinking your 20 glasses of water you go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. The water is just accumulating in the spaces but isn't being taken into the fibroblast (there was no squeeze to take in it) to be utilized. We need a homeostasis between the water the fibroblast squeezes into the extracellular matrix as fluid and the water the fibroblast moves around as the gel like substance. The pressure between these two states is what keeps our joints cushioned and is our general means of stability. Therefore, when your massage therapist applies a gentle, slow and steady compression lasting for a short period of time, applies a short, slow stretch, or a gentle knead or twist to your tissue they are hydrating your fascia.

What can you do at home to complete the hydration process after you drink your water and lower the risk of the unfavorable signs and symptoms of dehydration? You can apply a pumping action to your arms and legs, you can do a gentle little twist to your tissues or you can learn to Melt. By doing these techniques and tips I provided above, you will truly be hydrating and improving your overall well-being.

For more information on how to begin to learn the Melt Method visit my website: www.colette.massagetherapy.com

If you have any question feel free to email me at: 2dolphincolette@comcast.net

Reasons to Hydrate with Coconut Water

I have been asked why I sometimes recommend coconut water after massage rather than just plain filtered water.

Well, I was introduced to coconut water as a medicinal fluid by a couple of nurses who serve as medics for events held in the dessert. They explained to me that if one has coconut water handy and is out of medical supplies such as the standard intravenous fluids (lactated ringer solution or a dextrose/water solution); one can safely start an IV with fresh young coconut water.

In my own research I found that during World War II, in the Pacific, wounded soldiers were treated with emergency transfusions of coconut water. If the coconut is only punctured to draw out the fluid (not broken open) the young fresh water inside is sterile. This fluid easily mixes with blood without side effects.

In getting the health benefits from coconut water one must start with a fresh, tender, young, undamaged and healthy Coconut. The coconut will be green in color and must be harvested between 5-7 months of age.

Depending on the cultivation type and the size of the nut, it will contain approximately 200-1000 ml of water.

The question is why can it be used as an IV fluid? The answer is it has an electrolyte (ionic mineral) make up similar to human plasma. Coconut water is the life blood of the nut’s embryo and can also be that for humans. Like human plasma, coconut water has a mixture of sugars, minerals, amino acids, vitamins, hormones and other necessary substances for growth and development.



There has been much research done on coconut water especially due to the fact that ten years ago the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sought and was granted a patent for bottling coconut water in a way that preserves its nutrients. In this process an FAO official noted that the fluid of the nut contains the same five electrolytes found in human body fluids. These electrolytes are Phosphate, sulfate, calcium, magnesium and potassium. It has also been found that coconut water contains trace elements such as zinc, selenium, iodine, and manganese (to name a few).

On the level of vitamins coconut water is a good source of riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pyridoxine and folates. Why is this especially important when considering re-hydrating the body? The answer is; the body cannot replace these vitamins on its own. They must come from an outside source.

When we massage we are affecting the connective tissue, circulation, digestion and metabolism to name a few systems. Within coconut water  there is a plant hormone, cytokinins, which regulates growth, development and aging of the plant. Research has shown these hormones  to be similar to the human hormones cytokines. It is probably this similarity that allows the plants cytokinins to stimulate cell division of human connective tissue in a way that allows the tissue to replace old damaged cells and take on the functionality of younger tissue. Also, when we massage one releases dead cells and other metabolic waste into the system. By drinking coconut water which contains, bioactive enzymes such as acid phosphatase, catalase, dehydrogenase, diastase, peroxidase, RNA polymerase, all of which aid digestion and metabolism; one is providing the body a better means of removing toxins from the system. There is also evidence that coconut water helps to dilate blood vessels, improves blood flow and reduces muscles cramps. The nut’s water, high potassium content is the reason for the reduction in muscles cramps.

We all know water is important for the body to function. Every cell, tissue and organ in the body requires water to function. Through water, the body maintains its temperature, removes waste and lubricates joints. The body also needs the right combination of electrolytes (minerals) for water to efficiently enter the cells in every fiber of a person.

Plain filtered or tap water lacks electrolytes and therefore cannot aid the body in replacing them when they are depleted due to exercise or other exertional activities. Too much plain water (more than half the body weight in ounces over a 24 hour period) can also dilute the blood to the point of causing electrolyte imbalance and depletion. Another reason to choose coconut water over plain water is the fact that coconut water’s chemical make- up allows it to be absorbed through the intestinal wall quicker than water, which allows the body to recover faster.



In summary when the body has been taxed and needs to recover quickly I prefer coconut water to plain water because Coconut water is:

· A natural isotonic beverage, containing the same level of electrolytes as found in human blood

· an excellent electrolyte replacement after exercise, heat stress and illness

· improves circulation

· improves digestion

· Restores strength and elasticity of the skin

· Enhances healing of wounds and lesions

· Is high in potassium reducing muscle cramping.



In the states we can not get fresh coconuts year round. We can now get processed coconut water year round. As we know processed is not an ideal choose but the right processed coconut water is better than some other alternatives. Two of the biggest things I look for when selecting processed coconut water
1. no added flavors
2.  it should say no sugar added. Ideally it should contain less than 14 grams of sugar. I usually go for below 9 grams when possible.

Currently, my favorite is Harvest Bay. And for me Chilled is always best.
Happy re-hydrating!