Tag: Children’s Health

Are you getting enough water? And my tips to help you reach your daily water needs

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Water is essential for life – most of us know that our body is made up of approximately 70% water but do we drink enough water? 

As we are heading into summer, here in Melbourne (hopefully), this is a good time to check if your water intake is adequate. I will explain a bit later, how to find out exactly how much water you need.

Water is not only essential for life, it is essential for maintaining a state of optimal health.

Despite this, many of us are not aware whether our own water intake is optimal or leading us towards dehydration and other health issues. I can answer this question for you and give you some tips to keep you hydrated.

Firstly, why do we need water?

Water is essential for survival but also reaching optimal health, dehydration can result in some significant health effects, including:

  • Increased risk of kidney stones
  • Urinary tract cancers
  • Colon cancer
  • Mitral valve prolapse which can result in a heart murmur
  • Decreased physical and mental performance
  • Salivary dysfunction (saliva is needed for oral health and good digestion as it contains digestive enzymes)
  • Dehydration reduces the thirst mechanism which leads to long-term dehydration and affects kidney function particularly in the elderly. Long-term dehydration in the elderly can affect cognitive function, cause constipation, falls and stroke.

Adequate water intake can improve these conditions:

  • Headaches
  • Constipation
  • Skin health
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Obesity
  • Kidney stones/lowered kidney function
  • High blood pressure

Let’s take a look at what to count as water intake:

Water intake occurs in two main ways from drinking water and from eating food.

We get the most of our water from drinking plain water.

Often it’s assumed that water from caffeinated beverages counts towards your daily water intake but due to the caffeine causing a diuretic effect (increased urine output), we do not include caffeinated beverages in your daily water intake. This includes coffee, caffeine containing teas, cola drinks and energy drinks (cola and energy drinks are high in sugar so not beverages that should be consumed as part of a balanced diet!).

We also get some water from our food, only around 10-20% of the water in our food is able to be used by the body for hydration so majority of our water intake must come from drinking it.

Let’s take a look at how much you need to drink each day:

There are two ways to figure out how much water we need to drink. You can either use this equation which is based on an individuals weight or you can follow the nutrient reference values, which is based on age and gender.

1. The equation based on your weight is:

33mLs x (body weight in kg) = our water requirements in mLs

For example, a person weighing 60kg requires: 33mLs x60kg = 1980mL (1.98L)

Some people require higher amounts due to exercise, a labour intensive job or living in a hot climate. Basically, the more you sweat and/or urinate, the more water you will require. To account for this, work out your daily requirement based on weight and then ensure you are drinking extra water regularly.

2. The nutrient reference values can be found here.

For children, only use the nutrient reference values which in summary are:

1-3 yr old – 1L/day (includes any milk)*

4-8 yr old – 1.6L/day (includes any milk)*

9-13 yr old- 1.4L/day (girls); 1.6L/day (boys)

14-18 yr old – 1.6L/day (girls); 1.9L/day (boys)

Children and adolescents who are very active, will need to drink more than the recommended amounts, this depends on the child and how active they are but ensure they are drinking water regularly.

*The requirements for children aged between 1 and 8 years old does include water from milk however 1 cup of milk doesn’t equate to 1 cup of water. Encourage your child to drinking plain water regularly and keep an eye on how much they are drinking to ensure they are not drinking too little or too much.

Tips to keep you hydrated:

  • Add a fresh quarter of lemon or lime to your water or mineral/soda water
  • Get a stainless steel (avoid aluminium) drink bottle and sip on water regularly, take it with you everywhere. Also, by drinking from a drink bottle you know how much you’ve been drinking through the day.
  • Slow down and sip! Sip on water throughout the day, it’s best to avoid drinking water very fast or drinking large amounts at once.
  • Drink water after food not before, if you drink water prior to eating or during a meal, it will dilute your stomach acid and reduce your capacity to digest your food properly.
  • Download an app on your smartphone to help you keep a track of your water intake some examples are:
    • Daily water free- water reminder and counter (iPhone)
    • Water logged (iPhone)
    • Water drink reminder (Android)
    • Drink Water (Android)

With the apps mentioned, you can enter in the amount you need to drink per day manually.

It’s particularly important on very hot days to ensure you are drinking more than the recommended amount for you. Avoiding dehydration will help keep your health on track.

Enjoy this summer and stay hydrated! 

Thanks for reading,

Erin.

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Healthy Tips for the School Holidays

Matthias Zomer Photography (MZPh) | all rights reserved

Keeping your children active and eating healthy during the school holidays can seem like a daunting task, however with these simple suggestions, it will be easy and rewarding, knowing that your children are living a healthy lifestyle.

Why?

You may be thinking, why should they be healthy and active during the holidays, isn’t it a time for them to “chill out” and not have too many restrictions? Of course they should be able to rest if need be however children do have lots of energy to burn, and if they don’t burn it but continue to eat the same diet then they will put on weight, feel more fatigued and be generally unwell. Encouraging them and allowing them to stay active, is important for their health and spending time in nature is vital for their development. This article here further explains why being in nature is so important for children.

How?

  • Less screen time and more park time! That sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Letting them run around in the park, taking them camping or staying on a family or friends farm are great ways for them to be active outside. Let them explore and enjoy being in the outdoors. Being winter, just make sure they are rugged up and you take them out in the warmest part of the day.
  • Snow time! Another great way to get out in nature during our chilly winter is to go to the snow. In Melbourne we are very lucky to have Lake Mountain on our doorstep, which is perfect for tobogganing and snow/nature walks. It’s cheap and you can easily hire basic equipment.
  • Kitchen time! Get them involved in preparing their meals or do some fun and healthy cooking together. Let them wash and peel vegetables, and for older children allow them to help chop up the fruit or vegetables. Letting them help out and be a part of the meal preparation encourages them to eat healthier food as children love to eat what they have helped to make. Start with simple tasks and gradually allow them to do more.
  • Garden Time! Letting them get their hands dirty in the garden and become a little green thumb will also encourage them to want to eat fresh produce as they have been a part of the growing process. Show them which herbs are which and then ask them to go collect herbs when you need them, children love some responsibility and enjoy foraging in the garden.
  • Family Time! Do some physical and fun activities as a family, such as bike riding, nature/bush walking, swimming at your local indoor pool, going ten pin bowling -just to name a few!
  • Play Time! There’s nothing better than hearing children laughing and doing some activities they love with their friends or siblings. Balance all the outdoor fun with some imaginative and creative play time.
  • Rest Time! Get them doing some child specific yoga and meditation, importantly do it with them, as leading by example is very powerful. You can easily buy a CD/DVD or download videos or mp3’s from the internet.

As you can see from the list, there is lots to fill the school holidays in with that isn’t based around just watching movies or being on the computer or mobile devices!

Check out these suggestions that are child friendly and healthy, for you to try with your children this school holidays:

  • Fruit kebabs: chop up seasonal and organic (if possible) fruit into cubes or thick slices and place on a bamboo skewer (for younger children – make a fruit salad or cut off the sharp end of the skewer). Get your children involved in making these as they are a fun snack or dessert.
  • Graze plate: create a graze plate for children that tend to graze rather then eat at set meal times. Have it on the table so they can come and eat when they need to rather than when they have to. Individualise them to suit their tastes but include some new foods so they can slowly be introduced to foods they might not normally eat. Some ideas for a graze plate include:
    • cos lettuce or mixed lettuce leaves
    • cherry tomatoes or quartered tomatoes
    • carrot, celery and capsicum sticks
    • sliced or cubed avocado or avocado dip
    • hummus dip
    • Raw and unsalted nuts and seeds (if they don’t have known allergies)
    • Dried fruits such as sultanas, dates, apricots and apple
    • Zucchini slice or fritters
    • Sliced roast vegetable frittata
  • Soup: make a big batch of their favourite soup and have ready for their lunches – during winter, it’s comforting and healthy to have a warm soup instead of cold foods such as sandwiches.

I hope you and your children enjoy these school holidays and manage to stay active and healthy!

Thanks for reading this week’s post,

Erin.