MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- Though summer months have passed and winter months are rapidly approaching, staying hydrated should still be a priority for those who live in Hawaii.
According to thirdworld
traveler.com, the average temperatures in Hawaii reach approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity of 69 percent year-round.
“The body is a phenomenal piece of machinery,” said Dan Dufrene, health promotion coordinator, Semper Fit Di-vision, Marine Corps Com-munity Services. “Our bodies lose moisture doing the simplest thing like standing around or sitting down. Moisture constantly leaves our bodies, and that’s why it’s important to keep drinking water.”
At the Semper Fit Center here, the staff will not allow patrons to workout if they are wearing sauna suits because of the risk of losing too much water from the body.
“The body regulates heat through sweat and the sweat comes from the 80 percent of water the body is made of,” said Jon Shiota, manager, Semper Fit Center. “Sweat is a natural way the body cools itself down. When people wear these suits the sweat evaporates and it gets really humid in them making the body even hotter. It’s the equivalent of turning off the radiator to you car.”
A quick suggestion that Dufrene offers as a rule of thumb is to drink eight servings of eight ounces of water per day.
The true way to determine how much water to drink is to take a person’s body weight and cut it in half, and that determines how many ounces of water a person should drink in a day.
“On a warm day, you can lose one cup of fluid from your body by running one mile,” said Dufrene. “The best thing to do to keep hydrated is to drink 30 ounces of water two hours prior to an activity. Then drink another 20 ounces, which is about two cups, 10 to 15 minutes before the activity, and drink a half a cup of water every 15 minutes during the activity.”
To achieve proper hydration, Dufrene said it is best to stay away from coffee, tea and alcohol due to the rate in which these liquids leave the body.
If a person is participating in an activity and they start to feel lightheaded, then they should stop the exercise and find a shaded area to cool down. The best way to regain hydration is to consume drinks with electrolytes, such as those found in sports drinks.
“The rule with drinks such a Gatorade and Powerade is to drink the ones with less than 10 percent carbohydrates,” said Dufrene. “You just need to drink enough then start drinking water, but those drinks are better for you because they have a lot more things in them that can help out your body.”
Though drinking water is a good way to stay hydrated, it’s important to remember that a body can over hydrate, which can cause death.
“Over hydration is when you drink too much water and it decreases the levels of electrolytes in the body,” said Dufrene. “It’s a very rare occurrence, but it can be life threatening.”
Though Hawaii is about to head into its winter months, it’s still important to remember to hydrate due to the fact that Hawaii’s climate doesn’t fluctuate much throughout the year, explained Dufrene.
“Dehydration can happen at anytime especially here,” he said. “We’re not in a place that has extreme changes in temperature like on the mainland during the different seasons. That’s why it’s important to remember to keep hydrating all the time.”