Day 2 - The importance of water

Video transcript

So today, I'm going to talk about water, and how important it is during the menopause. Now, water is something I recommend an awful lot, and I'm always really happy and amazed how many women get back to me, and all they have done is increase their water. And they have found in maybe three or four weeks that their symptoms have started to get better.

Why is water so important in the menopause?

Now, why on earth should water be so important in the menopause? Well, dehydration can cause a whole wrath of symptoms, and some of those can be exactly the same as your menopause ones, and it might actually be quite difficult to determine, is it dehydration causing your symptoms or is it actually the hormones causing the symptoms?

The main symptoms

So let's look at the main ones that you can actually experience. We've got joint aches and pains.

We've got dry skin, irritated skin, there's rashes as well. You can get mood swings. You can get anxiety, panic attacks, and palpitations.

There's the whole memory thing. There's that fuzzy thinking, forgetfulness, and headaches.

It can affect your digestion. You can get constipation and that kind of bloated feeling.

It can cause fatigue and just loss of total energy levels. 

Bladder problems

Now, two really important points here is that a lot of women will experience bladder problems in the menopause. They can get an irritated bladder or they can be more prone to infections such as cystitis. And dehydration can be a big factor here because it will cause your urine to become more acidic and much more concentrated, and that will then irritate the bladder, causing a lot of discomfort and pain. 

Hot flushes and night sweats

And last, but definitely not least, dehydration can be a big factor in hot flushes and night sweats. Now, when you have a hot flush or you have a night sweat, you do lose water through the skin, and that can dehydrate you really, really quickly. And we know that dehydration will also upset your nervous system, and that, in turn, can lead to more hot flushes and night sweats. So this one can become a vicious circle, really, really quickly, and just upping your water can make a huge difference for this really quickly. 

I know that water isn't very exciting!

But how on earth can you get more water into your diet? I mean, it's not very exciting, is it? It doesn't really taste of anything. And a lot of people have a great deal of difficulty thinking about drinking a litre and a half to two litres of water a day, can be quite daunting.

But don't worry, I've got some great tips on how you can increase your water intake and also some good ideas at how you can improve the flavour of your water using everyday ingredients that you probably have in your fridge, such as oranges, lemons and lime, raspberry and mint, sliced cucumber, and even some grated ginger. 

My favourite combinations

So now, I'm going to show you some of my favorite combinations, and you only need a small handful of each ingredient to put into the water. So I'll put some raspberries and a few leaves, then we can have cucumber and lime, this is my favorite. And I actually like to add a little bit of grated ginger into it as well, or you can just have lemon on its own.

The best thing to do here is let them steep for about an hour, or you could actually make them the night before, and have them ready the first thing in the morning.

However, if you're really desperate for a drink and fancy something with a little bit of flavour, you can just get a single glass. Use one of the stronger tasting fruits here. So, I would maybe put a piece of lemon in, or another great idea is to actually use a slice or two of orange and that will work really quickly for you. 

How to drink more water

Now, how on earth do you start to increase your water intake? Well, this is what I do, and I find that this actually works really well for me. I'll have a big glass of water first thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything else. If I remember the night before, I'll actually have it sitting by the bedside just as a good reminder.

If I'm at work, I use my lovely, pink bottle. This is a litre size. I fill it up and I make sure that I have it finished by the end of the day. If I'm out and about, I tend to use one of these, and I can actually put some of my favorite fruits or leaves in this and have flavoured water for during the day.

And then early evening, I'll have another glass of water and that's me finished, and it really isn't difficult at all. It is quite an easy way to get extra water into your diet. 

Warm water is best!

Really important thing here is use warm water. Cold water can really upset your digestive system, so I would say, you know, really do try and avoid it.

Take it slow!

And the other thing is to increase your water slowly. If you haven't been used to drinking a lot of water, don't suddenly go for the litre and a half a day. Otherwise, your kidneys will get a bit of a shock and you'll be running to the toilet every five minutes. So just add in one glass per week, and then just slowly increase to two the next week and so on, and you'll very soon be up to a litre and a half of water a day. 

The drinks to avoid

Now, one other really important thing here, your tea, coffee, fizzy drinks, and fruit juices do not count as part of your daily liquid intake. And these can actually make your menopause symptoms worse. We know that caffeine can cause palpitations and headaches as well.

What about flavoured water?

And the other thing is please, please, please don't buy those flavoured waters because most of them will actually have artificial flavourings or will have artificial sweeteners in them. And artificial sweeteners can really upset your blood sugar balance, which is probably already under a lot of pressures at this point. So those really should be avoided.  

Herbal teas

If you feel like something hot, then go for herb teas. Now, just read the ingredients first when you're buying herb teas because a lot of them today have flavourings in them and some of them have them sugar in them. So just make sure that all that's in the tea is the herb and nothing else. 

See you tomorrow!

So there you go, really simple ideas to get that water into your system, and this can make such a difference as you go through the menopause. So why not try it and let me know how you get on. And tomorrow, I'm going to be talking about how important it is to have a good diet through the menopause, and I'll be showing you some really, easy-peasy recipes that will help to sustain you during the day.