Researchers at ASU are studying the long-term effects and daily performance of the human body in relation to water intake. The Hydration Science Lab examines how fluid intake can affect the body's cognitive function and the risk of chronic disease.
Most people treat hydration like breathing; they assume the body will take care of it automatically. Stavros Kavouras, the founding director of the lab and assistant dean for the College of Health Solutions, said this assumption is a problem.
"Many people, over years, they think of hydration a little bit like breathing," Kavouras said. "Over the years, studying the role of hydration on health has been forgotten and even nowadays, when you look at dietary guidelines, often they don't refer to water."
He said the food pyramid, My Plate, and the newer reverse pyramid fail to include water in their dietary plans.
"More than 50% of children do not meet the dietary guidelines for water, (and) more than 80% of adults, of older adults, actually do not meet the dietary guidelines for water intake," Kavouras said.
Kavouras said the lab's mission is to improve quality of life through adequate hydration, focusing on how fluid intake impacts overall health and body function.
The lab works on three main areas: hydration and chronic disease, hydration and physical performance, and how certain beverages with different compositions affect the ability to stay hydrated.
Inadequate water intake is linked to obesity, diabetes and reduced longevity. The lab's study found that, even without being clinically dehydrated, being in an "under hydrated state" reduces blood glucose levels, increases the long-term risk of diabetes and hyperglycemia, and is associated with changes in cognitive function and mood.
According to Kavouras, women tend to be more sensitive to mood changes and experience negative impacts on cognitive function due to lower fluid intake.
"The truth is that living in the desert, living in Arizona, we have higher needs, I would say, than most people living in a cooler environment," Kavouras said.
Living in a desert, sweat evaporates quickly, making it easier to underestimate fluid loss, while the body also loses water through faster breathing while exercising in dry air.
According to Kavouras, for every 1% of dehydration, internal body temperature increases by nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit, increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses.
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Sajji Rezaei, a second-year Ph.D. student at the lab, studies how different beverages help restore fluid losses during physical exercise.
"We found that even adding too much sugar doesn't help," Rezaei said. "Just 2% of the carbohydrate of the sugar in a beverage is very helpful to increase that rehydration or fluid retention."
Rezaei said different artificial sweeteners behave differently to support hydration, yet the area remains under-researched despite the growing market and demand for sugar-free drinks that use these sweeteners.
"Our goal is to provide more info about that sugar-free beverages, different formulas in the beverages," Rezaei said. "And help the professional organizations like American College of Sport Medicine to refine the guidelines."
Abigail Wasserbeck, a senior studying genetic biology who works with the lab handles blood and urine examinations to measure biomarkers, helping the lab conduct its studies.
Working in the lab changed the way she approaches some habits, like choosing sports drinks.
"I end up turning the bottle around and looking at the contents of it to see if it actually works," she said.
Wasserbeck said there is no gold standard for determining whether someone is dehydrated, despite researchers offering multiple ways to identify it; none seem to work effectively, which is why the work the lab does is important.
"(It) just shows how little we know about what hydration is," Wasserbeck said.
The lab is currently working on a two-year study on how changes in water intake affect blood glucose regulation, cardiovascular health, sleep quality, cognitive function and mood.
Rezaei said the long-term goal is to see water added to the guidelines in food charts and nutrition guidelines to help the public understand the importance of hydration.
"We are, like, the only lab in the world that focuses exclusively on hydration, and because of that, there's a lot of research when it comes to hydration," Wasserbeck said.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Senna James and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at ngmohta@asu.edu.
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Nikhil Mohta is a sophomore studying B.S. in Finance and is currently a Business Community Leader for the W.P. Carey School of business. He is also an active member in various clubs on campus like PIERA.
