With the July heat in full effect, it’s important to pay attention to any signs of dehydration. Dehydration can happen to anyone from kids to healthy adults to seniors. It happens when you’ve lost too much water in your body without replacing it, which prevents your body from performing its normal functions. Becoming dehydrated in the summer is fairly common if you aren’t drinking enough fluids because when it’s hot outside, our body loses water easily. Since water makes up at least 60% of our body, it plays a big part in helping our body to function.  Here are 4 common signs of dehydration:

• Your urine is darker than usual: This is one of the most common signs of dehydration. Your urine should be light yellow (the color of lemonade), not dark yellow or amber.
• You are urinating less than usual
• Your mouth is dry and/or you are very thirsty
• You feel weak and/or dizzy

It’s important that you do not wait for symptoms of dehydration to show up…drink water throughout the day even if you aren’t feeling thirsty with a goal of keeping your urine light yellow or almost clear. Keep in mind that most healthy people urinate 7-8 times a day, so if you aren’t urinating regularly, you may not be drinking enough water. Talk to your physician or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist about the proper amount of water you need each day.