Key Takeaways
- Drinking lots of water doesn't guarantee you're hydrated.
- A quick, painless in-office test measures how much water your body is holding.
- Dr. Parsons says women should be between 50% and 60% water, and men between 60% and 70%.
In the summer heat, many people drink plenty of water and assume they're hydrated. Dr. Parsons says that's an assumption, not a fact, and there's a simple way to find out for sure.
How the Test Works
In the video, two team members demonstrate the test. After a couple of simple questions are entered into the device, you stand on metal plates with your hands relaxed at your sides. The unit sends an imperceptible current up one leg, through the torso, and down the other, which you won't feel. Then it prints out your results.
What the Results Show
- Body water: how much water your body is holding. Dr. Parsons says women should be between 50% and 60%, and men between 60% and 70%, since we store water in our muscle.
- BMI: a disease risk indicator. A high number signals increased risk for cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and cancers.
- Muscle mass and body fat
Together, the results show whether you're getting the benefit of the water you drink, or whether it's going right through you.
Don't assume. Learn more in our guide to staying hydrated, or see why watermelon is a great summer hydration snack.
Read the full video transcript
It's summertime, and that means summer heat. A lot of you are drinking a lot of water, which is good, but a lot of you are assuming that you're hydrated. That is an assumption, and not necessarily scientifically true. There's a simple test that we can do here at the Natural Path Health Center to actually determine whether it's true or not. Christy and Rachel are going to demonstrate. Christy is going to ask Rachel a couple of simple questions that she definitely knows the answers to, and she's going to plug them into this device. Once Christy gives her the okay, Rachel is going to put her feet on these metal plates. Once she steps on, she's going to have her hands relaxed at her sides, and she's going to be looking up at our fat cat picture. This unit sends an imperceptible current up one leg, through the torso, and down the other. Nothing that you feel. Then she steps off, and it spits out this piece of paper. What this paper tells me is a tremendous amount of information about your body. This is a blown-up example of the information it gives us. One part of it is BMI. This is a disease risk indicator, and if your number is high, that means you're at an increased risk for cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and cancers. But what I'm really talking about today is the number down here at the bottom. We're able to calculate how much water is in your body. For women, this number needs to be between 50 and 60%. For men, it's 60 to 70%, because we literally store water in our muscle. It also breaks down how much muscle mass you have and how much body fat you have. So from this one simple test, we can get an idea of what's really happening on the inside. Are you getting the benefit of that water, or is it literally going right through you? So don't assume. Don't guess. Let's test and get you fixed. See you soon.
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB
Dr. Mikell Suzanne Parsons, DC, CCN, DACBN, DACNB is a Doctor of Chiropractic, certified clinical nutritionist, and brain wellness expert with 34+ years serving Fresno families at The Natural Path Health Center.
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