Are You Drinking Enough Water?

I learned something from one of my regular health care providers that I found surprising. And evidently it’s become a more common problem for all essential workers in general. I could see this being a problem for anyone who’s wearing a mask all day at work, which includes many of us. 

You guessed it – water consumption is way down for those wearing masks at work all day. And that is leading to an increase of kidney stones in otherwise young and healthy individuals. I’ve never had one of these, but I hear there are miserable! This was confirmed by my health care provider, who seemed way too young to have had this problem. 

I don’t think there’s a magic number of ounces that you need to consume; the best way to tell if you’re hydrated is by the color of your urine. If it’s too concentrated, then you need to find a way to drink more while maintaining your safety from Covid by wearing your mask. Especially during these drier winter months: make a plan, set reminders, drink your water. 

Another factor that has led to more instances of kidney stones is too much Vitamin D. Did you know that was a thing? I sure didn’t! If you’re taking more than 1,000 – 2,000 iu’s per day, that’s too much – according to the people who treated my provider’s recent kidney stone. 

So here are a few other small things you can do to improve your health and wellness as we begin a new year – more water, and (potentially) less Vitamin D. That seems doable.