Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism | 2019
Hydration for Health: So What? Ten Advances in Recent Hydration History
Abstract
We have long understood that water is essential to life. From early experiments on water’s importance for survival in extreme environments [1] to a thorough understanding of how hydration affects sports performance and safety [2–6], the importance of replacing body water losses is well-known and markers of water loss dehydration are well-understood. However, outside of sport and occupational health, water has remained to a large extent an essential but also an invisible nutrient [7–10]. The past decade marks a turning point in considering the importance of water and hydration for the general population, with significant advances in our understanding of water, hydration, and health. On this tenth anniversary of the Hydration for Health Scientific Conference, we offer the following “top ten list” describing key advances in the hydration and health sciences and present perspectives for the next decade.