CHRONIC DEHYDRATION Part 16: Hyaluronic Acid It’s the Icing on the Cake

Early signs of dehydration include all-over achiness and pain for no apparent reason–except of course, everything is dried out. Just as calcium and magnesium are more effective together, water and electrolytes hydrate a water-deficient body more effectively when hyaluronic acid (HA) is present.

A 154-pound human body has only about one tablespoon of hyaluronic acid. But that small amount is very powerful in the body’s regeneration processes. Hyaluronic + water (H+W) becomes a health-enhancing combination when it comes to relieving dehydration’s painful symptoms of general overall stiffness due to lack of lubrication and viscosity.

Lubrication

You could compare the joints of the human body to an automobile engine because the joint fluid in the body mimics the oil in the car engine. Periodically, we replace the car’s oil because heat and friction break down its thickness and ability to lubricate moving parts. If we are dehydrated, hyaluronic cannot help joints with lubrication because it has so little water to bind with. This allows joint components to rub against each other: ouch! Hyaluronic also delivers nutrients to cells in cartilage, joints, disks, and bursae that do not have a direct blood supply.

With H+W between all cells, everything moves with ease and comfort. For instance, when we jump off a step, we want our internal organs to give in smoothly to the gravitational forces pushing them all downward. To do this, they need to slide against each other, not stick together because they’re dry.

This ability to move easily is especially important to our delicate brain, which is encased in the skull with cranial fluid around it. The fluid’s purpose is to absorb any impact the head endures due to an open cabinet door or a sports injury such as a football tackle. Although the brain has the first claim on all the good things in the body, especially water because the brain is 80 percent water, a dehydrated body has little water to share with its trillions of cells. When there is less water in the brain itself, the force of a head impact means its cells cannot slide but can collide and damage each other.

Hyaluronic is instrumental in treating rheumatoid arthritis by combating pain with lubrication, then promoting cartilage production and repair of joint connective tissues. With H+W, recovery periods are shorter and result in a more complete range of motion. Combined with glucosamine, it reduces osteoarthritis pain and reverses joint cartilage loss.

Viscosity

Hyaluronic acid is one of the most water-loving molecules in nature, capable of binding up to 1,000 times its weight in water. When hyaluronic acid does bind with water, the substance becomes thicker, like cornstarch makes gravy or gelatin makes Jell-O. Because water is both around and inside each cell, gelatinous H+W helps hold everything together, much like the mortar between bricks. Without this ability, everything in the body would just slosh around like it does when you carry a pail of water. The beauty of gelatinous H+W is that it resists compression and is again especially important in joints to cushion their movements and protect the brain from a collision with the skull.

A brick mason once said, “The mortar is also to hold the bricks apart.” This function is important to mobility and motility, or the ability to move. As people, we move about our world, and this causes all the cells in our body to also move inside us. So they don’t all crash into one another when we jump off a stair step, the thick water between them cushions the force of gravity between cells, joint bones, organs, etc.

Other Body Benefits

Because the skin is the body’s largest organ, over 50 percent of Hyaluronic acid is located there, even though it is only 15 percent of the body’s weight. If the skin’s collagen is continually stretched and retracted, it will break down and sag over the years. The presence of H+W has a moisturizing and elasticizing effect on skin cells. The dynamic combo acts as a space-filler between cells to keep the skin wrinkle-free.

When we’re young, we produce lots of it; that’s why a child’s skin is so hydrated with water. As we age, we produce less and less HA, so our skin becomes drier. More water with supplemental HA could well reduce some of those deep age wrinkles.

Hair follicles are located in the deeper skin layers where this thick liquid nourishes and hydrates, so the result is lustrous hair and a moisturized scalp. HA and collagen also give shape and plumpness to the lips.

Eyes contain a high concentration of HA, so the fluid inside them is almost completely all HA. Postoperatively, HA induces tissue healing; like after cataract surgery, because more white blood cells enter the area because it’s thought to raise the bloodstream’s white cell count. Inside, the eyeball acts again as a shock absorber and also transports nutrients and carries away waste products.

Inside gum tissue, HA strengthens ligaments that hold teeth in place.

Supplementing Hyaluronic Acid

Guarantee HA production by eating a nutritious and balanceddiet. All meats are rich sources of this acid, and Vitamin A helps release it in the form of retinol. Citrus and other fruits high in Vitamin C help increase the level of the acid. Root vegetables containing starch, magnesium, and zinc are also helpful to its production.

Continuous HA production or supplementation is necessary because it has a half-life of three days, after which, it is broken down and moved out of the body. It might only last one day in the skin. Research proved that swallowed HA is absorbed and distributed to organs and joints after a single intake. This means you only have to wait days instead of weeks to get results. Most sources say 100 to 200 mg per day is a proper dosage. Remember to drink plenty of water so the HA has something to interact with.

After years of having a hydration level of only 70 percent or less, when we start drinking ten or more glasses of water per day to re-hydrate, our body may not be able to produce enough hyaluronic acid fast enough to bind all that new water coming in. Without hyaluronic acid–plus water’s lubricating and thickening abilities–we would not get the full benefit of re-hydration and tissue regeneration.

You can make water plus salt, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iodine, zinc, and hyaluronic acid your personal Fountain of Youth.

• References:
• 1. hyalogic.com/main/about_hyaluronic acid
• 2. livestrong.com/article/39657-foods-hyaluronic-acid
• 3. buzzle.com/articles/hyaluronic-acid-foods
• 4. rejuvenation-science.com/hylauronic-acid
• 5. primev.com/hyaluronic-acid-ha/hyalkuronic-acid
• 6. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1563592
• 7. vitamin.lifetips.com//faq/106528/0/what-s-the-recommended-dosage-of-hyaluronic-acid/index.html
• 8. drpasswater.com/nutrition_library/Sardi.html