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Just Like A Sponge: Teach Children About Hydration
Good health in childhood puts in place the foundations for lifelong wellbeing - an essential part of which is establishing the practice of drinking plenty of water from an early age. But some parents have more luck than others at getting their children to drink enough and stay hydrated. While there are plenty of tricks that can be employed to encourage your child to consume enough drinking water, it is worth taking the time to explain why hydration is so important to children. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now! Make the science simple Water makes up 70 percent of a child's body - explain that they are "more special" than adults as they have more water in their bodies than grown-ups and need to take care to keep their water levels topped up. Fuel the body like a machine Fill up a glass of filtered drinking water and explain it is this simple substance that keeps their body working just like fuel for a car. Just as cars need to be filled up at the garage to keep moving, children need to refuel to keep moving with glasses of filtered drinking water. This water travels around the body to keep every little bit working - keeping hands and feet moving, eyes open and their mind thinking. Soak up the science with a practical demonstration Use a dry sponge to show how water can bring physical change. Soak the sponge with water and get your child to explain how it feels - soft, heavy, bouncy, full of life, wet - and explain that only when water is added can it do what it is meant to properly. Encourage your child to squeeze the water out of the sponge and describe what happens as it loses water - it loses its bounce, feels rough - and doesn't work properly. Discuss how human bodies lose water too and how that happens - going to the toilet, running around and sweating, getting too hot. Explain that, just like a sponge, unless we replace the fluid loss by drinking more water, children too can lose their bounce and struggle to do their job of having fun because they will feel tired and flat - just like a dried sponge. Finally, leave the sponge out somewhere to dry out naturally and get the children to check how it's form changes and talk about how dry and tough it becomes. Explain that without any outside pressure the sponge will still lose water as it dries out naturally. Tell them this is just the same as the human body, which will still lose water even if children are not running around using it up. For a final flourish pour water onto the dehydrated sponge and watch together as it fills with water and recovers its bounce - explain to your children that they are just the same but that drinking water in little bits is the best way to stop their bodies drying out and becoming dehydrated. Use a thirst for knowledge to get children drinking water Children love to learn and understand how their bodies work - use this thirst for knowledge to help get them regularly drinking water. Teach your children how drinking water will help them bounce through the summer holidays. Check out our water solutions now!
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Tips To Keep Children Drinking Water This Summer...
The summer holidays are finally here and that hopefully should mean plenty of fresh air and exercise. As water makes up more of a child's body than an adult's it is vital they have plenty of drinking water as they are more prone to suffering from dehydration. How much they need depends on each individual child, but health experts suggest 6-8 glasses each day. For younger children, the British Nutrition Foundation suggests servings of 120-150mls, and 250-300mls for older children. As with all things child-related, expert advice is one thing, getting your child to follow that is quite another. Top tips for keeping children hydrated over the summer holidays Let them choose a water bottle Sometimes it really is that simple. Younger children in particular will love having a new trinket to carry around. Let them help to fill up their new bottle with filtered drinking water and the prospect of feeling "grown up" should at least last a week or two of the summer holidays. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now! Make ice lollies at home Invest in some lolly moulds then add flavourings or juice to filtered drinking water and fill up the moulds. At least you will know what is actually in the lollies - and that there is water in there! Always have water on hand Save yourself a fortune on drinks over the summer holidays by always carrying a refillable bottle of filtered drinking water. Pack well when heading out for the day with a bottle for everyone and frequently offer your children a sip of water. Try to cut back on sugary drinks The most important factor is keeping your child hydrated, so a glass of squash made up with filtered drinking water may help to keep fluid levels topped up. However, dentists advise keeping these to meal times to minimise sugar damage. Encourage children to drink more when exercising It can seem like young children are on the go all the time. If they've been whizzing around the park, or scooting about at the local beauty spot, keep offering them water to stop them becoming dehydrated. For older children heading out on their bikes or playing football, encourage them to take a bottle of filtered drinking water with them and remind them how important staying hydrated is to being at the top of their game. And should the sunshine make an appearance? Provide plenty of fresh, cool filtered drinking water to stop children getting dehydrated in the heat of the sun. Most of all make sure they have plenty of energy to enjoy themselves over the summer holidays by staying hydrated with top quality, fresh filtered drinking water. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now!
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Brain Health & Hydration: Can Drinking Water Help...
With an ageing population, the dementia challenge is growing rapidly in the UK. There's an estimated 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK. Unfortunately, health experts estimate that diagnoses are set to soar by 57 percent by 2040. Already the leading cause of death in England, dementia is a truly devastating illness for the sufferer and their loved ones. Dementia is a name of a group of diseases that result in decline of brain function, the most common being Alzheimer's. What can be done, however? Undoubtedly, genetics plays a huge role in our health journey, but conscious decisions we take can have an effect. Our well being partly comes from a series of life-long, "modifiable" choices - those we make now could prove to be vital to our health in later life. But just how significant is adequate hydration for brain function, and what does the latest research tell us about the relationship between water consumption and dementia? Check out our water solutions now! Lifestyle choices & preventing dementia: How hydration plays a role At present, there is no cure for Alzheimer's - the most common form of dementia. As such, prevention is key. In-depth research, collated from work by 24 international experts, estimates that the development of dementia can depend by 35% on potentially modifiable risk factors. Water intake and hydration plays a key role here. A good hydration routine helps to support exercise, diet and energy levels. Not drinking enough water can leave people feeling lethargic and listless, scuppering good intentions to exercise and eat healthily. There is a knock-on effect here, too - exercise is proven to help with depression, increasing social interaction (when done in groups), and helps to keep hunger at bay. A healthy life-style is the sum of all parts. Drinking water is a force for good flowing through it - the bedrock of any healthy lifestyle to prevent dementia. Although dementia is diagnosed in later life, the brain changes usually begin to develop years before. Acting now will vastly improve life for people with dementia and their families and, in doing so, will transform the future of society. The relationship between brain health, dementia and water consumption Water is crucial for our brains. When we drink water, our blood is hydrated and easier able to travel around the body, transporting oxygen and essential nutrients to places that need it - which include the brain. When we are even mildly dehydrated, this process can be inhibited. As such, dehydration and brain function are intimately linked. Water plays a vital role in the way brain cells work and helps to remove toxins. If the body starts to become dehydrated, the functioning of brain cells is affected. In the case of long-term dehydration, this can even age the brain. Dehydration can cause symptoms similar to those of dementia, including memory loss, confusion and depression. Even in mild cases of dehydration, 1-3% of body weight, studies show that headaches increased, concentration decreased, anxiety increased and mood was affected. Similarly, other research shows that lower hydration "slowed psychomotor processing speed" and resulted in poorer attention and memory performance. Another key study noted that dehydration conditions impaired cognitive abilities (i.e. perceptive discrimination, short-term memory. A clear relationship between cognitive performance and hydration. Can a lack of water actually cause dementia? Clearly, dehydration can cause dementia symptoms by impairing our cognitive function - inducing memory loss, confusion and depression. But does it cause dementia itself? The answer is not crystal clear, but there is some evidence to suggest that it does. A comprehensive study of neurocognitive disorders concluded that "dehydration was associated with the risk of developing a type of dementia, like AD or vascular dementia." As always, the advice of experts is always the same - water is excellent! How much water should someone with dementia drink? Understanding the relationship between dementia, dehydration and cognitive function may prompt us to question our water intake. Dehydration in dementia patients can be a real issue — for those living with the disease, it can be challenging to remember to take on enough water. So what's a good fluid intake for someone with dementia? How much water does your brain typically need to function optimally? The answer is that there's no specific amount of water that someone with dementia should drink, or someone looking to prevent dementia should drink - but, as always, it's important to meet a regular hydration quota. This helps with brain function and the transportation of nutrients and oxygen in the blood around the body, including to the brain. Water should be consumed continuously through the day, with experts telling us that we should aim for: Men - 2 litres per day Women - 1.8 litres per day Check out our water solutions now! Tap water, cognitive performance & dementia: Potential contaminants As we've discussed, drinking water plays a crucial role in adopting a healthy lifestyle and minimising dementia risks and symptoms. However, it's useful to be aware and have knowledge of contaminants that might be in your tap water supply, their significance, and how to protect yourself against any potential ill effects. Tap water contaminants & their effects on brain health Our water contains a range of common contaminants, such as chlorine, which can affect the taste, smell and sight of tap water - but are harmless on the whole. However, the presence of heavy metals in drinking water has been implicated as a problem in neurological illnesses, including dementia. Heavy metals are not usually found in drinking water, but can leach in through old pipework, the main offender being lead. One of the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning is a decline in brain function. In severe cases, this can lead to deteriorating dementia. Another study in 2020 found that aluminium and fluoride in tap water was related to a later dementia risk. The research analysed those who lived in areas with higher levels of aluminium in water supplies against those who didn't. The author noted: "Higher levels of aluminium in particular are associated with an increased risk of dementia - Everybody included in the study was alive in 2005 and they were all born in 1921 - people who lived in areas with higher levels of aluminium in drinking water were more likely to die of dementia than those in areas where the aluminium levels were lower." Dr. Tom Russ, Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh. Lead author of Aluminium and fluoride in drinking water in relation to later dementia risk. The UK has some of the finest tap water quality in the world. However, if you are concerned about fluoride in your tap water, or heavy metals leaching into your supply, investing in a water filtration system will maximise your efforts to live a healthier life. Dementia prevention and alcohol Consistent, excessive drinking of alcohol can place an individual at risk of alcohol-related brain damage, leading to a greater risk of dementia. If you drink heavily on a regular basis, you're more likely to have a reduced volume of white matter in the brain - the matter that transmits signals. Therefore, it won't come as a surprise to learn that levels of alcohol consumption should be monitored for those looking to minimise dementia risk. The Alzheimer's Society recommend not exceeding these guidelines: 1-14 units of alcohol per week for women 1-21 units a week for men A steady, healthy intake of water will help to prevent reaching for these less healthy fluid alternatives, whilst still being able to enjoy a drink if desired. Start your water journey with Doulton® Aside from the reduced chance of poorer brain function, optimal hydration and intake of water has innumerable other health benefits. As discussed, our tap water can contain a range of contaminants which affect smell, sight and taste - and may even play a role in developing dementia. At Doulton®, we've got over 180 years of experience producing a range of leading-edge ceramic water filtration products. We only settle for the best, and this philosophy is infused into all of our products. The result - great tasting, healthy filtered water. Check out our water solutions now!
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How Much Water Should I Drink Everyday?
Everyone should be aware that drinking water is vital to life, health and wellbeing, but how much should we actually be drinking? The standard response is usually eight glasses a day, but perhaps a catch-all solution is not ideal when individual needs can be so different. Does a 6ft 5in male athlete really need to consume the same amount of water as a 5ft 2in 90-year-old woman, or a five-year-old child? Surely the needs of such a vastly differing group are not the same? In the UK Government health leaders suggest people consume 6-8 glasses of drinking water every day. Check out our water solutions now! Now, the Mayo Clinic - a not-for-profit health and wellness organisation with centres across the USA - has conducted research into how the human body's need for drinking water varies. The clinic claims it is possible to work out exactly how much drinking water individuals need to consume using the following calculations: Body weight in pounds divided by 2.2 Multiplied by your age Divide that number by 28.3 The result is the amount of drinking water in ounces that is ideal for your body Divide that by figure by eight for the number of cups (assuming they hold eight ounces) With water making up more than 50-60 per cent of an adult's body, drinking water is essential to staying healthy for everyone and allows the body to function efficiently. Drinking water: when should you have more? Outline figures and research-driven calculations serve as a standard guide to how much water people should be ideally aiming to drink. However, there are times when an individual's need is increased. Times when better hydration may be required include: Pregnant/breastfeeding women The demands on the body of carrying a baby - and the importance of not becoming dehydrated - see the recommendation for pregnant women rise by another 2-4 glasses per day. This advice is also applied to breastfeeding to stop new mums becoming dehydrated and help maintain a good milk supply. Exercise The best advice is to drink normally throughout the day then have a glass of water before exercising, then continue drinking water while working out. It is difficult to pinpoint an exact amount as intensity and body make-up all make an impact. This should then be followed by enjoying a glass of drinking water after exercising. Hot weather The temperature can also push up the amount of drinking water needed as the body sweats to cool down, causing it to lose fluids. Again how much the body needs is dependent on the level of heat and how active the person is. As a result it is better to monitor the colour of urine as a good indicator as to whether you are hydrated or not. If urine is dark yellow, it is time to start drinking water. When a simple resource is such an important part of wellbeing it is important to ensure your body is getting the very best. To ensure you are drinking the freshest, cleanest water use a Doulton Filter. Don't compromise on your hard work to feel your best by drinking water that isn't the best you can get - use a water filter. Check out our water solutions now!
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How Does A Water Filter Actually Clean Water?
The concept of filtered drinking water is well understood as a means to remove impurities, but how exactly does the process work? It was in 1826 that Henry Doulton invented the ceramic water filter candle as a way to cleanse the drinking water supply, which at that time came from a river polluted by sewage. Ceramic drinking water filters build on nature's method of filtering water through layers of porous rock, which removes impurities to leave fresh, clean water. Check out our water solutions now! How do our water filters work? Taking out the bad and leaving the good Doulton water filter cartridges are cylinders created by layers of porous material that water passes through before it emerges from the mount. The outer shell of the filter cartridge is ceramic, made from natural piles of earth. It has tiny pores in it measuring less than one micron - 100 times smaller than a hair - which filter contaminants from the water as it passes through. An activated carbon inner core provides powerful filtration, absorbing chlorine to improve the taste and smell of the drinking water. An ion exchange resin is incorporated into particular grades of Doulton water filters to remove heavy metal ions from drinking water, including lead. This process also works to soften the water. What contaminants are removed from drinking water by ceramic filters Pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella and cholera Waterborne cysts such as cryptosporidium and giardia, which are found in human and animal faeces Disinfectants, such as chlorine Heavy metals, such as lead Rust and foreign particles Independent laboratory tests have proved that Doulton water filter systems remove up to 99.99% of contaminants added to treat water, such as chlorine and fluoride, as well as heavy metals, pathogenic bacteria, and cysts. Enjoy filtered drinking water on tap The ceramic water filters can be connected directly to the main household tap to provide fresh, clean drinking water. More than a century has been invested in perfecting the technology of filtering drinking water by Doulton - enjoy clean, healthy filtered drinking water, on tap. Check out our water solutions now!
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Stay Match Fit At Wimbledon By Drinking Water
It's July, hopefully the sun is still shining, and one of the world's biggest sporting events is underway - Wimbledon. While water at Wimbledon usually hits the headlines for the wrong reasons, with a rain-free fortnight a rarity, water is really a background superstar. With long hours of play, heat (between the rain showers!) and physical exertion depleting athletes' hydration and energy levels, drinking water helps to keep tennis players match fit. Whether it is in the form of ready-mixed sports drinks, or freshly filtered tap water, regularly keeping hydration levels topped up is essential to an athlete's performance. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now! And it's not just the players that need to keep drinking water at Wimbledon, the thousands of fans who turn up each day also need to be careful to stay hydrated as well as enjoying the strawberries and cream. This year's Wimbledon has seen temperatures soaring, hitting 31C on the first Thursday, with conditions so uncomfortable a number of spectators fainted. Concerns about the welfare of fans promoted St. John's Ambulance to issue a reminder to stay safe by seeking shade, applying sun cream and drinking water. What do players drink to hydrate at Wimbledon? With matches stretching out for hours at a time, tennis players need stamina. High intensity exercise, particularly in the heat, causes the body to sweat as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature increase. The more fluid that is lost, the more the athletes need to replace. As well as fluid, sweat also causes the body to lose salt and electrolytes. To meet these demands on their bodies, athletes refuel with both drinking water and a specially-mixed (quite often secret recipe) drink that helps to replace lost minerals - electrolytes - that are essential to hydration. Queues, camping and drinking water With tickets for Wimbledon drawn by ballot ahead of the tournament, fans desperate to see a slice of centre court action go to extreme lengths to head up the queue for the limited passes available on the day. Thousands of fans join the daily queue for tickets, with many camping overnight to secure tickets for Centre Court, Court 1 or Court 2. Again, drinking water will top their list of basic needs - sat out in the sun for hours (or rain possibly) staying hydrated will be vital. With a doubtful source of water it might be advisable to pack a portable filter to ensure access to fresh, clean drinking water. Don't let drinking water cost the Earth With large-scale events, such as Wimbledon - where nearly half a million people visit across the fortnight, it is important to consider the environmental footprint. With 230,000 bottles of water being brought on site, drinking tap water from a re-usable container will help to cut down on cost, waste and the price to the environment - and you will be prepared ahead of any long queues. If you are planning on attending a major sporting event this summer, play it safe and take plenty of filtered drinking water and keep your bottle topped up. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now!
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Fresh Drinking Water: A Festival Goer's Best Friend
With 175,000 music fans making the annual pilgrimage to Glastonbury, the music festival season is officially in full swing. Festival fans setting up their tents will know this is a time to get back to basics. Amid all the festival indulgence, two basic needs are always at the back of festival goers minds: access to fresh drinking water - and to the toilets, yes those notorious festival toilets! With alcohol playing a big part in the experience for many, it is even more important to keep adequately hydrated by matching this with plenty of drinking water - particularly before and after a drinking session. Thankfully this is a need recognised by music festivals, which have drinking water points dotted around the site where revellers can fill up their water bottles. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now! Why drinking water at a music festival is so important Heat exhaustion - long days spent outside in the heat can lead to symptoms including, dizziness, intense sweating and nausea. Stay hydrated by drinking water, seek shade and use suncream. The body loses more water from exercising - festival fans can cover miles by foot each day, add in dancing and this equates to a very active weekend. Stay hydrated by regularly sipping drinking water. Alcohol - booze is a diuretic and, as a result, can dehydrate the body at a time when you need to be working to keep it hydrated. Make sure to fit in enough drinking water to keep festival fit. Even if the sun isn't shining the exertion of being active all day at a music festival means drinking the recommended amount of water each day is important (1.5 litres for women, 2 litres for men). A whopping 11 million litres of water is needed for Glastonbury festival, which is provided by the local water company. Glastonbury's Worthy Farm site provides 400 taps that can be used to access clean drinking water - and in keeping with its environmental ethos Glastonbury encourages festival goers to fill up at the taps rather than buy bottled water. With hundreds of thousands of music fans setting out for festivals across the country this need for clean drinking water - and to cut plastic waste - is repeated throughout the summer months as big name festivals such as Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Leeds/Reading, V Festival, Download, Latitude, Green Man and Bestival, among many others, draw in the crowds. Glastonbury Festival also uses the festival to raise funds and awareness for the Wateraid charity, which aims to bring clean drinking water and sanitation to those living without across the globe. Plan ahead Go prepared and take your own sturdy water bottle - don't add to the mountain of plastic waste by buying bottled water. Also plan ahead and fill up a large water container with filtered water before setting off that can then be stored at your tent. For people concerned about the quality of the water at campsites, portable filters are available to give you peace of mind while on the move. Doulton's stainless steel gravity-fed system is a fully integrated water filter system that can be used on the go for better tasting, cleaner water. Most importantly don't let dehydration ruin your festival, find your water bottle and fill up at no cost - to yourself or the planet. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now!
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How To Avoid Chlorine In Your Drinking Water...
Often with a long way to travel from source to tap, drinking water has chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine added as a disinfectant to remove harmful bacteria. While the importance of water is kept clean as it moves through these communities of pipework is without doubt, do we really need to be consuming those chemicals once the water has reached the kitchen tap? Check out our Chlorine solutions now! Why is Chlorine added to water? Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant and it is in this capacity that it is added to drinking water - and has been for more than 100 years. Added at the treatment stage it destroys harmful bacteria found in reservoirs, and water storage units, in particular when it could cause dysentery, cholera or typhoid. As a catch-all chlorine is relied upon to stop the disease spreading through drinking water. What is Chloramine? Water companies also use chloramine as a disinfectant to reduce drinking water microbes. Chloramine is created when chlorine and then ammonia are added to the supply, combining to create chloramine. Very similar to Chlorine, it is also a highly effective and long-lasting disinfectant, however, it has been found to create fewer potentially harmful by-products. Is there a health risk from drinking chlorinated water? Concerns have been raised about the impact of chlorine on drinking water. The most serious is that if it reacts with organic matter, chlorine can create trihalomethanes(THMs) as a disinfection by-product. If ingested over a long-term period, THMs have been linked with cancer and are classed as "possibly carcinogenic". It has also been suggested that THMs could have an impact on pregnancy outcomes in rare cases. Some water companies have moved towards using chloramine to disinfect water claiming much lower levels of THMs are created. However, that fact is disputed by some critics, who are also concerned that chloramine remains in water when it is exposed to air - unlike chlorine. How chlorine/ chloramine affects the taste of water The most obvious impact of the presence of chlorine in drinking water is on smell and taste. Yes, if it tastes and smells chlorinated, it'll be germ-free but is that the quality of water most households want, and is there anything consumers can do to improve the taste of their drinking water? As well as the chemical being present itself, dead microbes can remain in drinking water once the chlorine has destroyed them, which can also cause an unpleasant taste. Use a filter to improve your drinking water Using a water filter will help to reduce the chlorine in drinking water once it has served its purpose in making a safe delivery. By using an integrated using Doulton ceramic technology families can enjoy clean, fresh water, free of a chemical taste - and of the majority of chemical contaminants. While the benefits of chlorinating water outweigh concerns about water-borne disease, consumers can take action to protect themselves against residual risks. Doulton water filters remove up to 99.99% of contaminants to deliver top quality drinking water. Why take any chances with your health, remove unwanted chemicals from your drinking water using Doulton's time-tested ceramic filters - and enjoy better-tasting water. Check out our Chlorine solutions now!
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The Fight To Help Get Millions Access To...
More than one billion people in the world still don't have access to a safe, clean source of drinking water. Heartbreakingly water-borne disease is responsible for the death of more children aged under-five than any other cause. Simple steps are all that is needed to start to make a difference. Everyone should have access to clean drinking water - and everyone should be equipped with life skills that can help to keep them safe from the catastrophic effects of poor sanitation. Water for life Of those who do not have access to clean drinking water, 40 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is here that an organisation's determination to make a difference inspired the creation of fast, effective and affordable solutions to bring clean drinking water to communities in dire need. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now! Cleanwater, based in the UK, was formed in 2009 from a project in East Africa called LifeWater which is an arm of Watchmen International, a UK-based Christian charity. Using British Berkefeld® ceramic filters; Cleanwater has designed two highly effective filtration kits specifically to help tackle the problem of water-borne diseases in communities in Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia and Malawi. Cleanwater kits - access to clean drinking water These gravity-fed, standalone water filter systems can be quickly put into use in emergency situations, or in communities with no means of accessing clean drinking water. The emergency Bag Filter Kit is ready for immediate use. The British Berkefeld® ceramic filter is fixed inside a durable plastic bag designed to be hung from a suitable place, providing safe drinking water within minutes. Easy to maintain, the Static Siphon Kit has been successfully used for humanitarian relief. Harnessing what resources are available on a local level in combination with a British Berkefeld® ceramic filter, Cleanwater Siphon Kits can be used to convert almost any plastic containers into a water filter unit. Providing low-cost access to clean drinking water where it can really make a difference, including schools and hospitals. Change for the future British Berkefeld® ceramic filters have been used to help communities across the world. In Guatemala, the Utz Ja' Project brought low-cost water filtration to rural communities after ceramic water filters were integrated into locally manufactured containers to provide clean drinking water. Another project saw British Berkefeld® gravity-fed water filter systems introduced to more than 4,000 homes in Oaxaca, Mexico, drastically cutting water-borne diseases in local families. High-quality solutions are the bedrock of lasting change. By relying on the ceramic technology that has been a proven success to filter water for more than a century, aid agencies have been able to bring clean water to communities with no other solution in sight. British Berkefeld® filtration systems are a key factor in the Millennium Development Goals to support drinking water projects. Made to exacting standards, British Berkefeld® ceramic filters are helping to make sure more people across the world have access to the clean water they deserve. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now!
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