Improving Hydration for Sickle Cell Warriors by Bukola Bolarinwa

Improving Hydration for Sickle Cell Warriors

By Bukola Bolarinwa

The importance of hydration for people living with sickle cell cannot be overemphasised.  Extra fluids given orally or intravenously are routinely administered during acute, painful episodes regardless of the individual’s state of hydration.  As important as it is, a lot of sickle cell warriors struggle to drink enough, especially during crises. The test of adequate hydration is to have urine that is not dark and concentrated but light yellow.

When it comes to hydration, not all fluids are equal. Water remains the best choice because it has all the hydration benefits without giving the body extra work to process the additives usually put into carbonated and artificially flavoured drinks.

So how much should we drink? There is no definitive answer but general guidance suggests 15 cups for men and 11 cups for women daily. However, warriors should aim to have a little more than this. In addition, there are other factors to consider such as age, if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, menstruating, or exercising.  Even your state of health may require you to drink more liquids. For example, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever cause the body to lose water quickly and are common causes of dehydration in sickle cell warriors.

Maintaining this amount of liquids may seem daunting, especially for parents caring for warrior kids. However, this is easily achievable with these tips:

• Always carry a bottle with you at all times. Taking regular sips of drinks throughout the day is better and easier to absorb than forcing yourself to drink more after a long period of thirst.
• Add flavours to your water to create a variety of tastes. Fruits like lemon, apples, oranges, cucumber and mint create subtle but delicious flavoured water.
• Limit alcohol intake as it causes dehydration. Limit caffeine to two cups a day and in the mornings.
• Limit foods that are overly salty or sugary as they make you thirsty.
• Reduce fizzy and sugary drinks, especially carbonated drinks.
• Incorporate hydrating fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, pineapple, cucumber, grapefruit, tomatoes and lettuce. Did you know that watermelon is 90% water? It’s a delicious and easy way to hydrate more.
• Try to create healthy routines such as drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning before any meals.

In addition to water, incorporate freshly made juices, tea, zobo (hibiscus flower drink) and smoothies into your diet. It’s easy and quick to make them yourself and helps you control how much sugar, salt and additives you consume. Here are three quick drink ideas to increase your variety. These and more drinks can be found in The Healthy Warriors Cookbook available for sale at the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria.

Pineapple ‘tea’

• 1 whole pineapple
• 6 – 12 whole cloves of spice
• 1 – 2 thumb-sized pieces, freshly peeled ginger – coarsely grated or smashed

Steps:

1. Wash one pineapple well and peel.
2. Reserve the peel and core – use fruit for something else.
3. In a pot, put peel and cover with water.
4. Add cloves, ginger and bring slowly to the boil.
5. Allow to cook till water is infused with pineapple flavour, about 30 – 40 minutes.
6. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.
7. Refrigerate or freeze.
8. Sweeten when ready to drink.
9. Can be served warm or cold.

TIP: You can freeze peels and then make a huge batch when you have enough.

Green Smoothie

• 3 cups of fresh greens – waterleaf, pumpkin leaves (or kale)
• ½ cup of fresh mint
• 2 – 3 bananas, frozen

Steps:

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and process till smooth.

Spiked water with cucumbers, apples and citrus

• Cucumber, sliced
• Apples, sliced
• Citrus juice – lemon, lime, orange
• Fresh mint

Steps:

1. In a wide-mouthed jar or bottle, alternate slices of apple and cucumber, about a quarter of the height of the bottle. Add a few sprigs of mint and a squeeze of citrus.
2. Top up with water.
3. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and up to 4 hours to allow the flavours infuse.
4. Strain and discard the fruit. The water will stay fresh for up to 2 days.
5. To serve, add cucumber slices.