Drinking Liquids

By:     Arnaldo Liechtenstein, physician   

Whenever I teach clinical medicine to students in the fourth year of medicine, I ask the following question: 
  
What are the causes of mental confusion in the elderly? 
  
Some offer: “Tumors in the head”.  I answer: No! 
  
Others suggest: “Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s”.  I answer again: No! 
  
With each rejection of their answers, their responses dry up. 
  
And they are even more open-mouthed when I list the three most common causes: 
     
– uncontrolled diabetes 
– urinary infection 
– dehydration 
  
It may sound like a joke, but it isn’t.  People over 60 generally stop feeling thirsty and consequently stop drinking fluids. 
  
When no one is around to remind them to drink fluids, they quickly dehydrate.  Dehydration is severe and affects the entire body  It may cause abrupt mental confusion, a drop in blood pressure, increased heart palpitations, angina (chest pain), coma and even death. 
  
*This habit of forgetting to drink fluids begins at age 60, when we have just over 50% of the water we should have in our bodies.  People over 60 have a lower water reserve. This is part of the natural aging process.* 
  
But there are more complications. Although they are dehydrated, they don’t feel like drinking water, because their internal balance mechanisms don’t work very well. 
  
*Conclusion:* 
  
People over 60 years old dehydrate easily, not only because they have a smaller water supply, but also because they do not feel the lack of water in the body. 
  
Although people over 60 may look healthy, the performance of reactions and chemical functions can damage their entire body. 
  
So here are two alerts: 
  
  1) *Get into the habit of drinking liquids*.  Liquids include water, juices, teas, coconut water, milk, soups, and water-rich fruits, such as watermelon, melon, peaches and pineapple;  Orange and tangerine also work. 
  
*The important thing is that, every two hours, you must drink some liquid.  Remember this!* 
  
2) Alert for family members: constantly offer fluids to people over age 60.  At the same time, observe them. 
  
If you realize that they are rejecting liquids and, from one day to the next, they are irritable, breathless or display a lack of attention, these are almost certainly recurrent symptoms of dehydration. 
  
Inspired to drink more water now?? Send this information out to others!  DO IT NOW! Your friends and family need to know for themselves and help you to be healthier and happier. 
 

It’s good to share! *For people over 60*

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Portugal brings its charm to hosting The Ocean Race…

Cascais, the home of the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, will host The Ocean Race Europe

DownloadCascais waterfront
© Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team

Following the Race start from Lorient, France, at the end of May, the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe will stop in Cascais, bringing the top international offshore racing teams in the world to Portugal.

Located 30km west of Lisbon, Cascais is a historic and cosmopolitan seaside resort on the edge of the Tagus estuary, between the Sintra mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ocean Race Europe will feature the record-breaking, one-design, VO65 fleet which produced the closest edition of The Ocean Race in history in 2017-18. The teams are seeing the event as the first step on their journey towards the next edition of the around the world race in 2022-23.

And for the first time, the foiling IMOCA fleet will participate in a competition under The Ocean Race banner. The IMOCA teams bring a high-tech component to the event, showcasing the latest foiling technology.

“The Ocean Race Europe will surely provide us with great competition on the water. But it is also an opportunity for our wonderful sport to inspire towards a greater purpose,” said Richard Brisius, the Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. “We are united in driving action towards the promotion of ocean health and we look forward to working on this with all of our friends and partners in Cascais when we are in Portugal this June.”

The home team in Cascais, the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, was the first VO65 team to confirm its entry in the European race back in January and The Mirpuri Foundation will host the event from its training base at the Clube Naval de Cascais.

Paulo Mirpuri is the Founder of the Mirpuri Foundation, which has been a driving force in bringing The Ocean Race Europe to Cascais. He said: “We are proud to welcome The Ocean Race Europe to Cascais and to host the stopover in our home port with our friends at Clube Naval de Cascais. This is the first time that an Ocean Race event has come to Cascais, having come to Lisbon in the past.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of an enormous amount of work from many different parties. We have worked hard with the organisers of the race to bring The Ocean Race Europe to Cascais, our home, and we will have many more developments to share very soon. This will be a spectacular race after a difficult year for so many people and we cannot wait to welcome the fleet to Portugal.”

Cascais is known as ‘The Charm of the Atlantic’ and provides direct access to a prime racing playground just off the main beach and the Cascais Marina area.

“Cascais is very proud to be one of the cities chosen to become a stopover for The Ocean Race Europe,” said Deputy Mayor Miguel Pinto Luz. “Sailing is a part of our identity and hosting the best regattas in the world is now a tradition here. We consider Cascais the best place to live – for one day or for a lifetime. And if you are a sailor, this is paradise… one of the best regatta locations in the world, in front of our beautiful Bay.”

Yoann Richomme, Skipper of the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team agrees, saying: “It will be an honour to lead ‘Racing For The Planet’ and our crew out from my home in Lorient and into our home port of Cascais this spring, a place we have seen many times from our boat, but never surrounded by such an incredible fleet. It will be a wonderful occasion for everyone involved. There is no doubt, The Mirpuri Foundation’s passion for sailing will be felt by everyone.”

The Ocean Race Europe will start from Lorient, France, over the final weekend of May, bringing the teams south across the Bay of Biscay, into the Atlantic and the stop in Cascais. From there the two fleets will race into the Mediterranean. The Ocean Race Europe will finish in Genova, Italy in the third week of June, with a further stop along the route in the Med to be confirmed shortly.

DownloadMirpuri Foundation Racing Team training off Portugal
© Marc Bow

DownloadCascais Marina
© Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team