Dehydration and What to Eat and Drink to Recover
It can be hard to stay hydrated during breast cancer treatment, especially if treatment side effects like fatigue and appetite changes are making it difficult to eat and drink normally. And some chemotherapy medications for breast cancer, especially Xeloda (chemical name: capecitabine), can cause you to lose more fluid than you take in — known as dehydration. But any treatment that causes vomiting and diarrhea can cause you to lose too many body fluids and become dehydrated, leading to other health issues.
You shouldn't rely on feeling thirsty to tell if you're getting enough water. You may not feel thirsty until you've already lost quite a bit of water, so try to drink consistently throughout the day.
An easy way to tell if you're getting enough water is to look at the color of your urine. If your urine is pale to clear, you're probably getting enough water. If it's dark, it's more concentrated, which means you are becoming dehydrated. (Multivitamins can sometimes darken urine, so keep that in mind if you're taking one.)
Mild to moderate dehydration can cause dizziness, headaches, fatigue, weakness, concentration issues, and pain when peeing (or even UTIs).
Severe dehydration can be life-threatening, especially for older adults. Watch for these symptoms:
extreme thirst
feeling extremely lethargic
lack of sweating despite feeling hot
irritability or confusion
a weak or rapid pulse
seizures
falling in and out of consciousness or losing consciousness
If you are severely dehydrated, you may need IV hydration therapy, which is an intravenous infusion of fluids, electrolytes, and other nutrients.
Talk to your doctor if you’re concerned about dehydration, even if your symptoms are mild. To prevent dehydration during treatment — or help your body rehydrate — there are hydrating beverages and foods you can try.
The best drinks for dehydration recovery
Water makes up about 50% to 66% of your total body weight, but since it’s an essential nutrient, we need to drink plenty of it daily. Experts recommend that all adults drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day.
However, when your body rapidly loses fluids, it also loses essential electrolytes — potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate — so just drinking water may not be enough to help your body recover.
Tips to drink more water
Carry a reusable water bottle, preferably made of stainless steel or glass to avoid chemicals found in plastics.
If you don’t like plain water, try adding fresh or frozen berries, sliced cucumbers, or citrus slices and juice. Sparkling and/or soda water are great options, too.
Set a timer on your phone to remind yourself to take sips throughout the day.
Drinks with electrolytes
Sports drinks, Pedialyte, coconut water, and clear broths contain electrolytes.
Electrolyte powders that can be added to water (or any beverage) have become popular in recent years. Whether you choose a bottled sports drink or an electrolyte packet, you can dilute them to your preference.
Tip: Electrolyte drinks with glucose (sugar) provide additional hydration benefits since both sugar and salt attract water to help keep water in the body (rather than peeing it out).
The best hydrating foods
To further prevent or help your body recover from dehydration, you can eat foods that have high water content.
Fruits and vegetables
These fruits and veggies are full of nutrients and are all at least 80% water:
cantaloupe
grapefruit
strawberries
watermelon
grapes
tomatoes
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
iceberg and romaine lettuce
sweet peppers
radishes
spinach
asparagus
mushrooms
zucchini and summer squash
Many of these fruits and veggies — especially watermelon and cucumbers — are easy on your stomach and don’t have a strong flavor, which may be helpful if you also have taste changes from treatment. Fruit smoothies are also hydrating and easy to digest!
Soups and broths
Soups are a great way to get water, sodium, and other essential nutrients from ingredients like chicken and vegetables. Keep a few cans on hand or freeze individual portions when you make a pot of soup.
If you’re not up for eating soup, you can sip on clear broths. Bone broth is a good choice because in addition to electrolytes, it contains protein, collagen, and minerals like calcium and phosphorus, which help maintain strong bones. Regardless of which broth you prefer, reach for versions with salt added. Sodium is an electrolyte — an essential mineral that helps regulate fluid balance in the body.
Popsicles and other frozen treats
Keeping some ice pops on hand is helpful for preventing or recovering from dehydration, and is especially handy if you’re nauseous or vomiting from treatment and can’t keep food or drinks down.
There are even popsicles with electrolytes, like Pedialyte freezer pops.
Some dairy products
Many dairy products have a high water content and naturally contain sodium and potassium, including:
milk (skim, reduced fat, or whole)
plain yogurt
cottage cheese
The carbohydrates and dietary fats in dairy make these foods slow-digesting, giving your body a chance to absorb the water and nutrients.
Food and drinks to avoid when you’re dehydrated
Certain foods and beverages can make dehydration worse.
Drinks with caffeine
Caffeinated beverages can have a diuretic effect, meaning they cause your kidneys to extract more water and salt from the body, leading you to pee more. Since you want to hold onto water and salt when you’re dehydrated, opt for decaf or herbal tea instead of coffee or energy drinks.
Alcoholic beverages
Alcohol is also a diuretic. It causes your body to flush out electrolytes, and also blunts your natural thirst signals, so you may not drink enough water when you have a buzz.
Ultra-processed foods high in sodium
Though your body does need to replenish electrolytes, eating foods high in sodium, such as bacon, sausages, or salty snacks, without also drinking enough water can worsen dehydration.
Ultra-processed foods are also linked to many health issues, including an increased risk of breast cancer and recurrence.
This content is made possible, in part, by AstraZeneca.