Health
Not drinking enough water floods your body with harmful stress hormones
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A new study found that hydration is key when it comes to managing stress.
People who drink less than seven cups, or 1.5 liters, of water per day have a cortisol response to stress that is 50% higher than those who meet water intake recommendations.
Researchers at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) published the study in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
WEARABLE HYDRATION MONITOR COULD HELP PREVENT HEATSTROKE, SCIENTISTS SAY
Out of 62 healthy males and females, 32 participants were selected with both habitual low fluid intake and habitual high fluid intake.
Subjects who typically drank less than 1.5 liters of fluid per day were considered the “low-fluid” group, while the “high-fluid” group comprised people who drank the recommended amount of two liters for women and 2.5 for men.
New study reveals people drinking less than 1.5 liters of water daily show 50% higher cortisol stress responses than those meeting hydration recommendations. (iStock)
The participants’ fluid intake was monitored over seven days by testing the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and hydration markers with blood and urine.
The study found that drinking too little water increased stress-related health issues for both men and women.
Professor Neil Walsh, study lead at LJMU’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, said in a press release that keeping a water bottle nearby during stress-related times can have potential benefits for your long-term health.
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“Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone and exaggerated cortisol reactivity to stress is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and depression,” said Walsh.
A study team member, Dr. Daniel Kashi, said in a release that “both groups felt equally anxious and experienced similar increases in heart rate during the stress test.”
An important observation was that poor hydration was associated with greater cortisol reactivity to the stress test. (iStock)
He added that “only the ‘low-fluid’ group showed a significant increase in saliva cortisol in response to the stress test.”
“Although the low-fluid group did not report being thirstier than the high fluid group, they had darker and more concentrated urine, clear signs of poor hydration,” said Kashi.
“An important observation was that poor hydration was associated with greater cortisol reactivity to the stress test. Exaggerated cortisol reactivity to stress has been associated with poor long-term health,” Kashi added.
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Long-term dehydration can lead to more serious health issues such as kidney damage and failure, anxiety and depression, heart problems, and diabetes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Dehydration triggers the release of the vasopressin hormone, which puts pressure on the kidneys, making it harder to concentrate urine and manage electrolyte balance.
Researchers suggest that monitoring urine color is a good way for people to check their hydration status. (iStock)
“Vasopressin also acts on the brain’s stress-response cent[er]” influencing where it can release of cortisol,” according to the LJMU release.
The release added, “This dual role [of] vasopressin helps maintain blood volume and electrolyte balance but also increases cortisol.”
While researchers found that water intake recommendations should be followed, additional research and further long-term studies are needed.
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Researchers suggest that monitoring urine color is a good way for people to check their hydration status.
Light yellow urine color typically indicates good hydration.
“Being hydrated may help your body manage stress more effectively,” he said.
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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