Maintain Your Health by Staying Hydrated During the Summer With Water and…Food?

Ah, summer….a time to be outside relaxing by the pool or at the beach, traveling or even exercising. But when summer arrives, so does the heat and humidity and the threat of dehydration looms over many.

It’s essential that our body stays hydrated in order to function properly and be healthy. We lose water not only through urination but sweating and, yes, breathing. If you’re dehydrated, chances are you’ll have symptoms of a headache, dark yellow urine or fatigue. Even feeling hungry is a sign of dehydration. Everyone should be drinking seven to eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day—but that’s in normal temperatures and situations. If you’re out in that humidity and heat, you must drink four additional glasses and possibly more if you’re going to be running, jogging or playing a sport.

Whether you’re at home or on the go, always have a bottle of water with you and refill it several times each day. If you get sick of water, Gatorade is a great drink for dehydration—the best one on the market! But did you know that you don’t have to just drink water or other hydrating liquids to keep your body from drying out? There are plenty of foods—yes, foods—that you can consume to help maintain a good level of hydration.

Cucumbers – One of the vegetables that have high levels of water—95%–it’s not only a nice, cool snack for summertime, but it contains potassium, Vitamin C, fiber, magnesium, electrolytes plus a whole host of other vitamins and minerals. Cucumbers are a wonderful diuretic that cleans the toxins out of your body.

Watermelon – This is an obvious choice since water is in its name! Being 92% water, it’s another brilliant choice for a hot summer day. It’s comprised of magnesium, Vitamin C, lycopene and potassium as well as other minerals and vitamins. There are numerous advantages to eating watermelon some of which include lowering blood pressure, assisting in the prevention of cancer and thwarting asthma.

Citrus Fruits – Grapefruit, oranges, lemons, tangerines, pomelo, lime and kumquats are all part of the citrus family and are 90% water-based. Each one is packed with essential vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin C, the B vitamins, Vitamin D, niacin, calcium, potassium and many others. Citrus fruits can help boost your energy, reduce signs of aging, and improve your mood as well as an abundance of other benefits.

Other Veggies and Fruits – There are many other fruits and veggies that contain 75% to over 90% water and will keep you well hydrated during the sweltering, humid days of summer: bananas, white potatoes, green peas, cherries, grapes, apples, pears, blueberries, plums, apricots, cranberries, pineapple, raspberries, carrots, peaches, cantaloupe, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, strawberries, sweet peppers, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, radishes, celery and iceberg lettuce.

Everyone needs to eat five servings of vegetables and fruits every day and throughout the summer we should take care to select these vegetables and fruits. This is a terrific way to “kill two birds with one stone” as they say—you’ll stay hydrated and get your five servings per day! The other marvelous thing about fruits and veggies that have lots of water is that they have very few or no calories—if you’re one who counts calories, this is great news because you’re able to eat more of these veggies and fruits and not worry about calories! So go ahead, dive in and enjoy your fruits and veggies this summer and maintain good hydration.