Everyone has heard the common rule to stay hydrated is to drink lots and lots of water. Many say the guideline is to consume 8 glasses of 8 ounces each, or also know as the 8×8 rule. While this may be a good baseline to start, many other factors can increase or change the amount needed. These factors include personal diet, weight, height, environmental temperature, humidity levels, and how active one is. If the “8×8” rule sounds too intimidating, don’t stress and follow these simple tips to help stay hydrated.
Fruits and Vegetables
Drinking water is not the only way to get our body what it needs to stay hydrated and function properly. Many fruits and vegetables like cantaloupe, grapefruit, strawberries, watermelon, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, lettuce, peppers, radish, zucchini all contain over 90% water. Others such as carrots, raspberries, pineapples, peaches, grapes, apples still contain over 80%. By adding more fruits and veggies to your everyday diet will help provide your body with some of its daily water needs. Another trendy option to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your daily routine are fruit-infuser jars or water bottles.
Water doesn’t have to be boring and infusing your water with fruit, herbs, and other flavors can make it much easier to reach your daily goal. Try adding cucumber, strawberries, blue berries, lemons, limes, and fresh herbs to create flavorful water.
Soups
Low-sodium soups, beef broths and chicken or vegetable stock can be a great way to keep your body hydrated while also having a hearty meal. Most of these soups will include some of the vegetables listed above but can be used more as larger dinners and will have a wider range of recipes to keep your diet well balanced.
Additional Beverages
Although drinking pure water will help hydrate your body faster, sometimes we can grow tired or bored with it. Beverages such as coffee, teas, lemonades, and sports drinks are all water based and can provide your body with hydration. Yes, these do have ingredients like sugars and unwanted calories but when used in moderation can be very effective to refuel the body. Consider carbonated and sparkling water in addition to regular water. Many people find that adding sparkling water and 0 calorie flavored water makes drinking water throughout the day more fun. Find yourself drinking lots of expensive sparkling water? Consider buying a Sodastream and make your own delicious sparkling beverages at home.
Not sure if you are hydrated? There are many hydration tools available to calculate the amount of water you should be drinking. One can be found at Camelbak.com.
Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink water! This means your body is already dehydrated.
