During the hot summer months, it can be hard to keep drinking enough water as we work and play outdoors. While the recommended daily water intake is eight 8 fluid ounce glasses, there are other ways to maintain proper hydration. Here are our favorite ways to keep the water intake high and avoid dehydration.
Homemade Popsicles and Frozen Fruit
Instead of solely relying on drinking water, you could make homemade popsicles. There are many recipes online that include all sorts of flavors. Most popsicles can be made from thawed juice concentrate, water, and some fresh fruit. Just pick your flavor, mix it together, and put in the freezer for a couple hours. During the hottest part of the day, it’s an excellent way to cool down and get hydrated.
Alternatively, you can also freeze fresh fruit and use it either in your beverage or as a cool snack after a hot afternoon. Frozen blueberries and strawberries can be added to water to give it more of a flavor. Frozen grapes and raspberries can be eaten right out of the freezer.
Eat Foods with High Water Content
Eating lots of veggies will help keep you hydrated. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and celery are just a few vegetables with high water content, plus the loads of fruits that also contain lots of water. One summer favorite with lots of water in it is, obviously, watermelon! Of course, eating veggies is also great for you in other ways, so this is a double-win in our opinion. Other more substantial foods with high water content are hummus, yogurt, and oatmeal.
The other side to this point is to reduce snacks that are dry or salty, including chips, pretzels, and crackers. Not only do they have very little water in them, by filling up on these snacks you won’t be as likely to snack on the food with higher water content.
What Happens If You Don’t Stay Hydrated?
The body is made up of about 50 to 75 percent water, which is used for nearly every function the body does. It helps carry oxygen and nutrients, transports hormones, moistens tissues, protects organs, and many, many other important tasks to keep the body healthy.
When you don’t consume enough water, your body suffers. It can cause wide-ranging symptoms, including a lack of energy and migraines. It can even cause chronic pain like joint pain, make it hard to concentrate, and cause insomnia.
We all lose water every day through our breathe, sweat, digestion, and urination. Your weight will affect your body’s loss of water, in addition to your activity level, diet, and where you live.
In the summer, during illness and fever, or if you’re breastfeeding, you will want to monitor your intake of water and make sure you are consuming enough.
Not sure how hydrated you are? A good indication is your urine. If it’s light and clear, you’re probably pretty well hydrated. But, if it looks dark and concentrated, you probably want to grab a glass or two of water.
Clean, delicious drinking water is an important part of keeping hydrated. If you don’t love your water, contact the experts at Peacock Water to schedule your free water analysis today!