Staying hydrated this summer is essential in keeping you going from sunrise to sunset! Summer is fun and there’s always lots going on whether you are out with friends, at the beach/park or even working and it’s so easy to get to 3pm and realize you haven’t had a sip of water all day – it’s almost like we need an alarm to go off every hour to tell us to drink. Why is it so important to keep hydrated? Well first and foremost our body is made up of about 75% water, which can be mostly found in our cells, but the problem with our hydration levels occurs when the water expenditure (meaning when water is expelled from our body during breathing, sweat, and via our urine and bowel movement) is greater than our water intake.
Dehydration has an impact on your kidneys, liver, bladder, digestion, bowels, nerve function, brain, skin and is responsible for premature ageing!!
There is no set rule on how much water to consume throughout the day because we all have different body weight and activity levels so rule of thumb is a glass of water every hour, obviously you may need more during those hot summer days.
Symptoms of Dehydration
- Foggy thinking
- Dry mouth, lips
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Dark coloured urine and a decrease in output
- Muscle cramps
- Heart palpitations
5 of the Best Hydrating Foods
- Watermelon – 92% water and packed full of magnesium, calcium, potassium and sodium
- Cucumber – contain vitamin C and caffeic acid and about 92% water
- Lettuce – contains about 94% water!
- Capsicum/bell peppers – jam packed full of vitamin C, beta carotene, folic acid, vitamin B6, thiamine and contain about 92% water.
- Cantaloupe – rich in vitamin A and contains about 90% water
Always carry a bottle of water with you (preferably non plastic or otherwise keep directly out of the sun) and drink throughout the day.
