Staying hydrated in the summertime warmth could be difficult, however it’s additionally vital. In spite of everything, roughly 50% to 60% of your physique weight is water, and shedding an excessive amount of of it may result in fatigue, dizziness, and different dehydration signs. We regularly give attention to what to drink to remain hydrated (with plain water being the apparent selection), however how you can keep hydrated isn’t nearly drinks. What you eat can considerably increase your hydration too. The truth is, an estimated 20% or extra of our each day water consumption comes from meals. Which means that incorporating hydrating meals into your summer time weight loss plan may also help you meet your fluid wants whereas additionally offering nutritional vitamins and electrolytes.
Kellie Lunday, MS, RD, LD, and AFPA’s Diet Content material Lead, shares: “If I’m slacking on my water consumption in the course of the summer time, I do know that my summer time produce has my again! It’s the right time of 12 months to give attention to my vegetable and fruit consumption, with the additional advantage of hydration.”
On this article, we’ll discover a few of the most hydrating meals to get pleasure from throughout summer time, clarify how these meals with excessive water content material help your physique’s fluid steadiness, and supply recommendations on together with hydrating fruit and veggies in meals. From juicy watermelon (ever marvel how a lot water is in watermelon?) to crisp cucumber (spoiler: it’s nearly all water), these meals could make staying hydrated simple and scrumptious. Let’s dive into how you can get hydrated and keep that manner utilizing nature’s personal refreshing components.
Hydration Is Extra Than What You Drink
When the solar is blazing, it’s simple to gulp down a chilly glass of water. But many individuals wrestle to drink sufficient fluids all through the day. Possibly you overlook to sip usually or don’t really feel thirsty till you’re already considerably dehydrated. The excellent news is that you may make up a few of the distinction with meals. Consuming water-rich meals basically enables you to “drink” by your meals. It is a helpful technique, particularly for many who discover it difficult to drink sufficient water every day.
Our our bodies continuously lose water by sweat (particularly on humid summer time days), in addition to by respiratory and urine. For those who’re not replenishing these losses, you danger dehydration. And dehydration isn’t only a minor inconvenience—it may sap your vitality and even impair temper and focus. Whereas what to drink to remain hydrated ought to nonetheless be a precedence (plain water, natural iced teas, and different low-sugar drinks are nice decisions), do not forget that meals that hydrate you’ll be able to contribute considerably to your each day wants. The truth is, a balanced weight loss plan can present as much as about two cups of water per day simply from meals. Consuming the really helpful each day servings of fruit and veggies (for instance, two servings of fruit and three of greens) would possibly provide you with roughly 15 ounces of water – that’s practically a pint of fluid simply from produce!
Hydrating meals are notably useful in case you’re lively or spend plenty of time outdoors in summer time. They not solely provide water but in addition usually include fiber, electrolytes, and antioxidants. This mixture helps your physique soak up and use the water successfully. In different phrases, munching on meals that assist with hydration can really be extra environment friendly at rehydrating the physique than water alone in some circumstances. Subsequent time you’re serious about how you can enhance hydration on a sweltering day, don’t simply attain to your water bottle – head to the fridge as effectively.
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Juicy and Refreshing: Hydrating Fruits
With regards to fruit for hydration, nature has a knack for packing water into candy, transportable packages. The hydrating fruits of summer time will not be solely scrumptious but in addition loaded with water. A standout instance is watermelon.
As its title suggests, watermelon is usually water – about 92% water, to be actual. For those who’re questioning how a lot water is in watermelon, think about every chunk as nearly all water with a little bit of vitamins. No marvel consuming watermelon on a scorching day feels so satisfying. It’s like consuming water, however with the bonus of taste, nutritional vitamins A and C, and the antioxidant lycopene. So is watermelon good for dehydration? Completely. Watermelon is without doubt one of the greatest meals for hydration you’ll find, because it helps quench thirst and replenishes you with minerals (like potassium) on the identical time.
“Slice it up for a snack, mix it right into a smoothie, or toss it with some mint and feta for a hydrating summer time salad. With watermelon on the menu, how you can keep hydrated turns into a much more pleasurable endeavor,” says Kellie Lunday, MS, RD, LD.
Watermelon isn’t the one fruit that may enable you beat the warmth. The truth is, many widespread fruits are made up of 80-90% water or extra. Strawberries, for instance, are about 91% water, they usually supply a burst of vitamin C. Cantaloupe and honeydew melons rival watermelon with round 90% water content material as effectively. Oranges and grapefruit, these juicy citrus fruits, are round 86-88% water – and as a bonus, they supply electrolytes like potassium. Peaches, pineapples, and apricots are different fruits good for hydration, every brimming with watery juice. Grapes are about 81% water.
Generally, if a fruit is plump, juicy, or simply yields liquid once you chunk into it, it’s seemingly a watery fruit that may assist maintain you hydrated. These fruits not solely ship water to your system but in addition provide pure sugars to provide you fast vitality and fibers that enable you really feel happy.
One perk of selecting hydrating fruits is that they usually enchantment to the urge for food even when the warmth would possibly uninteresting your want for heavier meals. A chilly slice of melon or a bowl of berries could be extra attractive than a wealthy meal when the temperature soars. To maximise hydration from fruits, get pleasure from them uncooked and recent – suppose fruit salads, smoothies, or simply complete fruits eaten as snacks.
Freeze grapes or mix watermelon right into a slushy for a cooling deal with. By making fruit part of each summer time meal, you’ll naturally enhance your fluid consumption. The sugar in complete fruit comes with fiber and water, which means it’s typically digested extra slowly and hydrates you with out the extra excessive blood sugar spike you’d get from a sugary drink. However each physique is completely different, and you must seek the advice of with a physician who is aware of your distinctive well being wants, notably when you have metabolic issues.
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Crisp and Cool: Water-Wealthy Greens
Greens could be simply as spectacular as fruits within the hydration division – in some circumstances, much more so. The greens for dehydration aid are usually the crisp, watery ones you would possibly discover in a summer time salad or crudité platter.
Take the cucumber, for example. Ever questioned what proportion of cucumber is water? It’s about 95% water (some sources say as excessive as 96%!). That makes cucumber one of the crucial hydrating meals on the planet. Crunching on a cool cucumber stick is nearly like sipping water, and it comes with a nice crunch besides.
Cucumbers are so water-based that they’ve earned the nickname “water greens.” In addition to water, additionally they present a bit of vitamin Okay and potassium, particularly within the pores and skin. Attempt including cucumber slices to your consuming water for taste, layering them in sandwiches, or mixing diced cucumber into yogurt with mint for a refreshing raita. It’s an ideal approach to enhance hydration whereas having fun with a tasty snack.
Lettuce is one other unsung hero amongst meals with excessive water content material. Iceberg lettuce, usually maligned for being much less nutrient-dense than darker greens, is definitely over 95% water – mainly a crunchy automobile for hydration. Romaine lettuce isn’t far behind, at about 95% water as effectively.
So sure, that massive summer time salad stuffed with lettuce, cucumber, and tomato is doing double responsibility: feeding you and hydrating you on the identical time. Talking of tomatoes, they clock in round 94% water. Chew right into a ripe tomato and you’ll virtually really feel the juice hydrating your mouth. Cherry tomatoes make a simple hydrating snack on the go, and slices of tomato in your sandwich add moisture (and vitamin C).
Different water-based greens to place in your grocery listing embody celery (about 95% water), zucchini (round 94% water), radishes (95%), inexperienced bell peppers (94%), and even cauliflower and cabbage (each round 92% water).
These percentages aren’t simply trivia – they clarify why these veggies really feel so mild and crisp. For instance, celery sticks or bell pepper strips on a scorching day could be as thirst-quenching as a handful of grapes. They’re basically strong water with bonus vitamins like folate and antioxidants. The truth is, meals that hydrate you akin to cucumber, lettuce, celery, and others are sometimes referred to in vitamin guides because the “superstars” of water-rich meals.
To include extra of those hydrating greens into your summer time weight loss plan, get artistic with meal prep. Begin lunch or dinner with a salad loaded with high-water-content veggies (cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, and so forth.). Swap out widespread sides for water-rich veggies – for instance, serve dip with carrot and cucumber sticks as an alternative of crackers.
Chilled soups like gazpacho or cucumber-yogurt soup are mainly blended greens you can sip, delivering hydration in a flavorful kind. Even steaming or flippantly sautéing greens retains a lot of their water (although you’ll lose a bit to cooking). The secret is to have loads of these water greens available, pre-washed and lower in your fridge, in order that they’re simply as simple to seize as a bottled drink. By making veggies available, you would possibly naturally eat extra of them all through the day, effortlessly boosting your hydration.
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Past Produce: Different Hydrating Meals and Drinks
Fruits and veggies steal the highlight once we discuss hydrating meals, however they’re not the one choices. Many different on a regular basis meals have a excessive water content material and might contribute to your fluid consumption. For instance, yogurt and cottage cheese are about 80-85% water, so a serving of yogurt at breakfast not solely offers you protein and calcium but in addition a good quantity of water.
On a scorching morning, a bowl of plain Greek yogurt topped with juicy berries (suppose hydrating fruits like strawberries or peaches) makes for a hydrating, nutritious begin to the day. Smoothies are one other unbelievable approach to drink your meals – mix water-rich fruits (berries, melon, mango) with some yogurt or milk and ice, and also you’ve bought a hydrating snack or meal in a glass. Even milk itself is about 90% water and incorporates electrolytes, which is why analysis has discovered it may be as efficient as sports activities drinks for rehydration in some circumstances. If dairy isn’t your factor, plant-based milks like almond or oat milk additionally contribute fluid.
Don’t underestimate the hydration energy of soups and broths. A steaming bowl of soup may not be your first craving in summer time, however you’ll be able to go for chilled variations like gazpacho or fruit soups. And even heat hen broth can hit the spot. One of many conventional advantages of consuming hen broth once you’re dehydrated (akin to throughout sickness or after intense sweating) is that it offers not solely fluid but in addition sodium and different electrolytes. These electrolytes assist your physique retain the water you drink and might alleviate signs of dehydration like headache or muscle cramps.
Sipping broth or consuming soup replenishes salt losses and helps you get hydrated extra successfully than water alone in sure conditions. Simply be conscious of soup’s temperature; if it’s extremely popular outdoors, a lukewarm broth or cooled soup might go down simpler than a piping scorching one.
Talking of what to drink to remain hydrated, do not forget that plain water isn’t the one selection. Unsweetened natural teas, iced or scorching, are one other nice possibility. Coconut water (the liquid from inside younger coconuts) has turn into a well-liked pure rehydration drink as a result of it incorporates potassium and magnesium – it’s a refreshing choice to rotate into your fluid plan. Even average quantities of espresso or tea contribute to hydration; opposite to delusion, caffeinated drinks will not be dehydrating when consumed in regular quantities.
In brief, how you can keep hydrated in summer time comes all the way down to a mixture of sensible consuming and sensible consuming. Make water your go-to beverage all through the day, however bolster its results with a weight loss plan wealthy in meals that assist with hydration. By doing so, you’ll provide your physique with water steadily and keep away from dehydration signs. Plus, you get the opposite advantages of these meals – vitamins, fiber, and taste – all of which help total well being.
Ideas for Incorporating Hydrating Meals into Your Summer time Food regimen
Figuring out which meals and drinks can maintain you hydrated is one factor; really becoming them into your each day routine is one other. The excellent news is it may be each easy and scrumptious. Listed here are some sensible, how you can keep hydrated suggestions utilizing meals:
- Begin early: Start your day with hydration in thoughts. Drink a glass of water upon waking, but in addition embody a water-rich meals at breakfast. As an example, have a bowl of oatmeal cooked with milk and prime it with hydrating fruits like sliced peaches or berries. Or make a morning smoothie with spinach (sure, leafy greens comprise water too), frozen fruit, and yogurt. This fashion, you front-load fluids and vitamins to start out the day.
- Snack sensible: Swap dry, salty snacks for recent produce. Hold a container of cut-up watery fruits (watermelon cubes, pineapple chunks, orange slices) within the fridge for simple entry. Child carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber sticks paired with hummus or a light-weight dip are way more hydrating than crackers or chips. They’ll fulfill your crunch craving and provide water. For those who really feel like one thing candy, frozen fruit pops (made 100% from fruit puree) and even only a chilly apple can refresh you.
- Salad and soup fixes: Make it a aim to eat a salad or a vegetable-rich dish no less than as soon as a day. Keep in mind these water-based greens – lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and so forth. – and cargo them up. Add juicy fruits to salads too; strawberries or citrus segments can flip a boring salad right into a hydrating summer time delight. Whenever you want one thing extra substantial, think about a broth-based soup with greens. Even in summer time, a light-weight vegetable soup or a calming gazpacho generally is a hydrating meal or starter. And in case you’re feeling adventurous, strive chilly soups produced from blended melon or cucumber; it would shock you ways effectively they cool you down.
- Hydrate when lively: For those who’re exercising or doing out of doors actions, plan for each foods and drinks. For instance, after a sweaty tennis match or a protracted hike, munch on a chunk of watermelon or a handful of grapes together with consuming water. The pure sugars in fruit may also help pace up water absorption in your physique, and the act of consuming might encourage you to additionally drink extra. Some athletes even swear by snacks like oranges or bananas throughout exercises for the hydration increase. Discover what works for you – it may very well be so simple as packing an apple or some child carrots in your bag when you’ll be out for some time. These meals that hydrate you could be actual lifesavers on a scorching day.
- Make it enjoyable and flavorful: One motive folks don’t drink sufficient water is that they discover it boring. Hydrating meals may also help by including taste and selection. However you can too jazz up your fluids with meals: strive infusing your water pitcher with cucumber slices, lemon, and a sprig of mint, or drop in some berries for pure taste. You is likely to be shocked how far more you sip. Likewise, think about having fun with glowing water with a splash of fruit juice, popsicles produced from diluted juice, or hydrating food-packed smoothies.
“With so many versatile produce choices this time of 12 months, I make sure that to deliver a hydrating dish to any summertime festivity. We are able to all benefit from the celebration with a bit of additional hydration in our meals or drinks,” says Lunday. The takeaway is that rising hydration doesn’t should be a chore. By pairing water with tasty meals and making these meals available, you set your self up for achievement.
Keep Cool and Hydrated with Meals and Drink
Summer time is a time to benefit from the open air, absorb the solar, and have enjoyable – however it’s additionally a season when dehydration can sneak up on us if we’re not cautious. Thankfully, staying hydrated generally is a scrumptious endeavor. By embracing probably the most hydrating meals – from hydrating fruits like watermelon, oranges, and berries to water-rich greens like cucumber, lettuce, and zucchini – you give your physique a gradual provide of water all through the day. These meals enable you keep hydrated not simply with fluid, however with vitamins that help your vitality and well being.
So, the subsequent time you’re planning a menu or packing a snack for a day within the solar, take into consideration how one can embody some meals that assist with hydration. Your physique will thanks for it. Keep in mind to drink water usually, but in addition make the most of summer time’s bounty of hydrating produce. With the fitting steadiness of hydrating meals and fluids, you’ll keep refreshed, energized, and able to profit from the summer time season.
Reviewed by
Kellie Lunday, MS, RD, LD
Kellie Lunday is AFPA’s vitamin content material lead and a registered dietitian with practically a decade of expertise in company wellness, well being training, and efficiency optimization. She acquired her MS in Diet from Texas Lady’s College and accomplished her dietetic internship at The College of Texas in Austin. Beforehand, she has labored in varied roles at Exos and the College of Texas at Austin. She is enthusiastic about journey, international cuisines, health, and advancing shopper well being by evidence-based training.
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