How to Stay Hydrated All Summer
As the summer sun and temperatures heat up, hydration becomes critical. People spend more time outside in the hot sun doing various activities. A lot of people like to hang out around water and often don’t remember that they still need to drink water to avoid dehydration. Sports practices also begin in the summer, and excessive sweating can contribute to dehydration, which has a negative effect on sports performance.
What is Dehydration?
Dehydration is using or losing more fluid than you take in, so your body doesn’t have enough water and fluids to function normally. This can result in electrolyte imbalance. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy, make you weak and cause an inability to think clearly. Severe dehydration can lead to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and serious illnesses like heat stroke. Electrolytes are minerals, like sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium, that help balance the amount of water in your body and help maintain appropriate pH levels. Imbalances in electrolytes, caused by dehydration and sweating, can result in muscle twitching or fatigue. For example, a muscle needs calcium, sodium, and potassium to contract. If any of these minerals become imbalanced, it can lead to either muscle weakness or excessive contraction (twitching). So drink up and stay hydrated and balanced. Sounds simple enough, right?
What Should You Drink to Stay Hydrated?
Water
Water is an essential nutrient for your body. Alkaline, or high-pH water with electrolytes, can be even better for hydration. If you don’t like plain water, drink water with essence, or flavored sparkling water. Check the label to avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, and artificial flavors. The other option is to make your own infused water with fruits and herbs. This is a way to make water more interesting and fun. The options are endless.
Coconut Water
Also called coconut juice, this natural isotonic beverage is high in potassium and other electrolytes, making it a great fluid replacement beverage for exercise and sports events. And it has no added sugar or sweeteners, making it an even better choice than the common sports beverages. Coconut water is also available combined with pure fruit juice.
Tea
Tea can be a good option if you choose it right. Choose from black, green, white, or rooibos (red) teas, or a variety of herbal teas. Brew tea with hot water, then pour it over for a refreshing iced tea to cool you off on a hot day. Or try one of the many ready-to-drink bottled teas available. Remember that black and green tea contain caffeine, a diuretic, so be sure you still supplement your tea drinking with some water. And watch the sugar content of bottled teas, as it can be high! For this to be a good option to fight dehydration, you want to go with unsweetened or just lightly sweetened tea.
Fruits & Veggies
If you needed another reason to eat those fresh fruits and veggies, here it is: Certain fruits and vegetables have high water content. Think of summer’s bounty — watermelon, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers — for high-water fruits and veggies.
Sports Drinks
Sports drinks were designed for one thing — to be used during sports practices and competitions. Outside of sports, they are not a good option because they can be very high in sugar, full of artificial colors and flavors, and even somewhat high in sodium. This is fine for sports events and practices but not for daily drinking. A better option is to make your sports drink with water and an electrolyte mix specifically designed for hydration. This will help keep sugar in check.
Stay Healthy, All Summer
Get all the good-for-you groceries you need at Akin’s Natural Foods. From vitamins and supplements to fresh and organic groceries, Akin’s has all the natural fuel you’re looking for to feel your absolute best and healthiest all summer long.
