Staying hydrated in the summertime warmth may be difficult, nevertheless it’s additionally necessary. In any case, roughly 50% to 60% of your physique weight is water, and dropping an excessive amount of of it might probably result in fatigue, dizziness, and different dehydration signs. We frequently concentrate on what to drink to remain hydrated (with plain water being the apparent selection), however easy methods to keep hydrated isn’t nearly drinks. What you eat can considerably enhance your hydration too. The truth is, an estimated 20% or extra of our day by day water consumption comes from meals. Which means that incorporating hydrating meals into your summer time weight loss plan will 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 throughout the summer time, I do know that my summer time produce has my again! It’s the proper time of 12 months to concentrate on my vegetable and fruit consumption, with the additional advantage of hydration.”
On this article, we’ll discover a number of the most hydrating meals to take pleasure in throughout summer time, clarify how these meals with excessive water content material help your physique’s fluid steadiness, and supply tips about together with hydrating vegetables and fruit in meals. From juicy watermelon (ever surprise how a lot water is in watermelon?) to crisp cucumber (spoiler: it’s virtually all water), these meals could make staying hydrated simple and scrumptious. Let’s dive into easy methods to get hydrated and keep that method utilizing nature’s personal refreshing substances.
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. Perhaps you neglect to sip recurrently or don’t really feel thirsty till you’re already considerably dehydrated. The excellent news is that you can also make up a number of the distinction with meals. Consuming water-rich meals primarily helps you to “drink” via your meals. This can be a useful technique, particularly for many who discover it difficult to drink sufficient water every day.
Our our bodies always lose water via sweat (particularly on humid summer time days), in addition to via respiration and urine. If you happen to’re not replenishing these losses, you danger dehydration. And dehydration isn’t only a minor inconvenience—it might probably 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), keep in mind that meals that hydrate you possibly can contribute considerably to your day by 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 advisable day by day servings of vegetables and fruit (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 for those who’re energetic or spend lots of time outdoors in summer time. They not solely provide water but additionally typically include fiber, electrolytes, and antioxidants. This mix helps your physique take in 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 instances. Subsequent time you’re occupied with easy methods to enhance hydration on a sweltering day, don’t simply attain to your water bottle – head to the fridge as properly.
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Juicy and Refreshing: Hydrating Fruits
Relating 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 additionally loaded with water. A standout instance is watermelon.
As its title suggests, watermelon is generally water – about 92% water, to be actual. If you happen to’re questioning how a lot water is in watermelon, think about every chew as virtually all water with a little bit of vitamins. No surprise 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 among the greatest meals for hydration you could find, because it helps quench thirst and replenishes you with minerals (like potassium) on the similar 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, easy methods to keep hydrated turns into a much more satisfying endeavor,” says Kellie Lunday, MS, RD, LD.
Watermelon isn’t the one fruit that may provide help to 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 properly. 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.
On the whole, if a fruit is plump, juicy, or simply yields liquid while you chew into it, it’s probably a watery fruit that may assist preserve you hydrated. These fruits not solely ship water to your system but additionally provide pure sugars to present you fast vitality and fibers that provide help to really feel glad.
One perk of selecting hydrating fruits is that they typically 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 may be extra attractive than a wealthy meal when the temperature soars. To maximise hydration from fruits, take pleasure in them uncooked and recent – assume fruit salads, smoothies, or simply entire 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 entire 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 totally different, and it is best to seek the advice of with a physician who is aware of your distinctive well being wants, notably if in case you have metabolic issues.
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Crisp and Cool: Water-Wealthy Greens
Greens may be simply as spectacular as fruits within the hydration division – in some instances, much more so. The greens for dehydration reduction are sometimes the crisp, watery ones you would possibly discover in a summer time salad or crudité platter.
Take the cucumber, for example. Ever puzzled 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 sort of like sipping water, and it comes with a nice crunch in addition.
Cucumbers are so water-based that they’ve earned the nickname “water greens.” Moreover water, in addition they present somewhat 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 option 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, typically maligned for being much less nutrient-dense than darker greens, is definitely over 95% water – mainly a crunchy car for hydration. Romaine lettuce isn’t far behind, at about 95% water as properly.
So sure, that massive summer time salad stuffed with lettuce, cucumber, and tomato is doing double responsibility: feeding you and hydrating you on the similar time. Talking of tomatoes, they clock in round 94% water. Chunk 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 checklist embrace 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 may be as thirst-quenching as a handful of grapes. They’re primarily stable water with bonus vitamins like folate and antioxidants. The truth is, meals that hydrate you resembling cucumber, lettuce, celery, and others are sometimes referred to in diet guides because the “superstars” of water-rich meals.
To include extra of those hydrating greens into your summer time weight loss plan, get inventive with meal prep. Begin lunch or dinner with a salad loaded with high-water-content veggies (cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, and so on.). 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 that you may sip, delivering hydration in a flavorful type. Even steaming or frivolously sautéing greens retains a lot of their water (although you’ll lose a bit to cooking). The secret’s 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 speak about hydrating meals, however they’re not the one choices. Many different on a regular basis meals have a excessive water content material and may 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 additionally an honest quantity of water.
On a scorching morning, a bowl of plain Greek yogurt topped with juicy berries (assume hydrating fruits like strawberries or peaches) makes for a hydrating, nutritious begin to the day. Smoothies are one other unbelievable option 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 instances. 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 possibly can go for chilled variations like gazpacho or fruit soups. And even heat rooster broth can hit the spot. One of many conventional advantages of consuming rooster broth while you’re dehydrated (resembling throughout sickness or after intense sweating) is that it gives not solely fluid but additionally sodium and different electrolytes. These electrolytes assist your physique retain the water you drink and may 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 very popular outdoors, a lukewarm broth or cooled soup could go down simpler than a piping scorching one.
Talking of what to drink to remain hydrated, keep in mind that plain water isn’t the one selection. Unsweetened natural teas, iced or scorching, are one other nice choice. Coconut water (the liquid from inside younger coconuts) has change 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 reasonable quantities of espresso or tea contribute to hydration; opposite to fantasy, caffeinated drinks will not be dehydrating when consumed in regular quantities.
Briefly, easy methods to 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.
Suggestions for Incorporating Hydrating Meals into Your Summer time Eating regimen
Realizing which meals and drinks can preserve you hydrated is one factor; really becoming them into your day by day routine is one other. The excellent news is it may be each easy and scrumptious. Listed here are some sensible, easy methods to keep hydrated suggestions utilizing meals:
- Begin early: Start your day with hydration in thoughts. Drink a glass of water upon waking, but additionally embrace a water-rich meals at breakfast. For 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 manner, you front-load fluids and vitamins to begin the day.
- Snack sensible: Swap dry, salty snacks for recent produce. Maintain a container of cut-up watery fruits (watermelon cubes, pineapple chunks, orange slices) within the fridge for straightforward entry. Child carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber sticks paired with hummus or a lightweight dip are way more hydrating than crackers or chips. They’ll fulfill your crunch craving and provide water. If you happen to 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 not less than as soon as a day. Bear in mind these water-based greens – lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and so on. – 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, contemplate a broth-based soup with greens. Even in summer time, a lightweight vegetable soup or a relaxing gazpacho generally is a hydrating meal or starter. And for those who’re feeling adventurous, attempt chilly soups created from blended melon or cucumber; it would shock you ways properly they cool you down.
- Hydrate when energetic: If you happen to’re exercising or doing outside actions, plan for each food and drinks. For instance, after a sweaty tennis match or an extended hike, munch on a bit of watermelon or a handful of grapes together with consuming water. The pure sugars in fruit will help velocity up water absorption in your physique, and the act of consuming could encourage you to additionally drink extra. Some athletes even swear by snacks like oranges or bananas throughout exercises for the hydration enhance. 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 realize you’ll be out for some time. These meals that hydrate you may 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 will help by including taste and selection. However you may as well jazz up your fluids with meals: attempt infusing your water pitcher with cucumber slices, lemon, and a sprig of mint, or drop in some berries for pure taste. You could be shocked how far more you sip. Likewise, contemplate having fun with glowing water with a splash of fruit juice, popsicles created from diluted juice, or hydrating food-packed smoothies.
“With so many versatile produce choices this time of 12 months, I be certain that to convey a hydrating dish to any summertime festivity. We will all benefit from the celebration with a bit of additional hydration in our meals or drinks,” says Lunday. The takeaway is that growing hydration doesn’t should be a chore. By pairing water with tasty meals and making these meals available, you set your self up for fulfillment.
Keep Cool and Hydrated with Meals and Drink
Summer time is a time to benefit from the outdoor, absorb the solar, and have enjoyable – nevertheless it’s additionally a season when dehydration can sneak up on us if we’re not cautious. Luckily, staying hydrated generally is a scrumptious endeavor. By embracing essentially 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 provide help to 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 embrace some meals that assist with hydration. Your physique will thanks for it. Bear in mind to drink water recurrently, but additionally make the most of summer time’s bounty of hydrating produce. With the suitable steadiness of hydrating meals and fluids, you’ll keep refreshed, energized, and able to benefit from the summer time season.
Reviewed by
Kellie Lunday, MS, RD, LD
Kellie Lunday is AFPA’s diet content material lead and a registered dietitian with practically a decade of expertise in company wellness, well being schooling, 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 keen about journey, international cuisines, health, and advancing client well being via evidence-based schooling.
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