With the weather heating up in New York City, many people are starting to remember how important proper hydration is throughout the day. Dental implant provider Dr. Beshar has plenty of patients come in and ask about the best ways to hydrate during the day, and they’re always surprised by one of the first answers we give — eating.
Bearing the above in mind, we have decided to post an article explaining how healthy hydration doesn’t have to come from drinking liquids alone. You can eat to hydrate too! Let’s take a closer look.
How to Hydrate with Food
Many people immediately think of water and other clear fluids when the word hydration is brought up. However, this is not the only way to get essential fluids into your body. The Institute of Medicine claims that twenty percent of the hydration our body receives throughout the day should come from the foods we eat.
There are plenty of ways to do this. Soup and oatmeal are great ways to get hydration through food. However, getting H2O from food does not have to involve a prepared meal. There are actually plenty of fruits and vegetables that are naturally made mostly of water. Eating these items can help you hydrate with little to no effort at all.
Celery
Celery stalks are ninety-five percent water. These veggie sticks are like eating water in a stick with the added bonus of fiber, minerals, potassium, and vitamin K. All you need to do is wash a few stalks and chomp away. Talk about maximum benefit with little effort!
Watermelon
This famous summertime snack is one fruit that doctors actually recommend patients eat after surgery to help rehydrate themselves. Watermelon is not only sweet and delicious, but it’s also ninety-two percent water.
But the salt, magnesium, and calcium are what makes this snack one of the heavy hitters in the world of edible hydration. We’re talking electrolytes here, people. It’s also full of potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Talk about a nutritional powerhouse.
Strawberries
Here is yet another sweet treat from the fruit world. Strawberries are a whopping ninety-two percent water. They also happen to have the lowest sugar content of any berry, so this is not only a boon for your teeth but your waistline as well.
Strawberries are also a great source of fiber and vitamin C! People usually don’t need much convincing to chow down on some strawberries during hot summer days, but just in case you did, this should be plenty.
Lettuce
While iceberg lettuce is an impressive ninety-six percent water, there’s not much else it’s good for, nutritionally speaking. However, there are plenty of other varieties of lettuce that pack a powerful H2O punch and several vitamins as well. This makes salads one of the easiest ways to hydrate with food during the summer.
If you throw a few of the items mentioned above in your salad, you’ll have one heck of a hydrating meal.