If you have ever spent an entire day outside in the heat of the summer or even just a pleasant spring day, you have likely experienced waning energy from a lack of water. Our body’s cells are dependent on fluid to function. Water is very important to health and keeping everything functioning as it should.
Most people believe that when it comes to water, less is more. While switching from a sugary drink to water is always a good thing for health, guzzling endless glasses of water throughout the day is not the best way to keep hydrated.
The human thirst drive is believed to be slightly behind a person’s need for water. Staying on top of hydration is a good strategy to avoid the energy drain and other symptoms that can accompany a need for more fluids.
The best strategy for this is to make use of the opportunities for eating foods to also ingest more water. By eating foods that are not only rich in nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, phytochemicals), but also good sources of water, staying hydrated becomes more convenient.
Of course, by avoiding those things that leach fluids from cells one can make a significant impact on how much additional water is needed. Alcohol, sugar, caffeine, high sodium content foods and dry foods (baked or crispy) can leach water from cells requiring a replenished source. In contrast, raw fruits and vegetables, soups and other watery foods add liquids.
Given our already high daily intake needs for fruits and vegetables, eating salads, raw vegetable crudités, and fresh fruits is an excellent opportunity to increase not only the water needed in our bodies, but also the numerable nutrients necessary for for health. In fact, if someone were consuming recommended servings for fruits and vegetables by having a few pieces of fresh fruit at breakfast, a large salad for lunch with more fresh fruit as a dessert, another salad and fresh fruit at dinner, consuming additional water would be obsolete. Or, if you were also drinking several glasses of water with this menu, you might never leave the bathroom!
