{"id":5431,"date":"2022-07-23T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-23T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/?p=5431"},"modified":"2022-07-23T17:20:41","modified_gmt":"2022-07-23T17:20:41","slug":"hydration-its-not-just-about-the-water-you-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/everything-else\/hydration-its-not-just-about-the-water-you-drink\/","title":{"rendered":"Hydration: It\u2019s Not Just About the Water You Drink"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you struggle to drink enough water? That doesn\u2019t mean you have to walk around parched. There are plenty of other ways to hydrate beyond plain water. \u201dConsidering hydration impacts virtually every physiological function in the body,\u201d says Heather Mangieri, MS, RDN<\/a>, a sports dietitian and author of Fueling Young Athletes<\/em>. \u201cPeople that walk around in a state of mild dehydration<\/a> have no idea how much better they could feel if they just consumed more fluids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you can do to make staying hydrated<\/a> easy. <\/p>\n

Elevate your water experience <\/h2>\n

Spa waters have long been the mainstay of wellness resorts, and for good reason; adding simple combinations of seasonal or frozen fruits, sliced vegetables, or infusing with fresh herbs can create a refreshing hydration experience. Getting kids involved with picking the fruit and vegetable combinations for the family is also a great way to get them excited about drinking more water and may even reduce the requests for soda and other sweetened beverages!<\/p>\n

Eat more plants<\/h2>\n

\u201cFood contains water too!\u201d says Prest. \u201c<\/strong>We get about 20 percent of our fluids from our foods.\u201d <\/em>On average, food supplies two to three cups of our daily fluid quota. And we\u2019re not just talking soup (although it is 90 percent water<\/a>). Juicy fruits and vegetables are the best sources<\/a>. Popular choices like watermelon, cucumbers, berries, melons, peaches, lettuce, squash, and apples contain about 90 percent water, says Prest. Go ahead and make half your plate or snack to be fruits and vegetables for your hydration and nutrition.<\/p>\n

Make mindful beverage choices<\/h2>\n

Non-alcoholic beverages of all types can be hydrating. Juice, soda, milk, tea and coffee contain fluids that your body can use. All can contribute to your total water intake and emerging research shows pros and cons of each.<\/p>\n

Research<\/a> shows that sugar-sweetened beverages, like fruit drinks and soda, are just as good as water for hydration but they may not be the best nutritional choice. Instead of sugar-sweetened beverages opt for freshly squeezed 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices and dilute with sparkling water or freezing into a homemade pop when hot outside; both strategies keep your portions small while still adding water into your diet.<\/p>\n

When researchers for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em><\/a> compared the hydrating power of milk (whole milk and skimmed) to water and sports drinks, they found that milk was more effective at hydrating for several hours after exercise. Why is milk so helpful? Milk may not taste all that salty, but ounce-per-ounce it contains the same 100 milligrams of sodium per cup<\/a> as a sports drink<\/a>. And while too much sodium<\/a> may not be great for your blood pressure, our bodies require this electrolyte to hold onto water. That\u2019s not the only reason sodium can be helpful. Because it binds to water, it makes you thirsty, which explains why a salty bag of pretzels makes you want to drink up.<\/p>\n

Turns out, there\u2019s more. \u201cBeverages such as milk contain other nutrients such as fat, carbohydrates, protein, and potassium which slow the rate that liquids empty from the stomach,\u201d says Melissa Prest, DCN, RDN<\/a>, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. <\/strong>\u201cBecause these drinks stay in the body longer than water, they may be more effective for hydration.\u201d  <\/p>\n

Caffeine is okay in small amounts<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re a coffee or tea drinker, there\u2019s even more encouraging news for hydration. \u201cAt one time, caffeinated beverages were thought to increase fluid losses, but that\u2019s not the case for people who regularly consume moderate amounts of caffeine,\u201d says Mangieri. <\/em><\/p>\n

Yes, caffeine is a diuretic, but only at doses greater than 300 milligrams<\/a>, or about three 8-ounce cups of coffee<\/a> (actual levels depend on the coffee and why it is brewed). In moderate amounts, coffee is  as hydrating as water, according to the Institute of Medicine<\/a>. So, no need to give up your latte. Tea contains less caffeine, black tea about half that of a regular percolated coffee and green tea a third. Decaffeinated options only contain trace levels of caffeine. The Center for Science in the Public Interest<\/a> has published a comprehensive list of caffeine in popular beverages available in the USA. High intakes of caffeine can affect sleep and feelings of anxiety, experts recommend keeping your total caffeine intake per day below 400 milligrams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beware of the water thief, alcoholic beverages<\/h2>\n

Like other beverages, alcoholic beverages do contain high amounts of water but it is typically not enough to offset the diuretic effects of the alcohol. This means that drinking an alcoholic beverage causes your body to excrete more water through increased urination than the water in the drink. The higher the concentration of alcohol in an alcoholic beverage, the higher the effect. If having an alcoholic drink, remember to hydrate with your favorite water at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post Hydration: It\u2019s Not Just About the Water You Drink<\/a> appeared first on Fitbit Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A water bottle is still a great way to tank up on fluids, but you can get this water in a variety of ways. Try these expert-approved strategies to help you stay hydrated this summer.
\nThe post Hydration: It\u2019s Not Just About the Water You Drink appeared first on Fitbit Blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":""},"categories":[20,1,21,22,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5431"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5434,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5431\/revisions\/5434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestratefinders.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}