Did you know that your body is made up of about 50 to 70 per cent water and that water is vital for keeping your body healthy?
This is why, especially as summer starts to sizzle, it’s important to check-in with your thirst to make sure you’re staying hydrated.
Accredited Practising Dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia, Jane Freeman explains, in this month’s issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants magazine that, on average, a person can lose about two and a half litres of fluid a day.
“You can lose a lot more in summer, when it’s hot and you’re sweating a lot more,” she said.
According to Dum Dum Fitness Water Director, Tariq Islam, hydration is often overlooked yet it is so important for overall health.
“Countless individuals struggle daily with problems that could be alleviated with proper hydration,” he said.
Fruit and veg with the highest water content
Ms Freeman recommends a good target for total daily fluid to be about one and a half to two litres per day.
But while water is best when it comes to staying hydrated, you can also up your daily fluid intake by including the following water-containing fruit and veg in your diet (Healthline, 2017):
- Watermelon (92 per cent water)
- Grapefruit (88 per cent water)
- Strawberries (91 per cent water)
- Oranges (88 per cent water)
- Cucumber (95 per cent water)
- Lettuce (96 per cent water)
- Zucchini (94 per cent water)
- Celery (95 per cent water)
- Tomatoes (94 per cent water).
The best part? This fruit and veg also contain vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – nutrients that will help to keep you healthy all summer long.
Great tasting water
To up your water intake you can also flavour water with frozen fruit such as blueberries, or with lemon, lime and orange slices, or mint.
“What we do steer away from are sugar drinks,” advised Ms Freeman. “And tonic water, which has sugar in it and will damage your teeth and contribute to wanted kilojoules.”
For more on quenching your thirst this summer, make sure you read this month’s issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants magazine!
Reference:
Elliott, B. 2017, ’19 Water-Rich Foods That Help You Stay Hydrated’, Healthline, August 9, 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/19-hydrating-foods [accessed 6.12.19]
