Yes—you know it and I know it, we all need to be drinking enough water. We constantly hear this on a daily basis and yet many of us still feel like we are not meeting our hydration requirements.
A simple trip to the bathroom is one of the best indicators as to whether or not your body is getting the hydration it needs. And yes—I am talking about your urine color! A dark and concentrated urine color is your body’s way of telling you that you should be drinking more water. Despite this, there are other common signs of dehydration that you should be keeping a look-out for, this includes: headaches, fatigue, dizziness, digestive issues (i.e constipation, abdominal cramps and difficulty passing stool) as well as disturbances in memory and mood.
Since our bodies are composed of about 60% water, there is not doubt that we should be supplying them with the hydration they require. Why is water so important to our bodies you may ask? Among the many important functions of water include:
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- Maintaining proper cellular health (i.e keeps our cells rejuvenated, reproducing and surviving).
- Promoting digestion and metabolism (i.e saliva production: which houses important digestive enzymes, helps in flushing out toxins through urine and promote bowel movements).
- Regulating our body temperatures (i.e our bodies release sweat on our skin as a means of cooling down).
- Delivering oxygen through our entire body.
- Lubricating joints and keeping our mucosal membranes moist (i.e lungs and digestive tissues).
- Producing hormones and neurotransmitters.
- Promoting nutrient absorption and nutrient delivery (i.e water-soluble vitamins).
- Ensuring proper overall organ function (i.e reducing risk of kidney stones and urinary tract infections).
- Enhancing mental health and overall well-being (i.e improving mood and cognition: when the brain is hydrated, neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin are functioning optimally).
According to a 2022 publication, females should be aiming for about 2.7L/day (about 12 cups) and males about 3.7L/day (about 16 cups) [1].
To help ensure you are able to meet you hydration needs, I am sharing with you five of my favorite tips.
1) Set yourself a water intake goal
Everything makes more sense when you associate it with a clear goal. When it comes to meeting your hydration requirements, set yourself a daily goal (i.e measured in either cups or Litres). This will help you better assess whether or not you should be drinking more to meet your needs.
2) Get yourself a clear re-usable water bottle
Don’t you find that when you have water in front of you (i.e next to your bedside table or on your desk) you tend to drink more? Making water easily accessible is a positive reinforcement to increasing your daily intake. Invest in a re-usable BPA-free clear water bottle (i.e bonus points if it has markings on it!), to help you track your intake. I personally love Brandic‘s 1L re-usable water bottle, it has clear markings to help me keep an eye on how much I drank so far, and when I am due for a refill.
3) Increase your intake of water-rich fruits and vegetables
The majority of our fluid consumption (i.e about 80%) is dependent on our intake from water, herbal teas and other fluids, while about 20% comes from the foods that we eat. To help meet your daily hydration needs, you may also want to consider including fluid-rich fruits and vegetables, some examples include:
- Cucumber: Contains about 96% water, it is considered one of the most hydrating foods: one cup of cucumber contains about 100 mL of water.
- Zucchini: Contains about 94% water, one cup of cooked zucchini contains about 170mL of water.
- Celery: Contains about 95% water, this crunchy vegetable is also a great source of soluble fiber.
- Tomatoes: Contain about 94% water (i.e they are also rich in the antioxidant lycopene).
- Watermelon: Contains about 92% water, one cup has about 5 ounces of water.
- Broccoli: It contains about 90% water, even cauliflower which comes from the same family is an excellent hydrating vegetable.
4) Set yourself reminders
For those leading busy lives, a great way to remember to drink more water is setting phone alerts. I personally love using “My Water” an App allowing you to input your daily intake and sends you daily notifications reminding you to drink water.
5) Make water more appealing
To spice things up, you can always make water actually taste like something, making it more appealing to drink. I enjoy adding fresh mint and berries and letting them infuse in my water for more flavor. You can also play around with spices and herbs for that extra boost of flavors and nutritional benefits.
Don’t underestimate the importance of hydration and drink up!
Sedra xx
Sources Cited:
1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562207/