It feels like we have reached that special moment (tongue in cheek) in summer called the “dog days”. It’s hot and dry and I’m panting like a dog and just want to eat ice cream and float around in water all day or lay on ice. Now is a really important time to make sure you are hydrated and keeping the body cool!!
Hydration is so important that without water you could only live for 3-5 days! I have read that dehydration is now considered an epidemic (not to be confused with a pandemic!!) and that 100% of us are dehydrated.
Our lifestyle is a big culprit in contributing to our dehydration. We drink stale tap and bottled water. We eat dry packaged, processed foods. We drink too many caffeinated beverages. We guzzle alcohol, soda, sugar juices, and energy drinks. And we take a lot of medications either over the counter or prescribed. We don’t move enough. We sit all day in dried out rooms working and then we sit all night in front of screens.
All of these things throughout the day evaporate the water inside us.
The effects of being dehydrated are actually quite profound!
Anxiety- Fatigue
- Memory loss and Alzheimer’s
- Achy joints
- Insomnia
- Constipation
- Headaches and migraines
- Acid Reflux
- Inability to lose weight
- Depression
- Sugar cravings
So, maybe you aren’t sick, maybe you are dehydrated!
HYDRATION IS MORE THAN JUST WATER
But Kelley, I drink water, you say. That’s great, but hydration is more than just chugging a bunch of water every day.
The key with hydration is to make sure we are assimilating and absorbing the water we ingest. We don’t want to just pee it all out. Think of it like this, when you water a plant that hasn’t been watered in a long time the water just stays on the top or runs right through it. It can take some time for the soil to absorb and hold onto the water. The body is the same way. We need to make sure our bodies can hold onto the hydration we are giving it.
HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO KEEP COOL AND STAY HYDRATED
Drink Electrolytes ~ Add Sea Salt to your glass of water, just a pinch will give it the electrical charge it needs and get you better hydrated right off the bat.
Make Sole ~ How to make it here. Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a capful of apple cider vinegar to your glass of water will also add minerals
Drink Coconut water ~ I like to fill a quart jar with about 1/3 coconut water, the rest filtered water and add a couple of teaspoons of Vitamineral Greens from Health Force Super Foods
Eat your Hydration
Hydration isn’t just drinking; it is eating the charged water inside foods.
Summer has an abundance of foods that are cooling to the body and have high water content like cantaloupe, raspberries, pineapples, plums, apples, blueberries, zucchini, watermelon, squash, cucumbers, celery, grapes, asparagus, lime and anything coconut.
Eat lots of fruits and veggies with veggies being the best form of hydration because they have the most minerals. Add veggies to every meal you have. Drink smoothies, homemade soups and salads in season.
Use Herbs
There are plenty of cooling herbs you can put in your food and use to make refreshing drinks: Lemon Balm, Shatavari (the same family as common asparagus), Peach Leaf, Chamomile, Cumin, Coriander, Dill.
Cilantro ~ make pesto for your daily dose of essential fatty acids, a key in staying hydrated. Try this Cilantro Hemp Pesto from Cookie & Kate
Mint ~ try as a hydrosol facial mist or a refreshing tea with fresh lime juice and a splash of maple syrup
Rose ~ try this Tulsi Rose tea from Learning Herbs
Hibiscus ~ try this Hibiscus Mint tea from The Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine
Stay cool and hydrated while things are hot! Let me know how you are beating the heat!
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