The summer is finally arriving again, and it’s easy to forget just how important consistent hydration is. The excess heat makes it easy for your body to lose fluids. Proper hydration is essential to a multitude of functions such as joint lubrication, body temperature regulation, digestion, and more. In the following, we investigate a handful of ways to make sure that you stay hydrated this season.
1. Invest in a Reusable Water Bottle
Buying yourself a water bottle is perhaps the most common way of making sure that you stay hydrated this summer. Doctors recommend eight glasses of water per day—that’s 64 ounces. This may seem like a formidable amount; however, if you eliminate soft drinks and sugary drinks for most of the day and substitute these with water, then you can find yourself getting in the daily recommended dosage. A 32-ounce bottle can really go a long way in helping you reach your goal—especially if you exercise most days.
2. Eat Foods that Contain Water
This next tip for staying hydrated actually has a host of other potential health benefits. Replacing many fatty foods (bad fats, that is) with water-dense alternatives like watermelon, coconuts, spinach, broccoli, grapefruit, celery, and similar foods will provide a significant percentage of the water you need to stay hydrated every day. In addition, they provide a host of antioxidants and essential vitamins and nutrients. If you’ve never tried Chia seeds, now is the time to start—they are considered a hydrating superfood.
3. Drink Herbal Tea
Let’s face it—drinking water all day can be boring, especially while eating meals. If you’re like most people, then you are quite used to drinking a flavored beverage with your lunch, dinner, and breakfast. The good thing is that herbal tea makes for a great substitute for other sugary sweets. Green tea, black tea, chamomile, and others will contribute significantly to your daily water needs while adding some much needed taste for your palate.
4. Avoid Alcohol on Hot Days
Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t have a glass of wine or champagne every now and then; just keep in mind that alcohol is extremely dehydrating—even when compared to diuretics such as coffee and some teas. Alternatively, if you do drink recreationally, then make sure to supplement it with water on especially hot days this summer.
5. Keep Track of Your Hydration Progress
This could mean anything from keeping a traditional journal or finding one of the numerous online apps—such as MyFitnessPal—to help keep track of your water consumption throughout the day. This method works wonders; you will only have to do it for perhaps a week or two before you commit the process to memory naturally.
Find an Urgent Care Clinic in Kensington or Silver Spring, MD
If you are affected by any health-related issues due to poor hydration or any other cause this summer, feel free to stop by Fast Track Urgent Care. We have two offices (Kensington and Silver Spring) for residents in Maryland. We can help you with the flu, the common cold, STD testing, physicals, strep throat, and more.
Visit an urgent care clinic in Kensington or Silver Spring, MD, by contacting us online or calling 800-417-1164 today!
