The weather is warming up and I’m dishing about what produce you can eat to help you stay hydrated.
Hi I’m Rachel Eslick with today’s AgNet West Health Bite.
It’s not quite summer yet, but with temperatures climbing, it’s more and more important to stay hydrated. If you’re outdoors for any stretch of time, you know it’s critical to your well-being. Sweating in the heat means we’re losing fluid faster than normal, so it’s extra important to replace those fluids by drinking water and eating hydrating foods.
When you’re dehydrated, you could feel dizzy, have a headache, get muscle cramps, cognition is off and the list goes on.
We should all be trying to drink half our bodyweight in ounces of water. For simple math, a 200 pound person should drink about 100 ounces of water. That’s six or seven 16 ounce bottles of water.
Additionally, in the land of agricultural abundance, there are many seasonal fruits and vegetables that will help us with our hydration.
With water content at 96 percent, lettuce is one of the most hydrating vegetables, along with cucumber, celery, and zucchini.
Tomatoes, bell peppers, cauliflower and cabbage also have more than 90 percent water content, providing great benefits in the form of fluids, fiber, vitamins and nutrients.
And with water in its name, you bet watermelon is a great fruit to eat in the summer. It’s 92 percent water. Other excellent choices are strawberries, cantaloupe and peaches. All of these fruits have about 90 percent water content. They’re also most ripe, juicy and delicious in the summer. It’s as if nature knows we need to be eating more hydrating foods that time of year.
All of this produce pulls double or triple duty. It’s great for your waistline, you’re eating locally grown plants, and it’ll help you get through the summer months when hydration is so important.
So eat it often and share it with your friends and family. Any diet that skimps in produce is a diet I would personally not recommend.
Below is a list of 12 of the top hydrating fruits and vegetables.
- Lettuce 96%
- Cucumber 95%
- Celery 95%
- Zucchini 94%
- Tomatoes 94%
- Bell Peppers 92%
- Cauliflower 92%
- Cabbage 92%
- Watermelon 92%
- Strawberries 91%
- Cantaloupe 90%
- Peaches 89%
For AgNet West’s Health Bite, I’m Rachel Eslick. I can help you reach your health and fitness goals at www.reachfit.net.