Tips for Staying Hydrated and Cool
With many of us feeling the heat this week, I wanted to share some tips to help you stay healthy and hydrated.
What temp
I know it can feel SO good to drink something cold when you feel hot…and that is totally okay to do. However, room temperature liquids actually allow your body to hydrate (use the water) faster. So consider that if you haven’t been drinking much water or if you are sweating a lot to take in room temperature liquid first and then maybe follow up with something colder. The important part is to regularly drink liquids throughout the day (we aren’t camels!). Your body needs about half your body weight in ounces of water daily…and its best when you drink throughout the day. If you struggle to stay hydrated and you have a very strong preference for drinking cold drinks, that’s okay–just know that your body needs to bring the liquid up to body temperature before it can be used.
What to drink
Hands down, the best thing to drink to hydrate you and build your health is clean, filtered water. However, there are lots of perfectly good ways to make hydrating more appealing.
Adding in small amounts of mint, cucumber, citrus, ice cubes with something fun frozen inside (like mint, citrus, or berries) can make drinking water more interesting. Fizzy water can also be a good option (check out this link to see which brands have the least “forever chemicals“)
Iced herbal teas are another great option to help you stay hydrated. Caffeine leads to water and mineral/electrolyte loss so go for non-caffeinated herbal teas.
Electrolytes?
If you are sweating a lot, exercising for longer than an hour, or on a keto diet, you may want to add some electrolytes to your water. These are minerals that are lost through metabolism and sweating that your diet often supplies but if you are losing a lot of water, your food and water may not be able to replenish your optimal mineral levels fast enough (you’ll feel tired, crabby, maybe dizzy, have more muscle cramps, etc). When choosing electrolytes, there are many good options out there–check the ingredients! They should be simple ingredients like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and a healthy sweetener like stevia (avoid food coloring and artificial sweeteners). Some brands I think are decent are Key Nutrients Recovery Plus, Seeking Health’s optimal electrolyte powder, Activation Products trace minerals, Nuun, LMNT, Natural Calm that you add sea salt and No Salt potassium salt to.
If you’re ready to discover where your best health has been hiding, I’d love to connect with you!
Apply for a complimentary Unstoppable Health Discovery Session. bit.ly/schedulinghealth (subject to availability).
Until next time, I’m wishing you unstoppable health!
~Rebecca