The summer heat is scorching, and people sweat profusely every day, losing a lot of fluids. Therefore, summer health requires hydration. However, there are taboos when it comes to hydration; not all water is suitable, and one must choose carefully. Below are these hydration taboos that we must be aware of.
1. Savory broths are not the first choice
If the salt content of a soup is 0.5% (a concentration most people prefer), then drinking one 200-milliliter cup of soup will consume 1 gram of salt. According to the recommended water amounts for various commercial soups and soup bases, the salt content in the soup is usually between 0.7% and 1.0%.
Therefore, when making soup, use as little salt as possible, especially for health-enhancing broths intended to be consumed in larger quantities. The salt content must be very low, controlled below 0.3%, just enough to have a slight salty taste, or even no salt at all.
Otherwise, it not only fails to be health-enhancing but also increases the burden on the kidneys and can even lead to high blood pressure.
2. Add as little sugar as possible to soups and desserts
In addition to beverages, homemade soups and drinks may also contain sugar. For example, red bean paste, green bean paste, tremella soup, snow pear soup, almond milk, walnut milk, etc. If you really cannot drink it without sugar, then add as little as possible, to the minimum amount you can tolerate.
3. Minimize consumption of sugary drinks
"Low sugar" means trying not to add sugar, or adding very little, when drinking soups, puddings, or water. The various sweet drinks on the market have sugar contents of 4%-6% for those labeled "low sugar," 8%-10% for regular products, and below 0.5% for "sugar-free" products. If the sugar content is 8%, drinking a 500-milliliter bottle of the beverage, in addition to water, will also consume 40 grams of sugar, equivalent to the carbohydrate amount in half a bowl of rice. A 1.25-liter large cola contains about 130 grams of sugar, equivalent to one and a half bowls of rice, and it's easy to drink.
Therefore, countries around the world have proven that drinking sweet beverages is a major cause of weight gain. One should try to avoid commercially sweetened drinks as much as possible, and it's not even recommended to drink more than one glass of pure juice per day, as its sugar content is also very high, typically between 8% and 16%.
4. Don't make fresh fruit and vegetable juices too sweet
Freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices contain most of the soluble nutrients from the fruits and vegetables, such as potassium, polyphenols, and a small amount of vitamin C. However, sweet juices are also a source of sugar. Six small cups (1200 milliliters) of lightly sweet fruit and vegetable juice per day (containing 5% sugar) contains 240 kilocalories, equivalent to two-thirds of a bowl of rice.
Because the taste of vegetables is not ideal, people often add a lot of sweet fruits when making juice to mask the slight bitterness and grassy taste of green leafy vegetables. This increases the sugar content.
Therefore, when making fresh fruit and vegetable juices, try to use varieties with a mild sweetness.