Winter has begun, and with central heating starting in northern regions, the dry indoor air often leaves people with rough skin, chapped lips, a dry mouth and tongue, and a feeling of weakness and fatigue... These are all signals from your body indicating dehydration. Some people will then drink large amounts of water, but dryness depletes the body's fluids, and whatever you drink in is quickly expelled. Therefore, drinking water alone is not effective.
In fact, we can replenish the body's "water" through our diet to keep it hydrated.
Eat more fruits and vegetables
During the autumn and winter, dryness depletes the body's fluids, and much of the water you drink is excreted through urine. At this time, dryness can lead to "internal heat." It is advisable to eat more fruits and vegetables, which can help retain moisture and nourish the body to counteract dryness. It's not hard to see from food composition tables that vegetables and fruits generally contain over 70% water. Even if you only eat 500 grams of fruits and vegetables a day, you can get 300-400ml of water. Furthermore, a balanced diet includes both solid and liquid foods, so it's not difficult to get 1500-2000ml of water from your three daily meals. Therefore, take full advantage of mealtimes to hydrate. Besides drinking water, choosing some fruits, vegetables, and unsalted soups or porridge can also be very effective for hydration. "White foods" can prevent dryness
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the primary method to relieve dryness is through "moistening." Based on the Five Elements and Five Colors theory, it's good to eat more "white foods." When cooking, you can choose white radish, cabbage, winter melon, lily bulb, tremella, lotus root, and lotus seeds. Among these, the common vegetables cabbage and radish are the most effective, making them the most economical and affordable nourishments. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" even calls the radish "the most beneficial among all vegetables." White radish contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, with its vitamin C content being 8-10 times higher than that of pears and apples. Cabbage is rich in vitamins C and E, which can prevent skin dryness caused by heat, and its fiber can promote intestinal peristalsis and prevent constipation. However, those with a "cold and cool" digestive system should eat less of these in winter. As for fruits, the pear is the "king of hydration," as it not only increases water intake but also helps supplement vitamins.
In terms of cooking methods, you can make more juicy liquid foods, such as snow pear soup, by boiling snow pears, tremella, and lily bulb together with some lotus root starch, which has the effects of clearing heat, generating fluids, and resolving phlegm to moisten the lungs. A porridge of lily bulb, lotus seeds, millet, and red dates has the functions of nourishing yin to moisten dryness, tonifying the lungs and nourishing the heart, and strengthening the spleen to generate fluids. It is suitable for consumption during the dry autumn. Additionally, you can make soups like winter melon soup, lotus root soup, white radish and peanut soup, or Chinese cabbage soup. It is best to drink a glass of honey water upon waking in winter, or add some honey to your breakfast soy milk or milk, which can effectively alleviate symptoms of dry, dehydrated skin and internal heat and dryness in winter. Eat more sour foods, less salt
There are two other points to note for winter hydration. First, reduce spicy foods and increase sour ones. The diet should focus on strengthening the spleen, nourishing the liver, and clearing the lungs. Eat more clear, moist, and sour fruits like hawthorn, pomelo, pomegranate, and apples. They contain tannins, organic acids, fiber, and other minerals that can stimulate digestive fluid secretion, accelerate gastrointestinal motility, and moisten the body to counteract dryness. Second, eat less salt. If your food is too salty, it will reduce saliva secretion, which is beneficial for various bacteria to survive in the upper respiratory tract. A high-salt diet may also reduce the mucous membranes' ability to resist disease, allowing various pathogens to take advantage and cause pharyngitis. In addition, eat less roasted and salted snacks like melon seeds and peanuts, as these salty and dry foods are also major enemies for the throat.