How to Hydrate in Early Summer: The Art of Drinking Water
Some people may seem to drink no water all day, because the water they get from food is sufficient to meet their needs. Food also contains water; for example, rice contains about 60% water, and congee is even richer in moisture.
Hydration Battle in Early Summer
Looking at a food composition table, it's not hard to see 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 300-400 milliliters of water (that's about two glasses). Furthermore, a normal diet emphasizes a balance of solid and liquid foods, so it's not difficult to get 1500-2000 milliliters of water from your three daily meals.
Make full use of your mealtimes to hydrate. Choosing more fruits, vegetables, and unsalty soups and congee are all good ways to replenish fluids.
The Art of Drinking Water
Remember Diuretic Foods
So-called "diuretic foods" are those that increase the body's water excretion. For example, watermelon, coffee, and tea contain diuretic components that promote urine formation in the kidneys. Whole grains, vegetables, and fruits contain dietary fiber, which can bind large amounts of water in the intestines, increasing stool weight. Spicy and stimulating ingredients can promote the dilation of capillaries on the skin's surface, causing profuse sweating and loss of surface moisture. Whether replenishing or draining, both are means of achieving the body's water balance.
Drink More "Invisible" Water
Drinking to Your Heart's Content Has Nothing to Do with Beauty
When the body lacks water, the skin can appear dry and dull. Drinking too little water can also easily lead to dry stools and even constipation, causing small pimples to easily form on the skin. However, the effect of simply replenishing water on skin quality and complexion is limited. Now, many beverages with added vitamins are marketed for beauty; for example, a dairy beverage containing Vitamin B6 claims to "make skin smooth and tender," and there are quite a few such "beauty vitamin" drinks on the market. Authoritative nutritional textbooks do not mention its beautifying effect. Fortunately, consuming more of it is not dangerous and may even prevent coronary heart disease, so it can be considered harmless.
Beware of Acidic Drinks
Most fruit juice drinks use citric acid as a flavoring agent. Consuming too much citric acid means a large amount of organic acid suddenly enters the body. When the intake exceeds the body's capacity to process acid, it can cause an imbalance in the body's pH level, leading to acidosis, which makes people feel tired and drowsy. This is especially true in midsummer, when hot weather causes more sweating, leading to a significant loss of electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, and chloride—alkaline components. A large amount of acidic drinks can more easily make body fluids acidic. Therefore, it is not advisable to drink too many artificially acidified drinks with organic acids during the summer.
The Science of Drinking Sports Drinks
You should not drink plain water or highly concentrated fruit juice before or after intense exercise; you should drink sports drinks instead. Sports drinks should contain a small amount of sugar, sodium salt, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and various water-soluble vitamins to replenish what the body loses and needs during exercise. Drinking plain water can dilute the blood and dramatically increase sweating, further worsening dehydration. The high sugar concentration in fruit juice prolongs the time it takes for the stomach to empty, causing discomfort during exercise. The specially designed concentration of minerals and sugar in sports drinks prevents these adverse reactions. The temperature of sports drinks also matters; too high is not conducive to lowering body temperature for heat dissipation, and too cold can cause gastrointestinal cramps. Generally, it should feel cool and be around 10°C.
Hydrating Before Meals is Best for the Stomach
Do you need to hydrate before a meal? Won't that dilute stomach acid and affect digestion? Western meals have an appetizer course before the main meal; its purpose is to stimulate the appetite, lubricate the esophagus, and prepare for the meal. Hydrating before a meal has the same significance. Before eating solid food, first drink a small glass (about 100 ml) of room-temperature juice, yogurt, or warm rock sugar chrysanthemum water, or light tea, or even a small bowl of rich appetizer soup. These are all excellent ways to nourish the stomach.
Frequent Hydration is Not Wise
When the body is in a stable state, drinking 1000-2000 ml of water normally each day to keep your urine clear and abundant is sufficient. However, if you consciously or unconsciously drink large amounts of water, there might be a problem. First, it may indicate that your body is dehydrated. This can happen in high temperatures, after heavy sweating, or after consuming a lot of salt—in such cases, rehydration is necessary. Second, if you have high blood sugar, pituitary or kidney dysfunction, or are suffering from an infectious disease like a cold or fever, or have a urinary tract infection, or even have hyperuricemia, then actively drinking large amounts of water is also advisable. However, for a healthy person, drinking more than 2000 ml a day when not feeling thirsty is unnecessary; it only puts a strain on the kidneys.
See Through the "Varieties" of Water: Purified Water
Purified water has had various microorganisms, impurities, and beneficial minerals removed through multiple filtration, emphasizing safety for drinking. It is a soft water, and many believe it lacks nutrition and that long-term consumption is unhealthy, but this view has not been proven. Mineral water is a natural resource, drawn from deep underground, rich in rare minerals, and slightly alkaline, which should be more beneficial for health. However, the possibility of organic contamination cannot be ruled out. Mineralized water is an artificially prepared mineral water made by adding a concentrated mineral solution to purified water in proportions similar to the human body's concentration, marking a new height in drinking water technology.
If You Love Exercise, You Must Know How to Hydrate
Hydration during exercise should follow these principles: a. Don't wait until you're thirsty to hydrate. By the time you feel thirsty, you have already lost 2% of your body weight in water. b. Hydrate before, during, and after exercise. Hydrate 2 hours before exercise with 250-500 ml; hydrate immediately before exercise with 150-250 ml; hydrate every 15-20 minutes during exercise with 120-240 ml; after exercise, replenish based on the amount of weight lost—for every 1 kg of weight lost, replenish with 1 liter.
"Hidden Dangers" in Water
Boiled tap water may contain high-chlorine compounds that are carcinogenic. If left for a long time (e.g., overnight), the water quality can "age." Now, various types of home water treatment devices have emerged, similar to the once-popular mineral water pots. Such equipment has subsequent maintenance issues, and like water dispensers, can become a source of secondary contamination of drinking water.
Be Cautious About Hydrating in the Morning
Many women consider drinking water upon waking up a daily ritual, believing it helps with bowel regularity, lowers blood viscosity, and makes them look fresh and vibrant. But how can morning hydration be healthier? Actually, there are no hard and fast rules. Morning hydration should be personalized. For thin, fair-skinned, or constitutionally cold individuals, drinking milk, juice, or cold water below body temperature in the morning is not advisable; they should opt for warm soups or congee instead. Freshly squeezed juice is not suitable for an empty stomach in the morning, even in summer; it should be consumed with breakfast. Salt should be avoided in morning hydration. Rich meat broths or salty wonton soup are not suitable, as they will only increase the body's morning thirst.
The Trap of Sweet Drinks
If your first thought when thirsty is to reach for a beverage, it can be quite dangerous. The sugar content in Coke, Sprite, and Fanta is 11%, which is higher than in many fruits like watermelon, apples, and oranges. A 350 ml can of Coke contains as much energy as one slice of bread, one ear of corn, or 250 grams of fruit. The sugar content in various fruit juices is comparable, or even higher. Vitamin drinks that look like water, such as Pulse, He/She, or Activate, also contain 3% sugar. Drinking a large bottle (600 ml) of one of these can have a considerable impact on your weight. There have indeed been unfortunate cases of people developing diabetes from excessive consumption of sweet drinks.
The Drawbacks of Light Salt Water
Light salt water refers to a saline solution with a concentration similar to that of the human body, containing about 1 gram of salt per 100 ml. It has several uses in daily life: one, to replenish water and sodium lost after heavy sweating; two, to replenish water and salt lost from the intestines after diarrhea, maintaining electrolyte balance; three, to rinse the mouth to remove bacteria and reduce redness and swelling from oral and pharyngeal inflammation. However, light salt water is not suitable for people with poor heart function or high blood pressure, especially in the morning when blood viscosity is highest. Drinking it can worsen dry mouth and promote an increase in blood pressure.