5 Simple Ways to Increase Hydration
Many of us have heard of the formula for staying hydrated: drink half your body weight in oz of water, every.single.day. If you love water, this is the best news ever! But if you find yourself in the category where you don’t remember to drink it, don’t like the taste, or typically just end up drinking other liquids throughout the day that take the place of water- hope is not lost, you also can keep your cells hydrated, and thriving, with a few of these creative ways to keep your body hydrated every single day.
Our bodies aren’t one stop shops. We can’t just practice a healthy habit one time and have the health benefits last forever. Consistent maintenance is key for long term health. We have to continue to hydrate our bodies every single day to keep up its optimum function. Take a look at these quick and easy things you can add to your day to reach that ideal hydration point your body is craving!
- Eat high water content fruits and vegetables, juices, and smoothies. There is living water in every fruit and veggie that can provide amazing benefits for hydrating the body. Your body knows exactly what to do with this pure water. It soaks it up and delivers it to the cells exactly how they need it. Incorporate things like watermelon, oranges, apples, celery, cantaloupe, peppers, pears, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, and grapes into your meals. When you’re eating enough fruits and vegetables, your body is getting much of the water that it needs, and requires less drinking water than a body that is only eating processed foods all day.
- Drink a glass of high quality (filtered) water with a squeeze of lemon or a tiny pinch of sea salt or pink himilayan salt. If you forget to drink water frequently, adding things like lemon or a teeny tiny pinch of salt to your water will make it easier to absorb. Think of the pinch of salt like adding electrolytes into the water. If you are making sure to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods (aka high sodium foods), then you don’t need to worry about the sodium in the salt. Your body needs some sodium! Just not too much.
- Drink aloe water. Aloe is an incredibly healing plant that can do wonders for your body. It can improve your liver function, increase the alkalinity of your body, provide you with amazing minerals and vitamins, is antioxidant rich, and is great for your skin. To make aloe water from scratch, take a 2 inch piece of aloe and carefully slice the skin away from the gel. Place the gel into a blender with 2 cups of water and a squeeze of lime if desired. Blend and drink right away for a quick, easy, hydrating boost!
- Drink herbal tea. Herbal tea is an extremely hydrating drink that can aid you with whatever healing properties you need by choosing which tea you brew. You can make this iced or hot. PRO tip: brew a half gallon of tea in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for easy access to pour over ice. There are so many medicinal benefits to herbal teas, and they can really transform your water drinking to a time where your body gets in those added healing properties of the tea. Want to take your hydration to the next level? Replace your coffee with herbal tea. Not only is coffee acidic, it’s also dehydrating. Drinking coffee first thing in the morning after a night’s sleep when your body is already slightly dehydrated, can only worsen the situation. Switching over to an herbal tea, or at least having a glass of lemon water before you drink coffee, will do your body wonders.
- Make hydration your priority first thing in the morning. Instead of reaching for that cup of coffee, let lemon water be the first thing that hits your stomach after your body has been fasting all night. Then go ahead and have your cup of coffee. PRO tip: Keep a bottle of water or a drinking glass in places where you already have a good daily habit established. For example, if you take a multivitamin every day, keep a full glass of water next to it to remind yourself to drink water every time you take that vitamin. Or keep a glass by your toothbrush to remind yourself to take a glass of water when you brush your teeth in the morning or at night. Tacking on a good habit to another good habit is a great way to build up the healthy lifestyle that you want to achieve!
Hydration is powerful! it has the power to jump start your health by: flushing out toxins, helping the kidneys filter properly, regulating body temperature, eliminating constipation by flushing body waste, keeping the skin clear, can help with kidney stones, headaches, weight loss, maintaining blood pressure, and maximizing physical performance by allowing the muscles and joints to work properly.
