While staying hydrated in this weather can simply mean drinking enough water every day, watching what you eat may also help you avoid dehydration.
It takes huge intakes of these foods and drinks before they can lead to dehydration, but each serving will still have you reaching for more water. While this may seem like it’s a good thing because you’re drinking more water, losing fluids faster than you naturally do may cause a fluid imbalance in your body, which is why you have to keep track of your consumption of these foods and drinks during the summer season.
Softdrinks
It may be particularly tempting to reach for a cold glass of soda during a hot and humid day, but the truth is, these carbonated drinks will just leave you feeling even more parched. This is partly because of its caffeine content which acts as a mild diuretic, a substance that causes an increase in the production of urine. This means more fluids get flushed out of your body, consequently making you feel like you need to replenish it more frequently.
A study from the World Health Organization also found that the sugar content of softdrinks can cause hypernatraemic dehydration, a type of dehydration wherein fluids are drawn from one’s tissues to their bowel.
Caffeinated drinks
Drinking up to five cups of coffee, energy drinks, and caffeinated drinks per day is fine, but having more (even if it’s iced) could dehydrate you faster. As mentioned, caffeine acts as a diuretic which increases the body’s frequency of water excretion.
Other drinks that are diuretics are tea and alcohol—which may lead to a headache after a night of drinking. Although it may take more than five cups of caffeinated drinks until one experiences mild dehydration, you should still balance your caffeine intake with water especially once you’re on your third cup.
Fried and salty food
The first examples that might pop into your mind are French fries or chicken nuggets. Due to water being needed to remove all excess sodium naturally present in salt, your body may experience an increase in fluid loss and thus make you feel dehydrated faster. Unfortunately, fried foods normally have hidden salt content too which makes it belong to the salty food category.
In addition to fried foods, other products with high sodium content that you may need to watch your consumption of are cured meat, potato chips and soy sauce. Nuts, like peanuts and almonds, may also trigger thirst not just because of its sodium content, but also because these foods are naturally dry.
Sugary food and drinks
Sugary drinks and foods are usually just a temporary fix to thirst. By creating an acidic environment in the body, food and drinks with high sugar content may decrease your body’s water storage capacity, and just like with sodium, this is necessary to metabolize excess sugar in our system. Aside from sugar, this also applies to artificial sweeteners, which is often used in commercially-packed drinks like fruit juices.
Remember: thirst is a natural instinct created by your body to signal that your cells are getting depleted and are already in need of water. Thus, whenever you feel thirsty, listen to your body and drink a glass of water to keep yourself hydrated.
Header photo by Blake Wisz on Unsplash
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