Hydrating diet

Hydrating diet:

Water is an essential nutrient for life, and maintaining hydration is important for physical and mental performance. The human body is largely made of water. Body water content declines with age, from about 75% in babies to 60% in adults. Although we can live for up to 50 days without food, without water we will survive only a few days, even in a cool climate. People generally drink enough water, but for specific population groups, like the elderly, or while exercising, fluid intake might become critical.

Maintain adequate fluid intake

·        Not drinking enough fluid has significant implications for mental health. The early effects of even mild dehydration can affect our feelings and behaviour.
·        An adult loses approximately 2.5 litres of water daily through the lungs as water vapour, through the skin as perspiration and through the kidneys as urine.
·        If you don’t drink enough fluids to replace this loss then you will get symptoms of dehydration, including irritability, loss of concentration and reduced mental functioning.
·        Coffee, colas, some energy drinks and tea all contain caffeine, which some people use to boost energy levels. However, in large quantities caffeine can increase blood pressure, anxiety, depressive symptoms and sleep problems.
·        Caffeine also has a diuretic effect in the body – it encourages the production of urine and therefore leads to dehydration. For this reason you should not rely solely on caffeine-based fluids.
·        If you do take drinks with caffeine in them, try to limit yourself to just 3–4 cups per day and drink other fluids such as water, fruit juice and non-stimulant herbal teas at other times. Chocolate also contains caffeine and should be limited to an occasional treat.·        Salt stimulates water absorption and aids retention during and after exercise
·        Adding sodium (salt) to drinks stimulates carbohydrate absorption and this enhances water uptake.
·        Replacing the salt lost in sweat helps to maintain blood volume. If large amounts of water alone are drunk during and after endurance exercise in the heat, dilution of body fluids may occur, leading to large losses of water in the urine.
·        This means hydration will not be maintained and low sodium levels may cause heat cramps and exhaustion.
·        To prevent this, drinks should contain sodium (as in sport drinks which contain amounts similar to those of human body fluids), or water should be drunk with food.

Some of the foods water percentage:

Percentage	Food Item
90–99	Nonfat milk, cantaloupe, strawberries, watermelon, lettuce, cabbage, celery, spinach, squash
80–89	Fruit juice, yogurt, apples, grapes, oranges, carrots, broccoli, pears, pineapple
70–79	Bananas, avocados, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, baked potato, shrimp
60–69	Pasta, legumes, salmon, chicken breast
50–59	Ground beef, hot dogs, steak, feta cheese
40–49	Pizza
30–39	Cheddar cheese, bagels, bread
20–29	Pepperoni, cake, biscuits
10–19	Butter, margarine, raisins
1–9	Walnuts, dry-roasted peanuts, crackers, cereals, pretzels, peanut butter
0	Oils, sugars