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Drink up this New Year: Hydrating beverages besides water

It is known that water keeps our bodily functions running. It helps blood circulation, temperature regulation through sweating, digestion, and so much more.

Being that a person’s body is made up of about 60% water, and if someone doesn’t get enough to drink, they could quickly slip into dehydration, a serious complication for older people. The word dehydration is defined as a body water loss of at least one to 2% of your weight. Signs of dehydration could be headaches, fatigue, and even dizziness.

An easy way for a person to gauge their hydration level is by the color of their urine and how often they urinate. Ideally, people are supposed to urinate more than four times a day. No, it doesn’t need to be clear all the time but it should be a light color, like lemonade, not at all like apple juice! Keep in mind, medication or other supplements can affect the color of urine.

So, how much water does someone really need?

The eight glasses guideline is well, let’s just say old! Current research shows it isn’t really as rigid as that. Instead, it supports paying attention to a person’s individual needs, which can vary from day-to-day.

Generally speaking, the average sedentary adult male requires about 13 cups of fluid a day, while the average female needs just over eight cups. On some days though, especially when it’s hot or someone is working out or taking certain medication such as in histamines, they will need more.

Sounds like a lot? It doesn’t have to be just water. Actually, people eat an estimated 20% of their fluid through fresh fruits and vegetables. For the rest, someone can supplement plain water with the following drinks.

Fluid alternatives

Coffee – caffeinated drinks do have a mild diuretic property, but there’s no evidence that they lead to dehydration. They do make a person urinate more, but the fluid intake offsets that loss. However, everyone should try to limit themselves to three or four cups maximum to stay within healthy limits.

Tea – both black and green tea have about the same hydration benefits as coffee. But there’s an extra added boost of heart protecting antioxidants with tea. Soothing brews like chamomile or mint are caffeine and calorie free and their taste might actually encourage drinking more.

Hibiscus tea is packed with antioxidants and flavonoids, because of the anti-inflammatory pigment molecules that give hibiscus blossoms its bright red color.

Milk – in a 2015 study published in the American journal of clinical nutrition, British researchers found that cow’s milk, both full fat and skim, is more hydrating than plain water. That’s because it takes longer to digest than water, allowing the body to absorb more fluids. Also in the study, people who drink milk produce less urine over four hours than those who drank an equal amount of other fluids, and showed higher hydration levels in their blood. Milk also supplies three important nutrients; potassium, vitamin D, and calcium.

Plant milks – now there is a host of nondairy milk options; soy, almond, oat, and even coconut are the top sellers. But most are low calorie, low cholesterol, and more environmentally sustainable alternatives to dairy.

These plant milks are often fortified with calcium and vitamins, A, D, and B12, as well as other nutrients commonly added to cow’s milk. However, they really fall short on protein. Only soy milk comes close at 6g per cup compared to the 8g cow’s milk.

Plant milks are high in water, with almond milk topping the charts at 97% and cow’s milk only ranking between 87 and 90 percent. They pass through the digestive system faster because they lack the dairy protein and carbohydrates, putting them roughly on par with water for hydration.

Happy New Year and drink up!

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