Dehydration can impact our physical performance, mental clarity and our overall health, and proper hydration is vital for humans to maintain their bodies. It is often hard to keep up on drinking fluids since dehydration begins before you even realize it's happening. In order to stay properly hydrated, consider these five hydration hacks and habits to give your body all the fluids it needs.
Water is the most common fluid we put in our bodies, but let's be honest, it can be boring. If you're relying on water alone to stay hydrated, you may end up skipping a glass here and there and risk dehydration. Adding flavor to your water can make it tastier, and there are several ways to give your water a little more natural flavor without adding too many calories.
Adding a slice of lemon, cucumber, melons or berries can add a natural fruit flavor to your water, reducing the potential for boredom by drinking flavorless water. Besides adding fresh fruit or herbs to your water, there are also several flavored waters or water enhancements available commercially. Different types include:
- Flavored Enhanced Water
- Seltzer Water
- Powdered or Concentrated Flavor Enhancements
Be sure to read the labels on any commercially purchased enhanced water beverage, powder or syrup flavors as they can contain added sugar, artificial ingredients or more calories than you realize.
There's just something that's more refreshing about a cold drink than a room temperature glass of water, and that could be our bodies trying to tell us something.
Not only is a cool glass of water somehow more satisfying, it may actually be better for our health and help us hydrate better. It seems that cold drinks do a better job of helping our bodies regulate temperate than warm drink. This means less fluids lost in sweat and more fluids used for their intended purposes.
Many people don't realize that a good amount of hydration comes from food, and you can increase your fluid intake by making different choices when it comes to what you eat.
Many fruits and vegetables contain quite a bit of water and can be more enjoyable to eat than drinking an extra glass of water from time to time. Try adding fruits and vegetables to your snacks and meals. Some great hydrating choices include:
- Melons
- Apples
- Celery
- Carrots
- Lettuce and Salads
Optimal hydration takes more than drinking the right amount of fluids, it also takes drinking fluids that help your body use the liquids you consume.
Electrolytes and minerals help your body stay hydrated longer by providing optimal delivery of fluids to the cells and regulating how much fluid is lost in sweat. It's important to understand that water alone may simply not be enough, and you may want to look into a beverage that supplies electrolytes to enhance your hydration efforts. Look for a beverage that contains:
- Natural Sodium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Chloride
Sodium is often avoided because certain forms of sodium have been linked to high blood pressure and other detrimental heart health factors, but your body needs sodium to properly use the fluid you consume. TapouT sports beverages contain 240mg of sodium from natural sources to help you make the most out of the fluids you drink during the day.
Many major brands of sports drinks and other enhanced beverages boast that they contain electrolytes, but it's important to read the label to see what you're actually getting. Some have minimal amounts of potassium and magnesium, or small amount of the other two, but very few enhanced beverages have the full complement of electrolytes in proper proportions. All three flavors of TapouT contain a scientifically derived formula of all the electrolytes your body requires for proper hydration and performance.
One of the struggles of dealing with dehydration is knowing how much to drink and when to drink it. Modern smart phones give us access to nearly any kind of app we can think of, and hydration trackers can be found on any platform.
These trackers can range from basic trackers to hydration apps that take your fluid intake, diet and physical activity into consideration. In order to get the most out of tracking your hydration, you may wish to consider looking into one that tracks multiple health data markers in order to completely consider how much water you should drink.
Too get even more out of your hydration app, make sure that you use one that will alert you when you've gone too long without a drink and links to your favorite fitness app to get the most out of your experience.
TapouT is available in three tasty flavors; Citrus, Cherry Lemonade and Orange. Our Citrus flavor provides your body with 120 calories to power you through your workout and improve stamina, but if you're looking for a zero-sugar option, our Orange and Cherry Lemonade flavors have no sugar and contain only five calories.
Regardless of what flavor of TapouT you choose, you'll get a mix of all five electrolytes, as well as plenty of vitamins to boost performance, hydration and recovery. TapouT contains sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride as well as vitamins A, C, E and six vitamins from the B complex.