It’s summertime and if you still prefer a warm cup of beverage over water, juice and worry about the “peeing spree” as you sip liquids, you’ve got yourself a winter hangover. Here are a few tips to deal with it…
New Delhi already hit 40.8 C on Friday and it’s only April so far.
Tank tops, shorts, fancy chappals, breezy and flared cotton wear are the only ensemble one needs in summers, but just wonder, what if you give your internal body the chance to experience the same cooling.
Whether you’re a desk-worker, homemaker or into field job, keeping the body hydrated as summer approaches its highest temperature is a daunting task for all. However, smart sipping can save you from all of it. So how do we do that?
Always Carry A Water Bottle
Always carry a stainless steel bottle with you that has freshly filled water, it will help maintain the temperature of the water which usually is not the case with other containers. You can also use a copper bottle for a healthier option as it has antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties. Avoid using plastic bottles as they may contain potentially harmful bacteria.
Drink Cold Water
Many people avoid drinking cold water because of what Ayurveda, an ancient Indian practice that preaches chilled water “disturbs the normal functioning of the gastric juices” also leads to “upset stomach”. Although, you can practice Ayurvedic principles any season other than summers because maintaining body temperature in a warm season is a challenge and to tackle it, drinking cold water is recommended because body quickly absorbs it.
Drink Enough Water
Avoid excessive consumption of plain water as it can make blood dilute because to maintain the optimum health, one should drink minimum 8-10 glasses of water daily. To make drinking water interesting, you can have ‘fruit infused water’.
Fruit Juices
Water is not the only thing, you have plenty of options when it comes to fruit juices. Make a glass full of orange, pineapple or sweet lemon (mosambi) and have it every morning.
Focus On Various Beverages
Other beverages like lassi, buttermilk, milk-shakes, ice-tea, coconut water, and everybody’s
Sugarcane juice is highly advised to have in summers and must be consumed. It is alkaline in nature because of the high concentration of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and manganese, which helps prevent diseases like cancer, that cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Thus it helps in fighting various types of cancer such as prostate and breast cancer.
Skip Trash, Snack On Fruits
Whenever you feel like snacking, remember summer is officially the season of fruits. Think it as your only time when you can skip munching on Maggi,
Make Your Own ORS
In case of loss of water in the body (dehydration), electrolytes like sodium and potassium are also lost, hence one should drink water containing electrolytes in it. You can either have glucose or electrolyte water. In case of medical emergency when you don’t have either of those, thoroughly mix sugar and salt in water to make your own ORS (oral rehydration salt).
The body loses most of its water content through sweat only. Apart from this, the loss also occurs due to evaporation of water from the skin which is independent of sweat, via the respiratory tract and finally urine.
Water Keeps Diseases At Bay
Regardless of any season, water is necessary and its consumption has an impact on our health. It accounts for 55-70% of total body weight and has various major bodily functions apart from quenching thirst. From structural part of cells to body fluids, our bodies are mainly water.
If you’re not having enough water, you will experience fatigue, weakness and lack to perform activities throughout the day as dehydration wrongly affects the functioning of brain. Whereas physically, blood volume slowly reduces in the body and renal function, too, gets affected making it difficult to excrete waste and toxins.
Its rightly said:
Thousands have lived without love,
not one without water.
– W.H.Auden
Story by Anushree Sharma
(The writer is an aspiring nutritionist)
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