Try guzzling some water.

Dehydration Can Cause Fatigue

Lots of machines don’t function well when they have low water levels, and neither do you. Even being mildly dehydrated can slow your metabolism, drain your energy, and make you feel tired.

Some Signs of Mild to Moderate Dehydration

In addition to feeling tired, here are some signs of mild to moderate dehydration:

• a dry, sticky mouth
• feeling thirsty
• not urinating as much
• having fewer or no tears when you cry
• dry skin
• headache
• constipation
• feeling dizzy or lightheaded

Don’t you wish you had a dipstick to measure the water levels in your body – like you measure the level of oil in your car?

About 60% of Your Body Weight Is Water

Water is the main chemical component in your body and accounts for about 60% of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on it.

You need water for the chemical and metabolic processes to take place in your body; for body fluids like tears, sweat, and urine; to flush toxins out of your vital organs; and to carry nutrients to your cells.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

There’s not one definitive answer to the question:  “How much water should I drink?”  The answer really depends on many things including:

• your health
• your age
• how active you are
• where you live

For the average healthy adult who lives in a temperate climate, the Institute of Medicine recommends around 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total water intake a day for men and 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total water intake a day for women.

What’s Total Water Intake?

Total water intake isn’t just plain water. It includes the plain water you drink, the water in all of your other beverages, and the water in your food. All fluids count toward your daily total.

On average, food supplies about 20% of your total water intake. Many fruits and vegetables — like watermelon, grapes, lettuce, and tomatoes — are 90% or more water by weight. Food from grains like oatmeal and pasta are also hydrating because they swell up with water when they’re cooked.  Even meat is full of water.

Beverages like milk and juice are mostly made of water, too. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — coffee, tea or soda — can contribute, but they shouldn’t be the major portion of your daily total fluid intake. Calorie-free and inexpensive water is your best bet.

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A glass of water might be a cheap cure-all.

Dehydration Causes Fatigue

Yep – a low water level can make you tired.  Don’t you wish you had a dipstick to measure the water levels in your body – like you measure the level of oil in your car?

Even being mildly dehydrated can slow your metabolism, drain your energy, and make you feel tired.

There are some signs you can look for.  In addition to feeling tired, with mild to moderate dehydration you might also:

• Have a dry, sticky mouth
• Be thirsty
• Not urinate as much
• Have fewer or no tears when you cry
• Have dry skin
• Headache
• Constipation
• Be dizzy or lightheaded

About 60% Of Your Body Weight Is Water

Water is the main chemical component in your body and accounts for about 60% of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on it.

You need water for the chemical and metabolic processes to take place in your body; for body fluids like tears, sweat, and urine; to flush toxins out of your vital organs; and to carry nutrients to your cells.

How Much Water Should I Drink?

There’s no easy answer to the question:  “How much water should I drink?”  The answer really depends on many things including:

• your health
• your age
• how active you are
• where you live

For the average healthy adult who lives in a temperate climate, the Institute of Medicine recommends around 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total water intake a day for men and 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total water intake a day for women.

What’s Total Water Intake?

Total water intake is not just plain water. It includes the plain water you drink, the water in all of your other beverages, and the water in your food. All fluids count toward your daily total.

On average, food supplies about 20% of your total water intake. Many fruits and vegetables — like watermelon, grapes, lettuce, and tomatoes — are 90% or more water by weight. Food from grains like oatmeal and pasta are also hydrating because they swell up with water when they’re cooked.  Even meat is full of water.

Beverages like milk and juice are mostly made of water, too. Even beer, wine and caffeinated beverages — coffee, tea or soda — can contribute, but they shouldn’t be the major portion of your daily total fluid intake. Water is calorie-free, inexpensive, readily available and your best bet.

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Clean eating is about wholesome and natural food – food that isn’t full of chemicals, preservatives, additives and isn’t processed and/or refined.

Clean eating is healthy eating. All of the whole, natural, unprocessed foods in a clean diet are chock full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrition that will help you control your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, and other markers important for good health.

What To Do

To eat clean, the April 2011 edition of Environmental Nutrition lists seven basic behaviors:

• Eat fresh, uncomplicated, whole food – and choose it in its natural state.

• Eat smaller meals – perhaps three small meals and two snacks each day instead of behemoth portions.

• Eat good carbs  — keep the healthy carbs like veggies, legumes, whole grains, and fruit in your life – and ditch the processed and refined ones like the “whites”  (sugar, flour, rice).

• Incorporate healthy fats like the monounsaturated fat in olive oil and nuts and cut down on the saturated fats found in dairy and animal products and the trans fats in processed baked and fried foods.

• Eat high quality lean protein like fish, chicken, turkey, lean meat, and low or non-fat dairy.

• Make water your beverage of choice.

• Move your body.

By the way, you do need to wash your vegetables – and fruit.  Wash them really well in plenty of plain water.  No need for detergents or fancy vegetable washes.

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It’s brutally hot and you’re sweating like a pig.  Was your run really a good idea?  Need something to drink – but what – water, Gatorade, Red Bull, Powerade?  Do you need just water or water plus other stuff?

Designed To Hydrate

Sports drinks, a combination of fluids, carbs, sodium and potassium are designed to replenish fluids and nutrients lost through sweating during exercise.  If you work out for more than an hour, or for very intensely for less than an hour they are the ideal during- and after-activity hydration drink. But, if your workout is of short duration or is low-intensity. a sports drink may not be your best choice.  If you’re just going for a brisk 20 minute walk or doing some other short or low intensity activity, water may be your best choice.

What’s In Them That You Probably Don’t Need For Less Intense Workouts

Two Things: sugar and sodium.

Sugar is a prominent ingredient because it’s a good way feed carbs to your working muscles. But, its an extra two to five teaspoons of added sugar you’re putting into your body for each 8 oz serving. Remember — most bottles contain at least double that amount, so double up on the sugar count, too. The American Heart Association’s recommendation is to limit added sugars to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance which translates to no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar for most American women and150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons, for men.

Although sodium is helpful for higher levels of activity, most of us don’t need to add extra sodium to add to already high sodium intakes.

Don’t Confuse Energy Drinks And Sports Drinks

Energy drinks have a boost of caffeine which research says might enhance athletic performance. Because they have the caffeine equivalent of a cup of coffee, energy drinks like Rockstar, Monster, and Red Bull are also popular as everyday drinks.

Sports drinks generally have fewer calories because they generally have less sugar than energy drinks.  They do have sodium to help replenish what you’ve sweated out, and generally no caffeine.  Some sports drinks, called recovery sports drinks, have protein and may be marketed as recovery sports drinks. Use them when your activity lasts longer than 6 hours.

When Are Sports Drinks Helpful?

If you exercise at a high intensity for 60 minutes or more, fluids that supply 60 to 100 calories in 8 ounces help supply the calories necessary calories for continuous performance. During normal training it’s not necessary to replace sodium, potassium and other electrolytes you lose during exercise. But, if you exercise in extreme conditions over 3 or 5 hours — like during a marathon or a triathalon — you might think about drinking a sports drink with electrolytes.

SocialDieter Tip:

If you are exercising for over an hour or you’re really busting your butt for a shorter but more intense workout, think about a sports drink for hydration.  Here are some examples of drinks along with their calories, carbs, sugars, sodium, and potassium.  If your exercise time is short or not too strenuous, stick with good old fashioned water.

• Powerade, Grape, 8 oz,, 50 calories, 14g sugars, 14 carbs,100mg Sodium, 25 mg Potassium

• Gatorade G Berry, 8 oz , 80 calories, 21g sugars, 21 carbs, 160 mg Sodium, 45 mg Potassium

• Propel Kiwi-Strawberry, 8 oz, 10 calories, 2g sugars, 2g carbs, 75 mg Sodium, 20 mg Potassium

• Gatorade G2 Perform Low Calorie Orange, 8 oz, 20 calories, 5 g sugars, 5g carbs, 110mg Sodium, 30 mg Potassium

• Sobe Lifewater 0 calories Black & Blue Berry, 8 oz, 0 calories, 6g carbs, 0g sugars, 25 mg Sodium, n/a Potassium

• Red Bull Energy Drink, 8.4 oz, 110 calories, 28g carbs, 27g sugars, 100mg Sodium, n/a Potassium

The post Gatorade, Powerade, Red Bull Or Water? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer

It’s summer.  It’s hot.  You’re thirsty.  You want some shade and something cool – or maybe ice cold – to drink.

Just remember – a lot of those cool, refreshing drinks come with a hefty dose of calories.

Check Out The Calories

You might be surprised at the caloric content of a drink you have been having for years.  There is a wide variation in the number of calories even in the same category of drinks.  Do a little research and learn your best choice and then make that your drink of choice.  You often can be satisfied with, for instance, a bottle of beer that has around 100 calories rather than another brand that has around 300.

Of course, there’s always water, plain or flavored (beware the vitamin enhanced kinds with added sugar)!

Non-Alcoholic Drinks:

Water and Sports Drinks

• Gatorade:  12 oz, 80 calories

• Propel:  24 oz, 30 calories

• SoBe Lifewater:  20 oz, 90 calories

• Glaceau Smart Water:  33.8 oz, 0 calories

• Vitamin Water:  20 oz, 125 calories

• Vitamin Water 10:  20 oz, 25 calories

Iced Coffee and Tea Drinks

• Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Bean Coolatta:  16 oz, 430 calories

• Dunkin’ Donuts Sweet Tea:  16 oz, 120 calories

• Starbuck’s Coffee Frappuccino:  16 0z (grande), 240 calories

• Starbuck’s Coffee Frappuccino, light:  16 oz grande), 110 calories

• Tazo Unsweetened Shaken Iced Passion Tea:  0 calories

• Iced Brewed Coffee with classic syrup:  12 oz (tall), 60 calories

Soda

• Coke Classic:  one 20 oz bottle, 233 calories

• Diet coke:  one 20 oz bottle, 0 calories

• Mountain Dew:  one 20 oz bottle, 290 calories

Alcoholic Drinks:

Beer

• Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale:  one 12 oz bottle, 330 calories

• Samuel Adams Brown Ale:  160 calories

• Amstel Light:  95 calories

Wine

• Red Wine:  5 oz, 129 calories

• White Wine:  5 oz, 120 calories

• Sangria:  8 oz, 176 calories

Alcoholic Drinks

• Mojito:  7 oz, 172 calories

• Frozen Magarita: 4 oz, 180 calories (the average margarita glass holds 12 oz, 540 calories)

• Mimosa:  137 calories

• Gin and Tonic:  175 calories

SocialDieter Tip:

According to CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest), carbonated soft drinks are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet.  We tend to forget about the calories in sugared sports drinks and in sweetened ice teas, juices, and alcoholic beverages.  Alcohol has 7 calories per gram  — compared to protein and carbs which have 4 calories per gram and fat which has 9 calories per gram.     Couple the alcohol with sweetened juices, syrups, and, in some cases, soda, and you could be drinking a significant portion of your suggested daily calorie allowance.  There are low and lower calorie choices in each category of cold drinks.  Choose wisely, sip slowly, limit the repeats and/or alternate with water, seltzer, diet soda, or iced tea or coffee.

The post Are You Drinking Your Calories? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Water, Water Everywhere

It’s getting very warm outside where I live and I see tons of people walking, running, or riding bikes with all kinds of water bottles and holders hanging off of them.

Water is great.  It’s the main chemical component in your body and accounts for about 60% of your weight. Your body depends on water to do things like flush toxins out of your vital organs, carry nutrients to your cells, and supply a nice moist environment for your ears, nose, and throat.

How Much Should You Drink?

Eight glasses, ten glasses — how much?  According to the Institute of Medicine, men should drink around 3 liters (about 13 cups) of fluids a day and women should drink 2.2 liters (about 9 cups).

What you eat can supply a significant portion of those fluids. Food supplies, on average, about 20% of your total water intake. For instance, fruit and vegetables, like watermelon and tomatoes, are 90% or more water by weight.

Drinks like juice and milk are contain mostly water. Beer, wine, soda, coffee, and tea also contribute. Your best bet is water because it’s cheap, calorie free, and available.

Bottled Or Tap?

One of the first questions you often hear in a restaurant is:  “Bottle or tap”?  The answer is not as straight forward as it might seem.  According to CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter (6/10):

• Theoretically, purified bottled water can be safer than tap because bottled water companies start with tap water that meets federal standards and then often treat it with UV light or ozone for additional disinfection and/or with reverse osmosis to remove chemicals.
• Tap water is just that – out of the tap, not from plastic landfill clogging bottles.
• The EPA regulates tap water and requires utilities to let consumers know when their water doesn’t meet standards.
• The FDA regulates bottled water and doesn’t require bottlers to notify consumers if water standards are not met.
• Tap water is free or pretty cheap.

Types Of Bottled Water:  The Plain Stuff

The FDA requires the type of bottled water to be shown on its label.

Spring Water is from an underground formation that flows naturally to the earth’s surface and is collected only at the spring or from the underground formation that feeds the spring.

Purified Water is produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis or other processes. It’s also called “distilled water,” deionized water,” or “reverse osmosis water.”

Mineral Water has specific proportions of mineral and trace elements when it emerges from its source. No minerals can be added.

Sparkling Bottled Water has the same amount of carbon dioxide in it that it had at its source. Sparkling bottled water can be labeled “sparkling mineral water,” “sparkling spring water,” etc.

Artesian Water/Artesian Well Water comes from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a water-bearing underground layer of rock or sand).

Well Water comes from a hole bored or drilled in the ground that taps a water aquifer.

Socialdieter Tip:

The choice is yours. Just be sure to drink an adequate amount of good, clean water and please try not to clog the landfills with plastic.  I put some fresh mint from my garden into a pitcher of water in the fridge.  Really refreshing.  It’s a good idea to periodically check the potability of your water, especially if your water is supplied by a well.  Mine is and when the seal on my well cap eroded the well got contaminated and had to be disinfected.  Even my dog was drank bottled water for a couple of weeks.  Municipalities often issue “boil water” alerts when their water sources show high bacterial contamination.  Please don”t ignore these warnings – they are to protect you.

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