According to most experts, one must consume at least eight glasses of water each day. This can be a daunting task sometimes. It is important to keep your body well hydrated especially during the summer months.
However, not all of this water content must be consumed directly by drinking water. Around 20 percent of our daily water consumption is done through the food we eat. Fruits and vegetables are rich in their water content and can keep you hydrated without having to gulp down loads of water all day.
Not only will the consumption of fruits and vegetables keep you well hydrated, but it will also add a lot of nutritional value to your meal. Here are the best summer foods that will help you remain hydrated, especially during summertime!
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Cucumber
Water content: 96.7%
Cucumbers are one of the vegetables with the highest content of water and are great to keep yourself hydrated. This veggie is perfect for a salad and can also be sliced up and enjoyed with some hummus!
Do you want to further increase the hydrating power of cucumbers? Mix and blend them up with some low or no-fat yogurt to make cucumber soup! Garnish with some mint and add ice cubes and you’re all set. Soups are a great hydrating agent, however, no one really wants to have hot soup on a summer day. That’s why the cucumber soup is a great, refreshing, delicious and hydrating pick throughout the year!
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Iceberg Lettuce
Water content: 95.6%
Not usually considered a great pick nutrition-wise, iceberg lettuce is a great hydrating vegetable, especially during summertime.
For when those temperatures rise, this leafy vegetable has the highest content of water among any other type of lettuce. Add iceberg lettuce to your sandwich, use it as the base for your healthy chicken salad, or even better, use it to wrap your tacos and burgers instead of tortillas or hamburger buns!
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Celery
Water content: 95.4%
All those recent rumors about celery helping you shed calories aren’t quite true but are very close. Like other food rich in water content, celery has just as few as 6 calories per stalk. It is also loaded with fiber which fills you up quickly, helping you curb your appetite.
This vegetable also contains folate, vitamin A, C, and K. Its high water content is great to neutralize your stomach acids and is often recommended as a natural cure to heartburn and acid reflux.
This vegetable has an impressive amount of fiber, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C, as compared to its sister veggie, cauliflower. Broccoli adds a perfect crunch to salads and also has several health benefits. It is the only cruciferous vegetable that has a significant level of sulforaphane, a compound that boost’s body’s protective enzymes and helps to flush out chemicals that cause cancer.
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Spinach
Water content: 91.4% water
With the long debate over spinach and iceberg lettuce, spinach always wins the overall deal. Add raw leaves of spinach to your sandwich or salad to add a great deal of hydration and nutritional punch, along with great flavor to your meal.
Spinach is high in lutein, potassium, fiber, and brain-boosting folate contents. Just one cup of spinach covers about 15 percent of your required daily intake of Vitamin E, which is an important antioxidant that helps fight the damage caused by molecules called radicles.
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Let us know in the comments below which summer foods are your favorites!
