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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – It seems a new category of beverages pops up every day. Supermarket shelves abound with ways to quench a thirst, from coffee and tea drinks to diet mixes, sports drinks and even flavored or vitamin-added water. While each may cater to a specific taste preference, are consumers missing the key benefit of drinking – staying hydrated for good health? There are simple guidelines to help people stay well-hydrated and many different kinds of drinks can fall within them, as long as there’s enough balance of what we like and what we need.
It’s recommended that adults drink 64 ounces of liquid a day, minimum, for proper hydration. Ideally, those 64 ounces should be water.
It’s not necessary to walk around with a measuring cup throughout the day or pre-measure every container from which you’re going to drink. The body is really good at telling you it’s thirsty, but people often mistake it for hunger or ignore it altogether. Pay attention to signs that you may be hungry and try to drink water before responding with food, especially if it seems you’ve eaten recently and shouldn’t be hungry. You may find that you’re satiated by the drink and it wasn’t hunger calling after all.
Another simple way to know whether or not you’re appropriately hydrated in a day is to pay attention to the color of your urine. If it’s very dark yellow (very concentrated), you’re not getting enough hydration.
Many people, especially children, are resistant to the idea of drinking so much water in a day and therefore don’t drink enough of anything. It’s acceptable to drink a variety of liquids to stay hydrated. However, while all drinks hydrate for a short time, some come with negative side effects or ultimately deplete the body’s liquids so it’s important to limit the amount of these beverages in a given day:
Caffeinated beverages: These act as diuretics and cause urination so it’s important to limit the amount of caffeine consumed daily, or to increase the amount of water you drink to counteract its effects.
Juices: Often preferred by children, these can be filling and contain a high amount of sugar calories that replace healthy calories children should be getting. I recommend four to six ounces a day for children 1 to 6 years of age, and less than 12 ounces for older kids.
Non-caffeinated soda: Even without the caffeine, soda isn’t something I’d recommend much of for anyone. It can contain high amounts of sugar and dyes and even the diet sodas can bother people with gastro-esophageal reflux disease because of the carbonation.
Sports drinks: If someone is extremely active or sweating, he or she may also need to replace electrolytes and sports drinks do that well. However, they are very high in sugar so should be consumed in moderation and are not advisable for anyone with prediabetes or diabetes.
Milk: Since it’s recommended that everyone consume three servings of dairy a day, three cups of skim milk would be suitable as a portion of the total liquid intake in a day, while also fulfilling the calcium requirement. Over the age of 2 years, skim milk is recommended for its significantly lower amount of calories than whole and has a higher amount of calcium.
If you don’t want to drink water all day, it’s perfectly fine to find a healthy mix of drinks you like, including flavored waters or diet drinks such as Crystal Light that have almost no caffeine and low sugar, and just make sure you pay attention to your body’s signals. For children, sometimes something as simple as serving water in an interesting container or in one with a straw might encourage them to drink more.
Minimum hydration requirements for children are based on the child’s weight. Parents should check with their child’s pediatrician for specific recommendations. Children and adults with certain medical conditions may also have different needs and should follow their doctor’s advice.
For more information about Lifetime Health Medical Group, call 585/338-4944 or visit http://www.lifetimehealth.org.
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