Keep Hyderated this Summer ——Shahnaz Husain
Does your skin feel tight, dull, or rough with the arrival of summer? That’s often a sign your skin is losing moisture faster than it can retain it.
Heat, sun exposure, and long hours in air-conditioned spaces can quietly dehydrate the skin, affecting its texture and natural glow.
Dehydration leads to flakiness, wrinkles, itching, and skin infections. The tricky part is that your skin can look oily even when it’s dehydrated underneath.
Dehydration can affect many bodily processes, including digestion, immune system support, and temperature regulation.
Dehydration isn’t just about feeling thirsty – it can affect your mood, focus, skin, and vital organ functions. The key to avoiding it lies in knowing how to hydrate your body consistently, especially when the temperature soars.
Thirst is often a late indicator of dehydration.
Listen to your body – if you’re feeling thirsty or sluggish, you might already be running low on hydration. Mild fluid loss can mess with how you feel.
There’s no magic number when it comes to how much water you need daily – it all depends on your activity level, health conditions, height, weight, gender, and other factors. Experts recommend
drinking 8–10 glasses of water daily for healthy adults.
Pregnant women should drink 10 glasses of water daily, and breastfeeding women should drink 12 glasses. Kids and teens should drink 6 to 8 cups of water a day.
Drink a glass of water every 2 hours to maintain hydration.
Most people should drink water, not sports drinks, during their workouts. Sports drinks may be useful for people doing intense exercise for a long time, especially if they’re sweating a lot. But for non-athletes, sports drinks are simply another sugary beverage.
Water doesn’t have any added sugars or calories in it, which makes it a great beverage to have throughout the day.
Adding lime, cucumber, or mint makes it easier to keep sipping throughout the day as the flavour encourages increased fluid intake compared to plain water.
Infusing water with lemon, lime, cucumber, and mint is an easy way to add nutrients and a burst of natural flavour. It’s also a tasty way to stay hydrated, support digestion, and promote alkalinity while adding vitamins, antioxidants, and a natural cooling effect.
It’s an extra refreshing way to stay hydrated and a cooling alternative when it’s too hot to sip on herbal tea.
The hydrating effects of cucumber mint water contribute to glowing, healthy.
skin. Cucumbers are composed of approximately 95–96% water, making them one of nature’s most hydrating foods.
Cucumbers contain vitamins C and K, which help reduce skin inflammation and promote collagen production.
Keep water within reach. Carry a reusable water bottle everywhere and use it – refill it often so hydration stays on your radar.
Water-rich fruits are rich in natural sugars, fibre, and antioxidants. They are not only an excellent source of hydration but also protect the body against damage caused by heat and sun exposure. Many fruits naturally contain high amounts of water along with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Including hydrating summer fruits such as watermelon (92%), strawberries (91%), cantaloupe (90%), and peaches (89%) not only provides essential nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, and antioxidants, helping with hydration, immunity, and overall energy.
Adding a variety of colourful water-rich fruits ensures that you get different nutrients to stay healthy all season long. Incorporating hydrating fruits into daily meals just requires minor dietary changes to add these fruits to your routine. You may prepare fresh fruit salads for breakfast or snacks, add fruits to smoothies or yoghurt bowls, and consume chilled fruit slices during mid-day breaks. Key strategies include adding berries or bananas to morning oatmeal/yoghurt, swapping processed snacks for apples or citrus, and adding sliced fruit to salads.
Eat whole fruits. However, if you drink fruit juice, keep your serving to ½ cup, and be sure it’s labeled 100%. Skip fruit drinks, punches or fruit cocktails. They are often loaded with excess sodium and/or added sugar. Be sure to take a wide variety of water-rich fruits with different types and colours since they offer different nutrients. Always keep a good stock of fresh fruit in your refrigerator so that you are always prepared to eat healthily. Develop a habit of eating two servings of water-rich fruit daily.
Choose Coconut Water or Natural Electrolyte Drinks for hydration during this summer season.
Electrolytes are minerals that conduct an electrical charge when mixed with water. They help regulate a variety of your body’s most essential functions, including nerve signalling, pH balance, muscle contraction, and hydration.
Coconut water replenishes lost electrolytes and is a natural alternative to energy drinks, making it one of the top hydration tips for tropical climates.
Coconut water is best for fluid replenishment after light activity. It offers a hydration boost that performs somewhere between water and traditional sports drinks or electrolyte solutions.
Unsweetened coconut water also contains naturally occurring sugars—about 7 to 10 grams per cup.
Coconut water, milk, fruit juices, and smoothies are high in electrolytes. Drinks with electrolytes may help you rehydrate after intense exercise, vomiting, or diarrhoea. You can also make your own drink at home.
The author is international fame beauty expert and is called the herbal queen of India.
