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With the summer heat increasing by the day, people of all ages, from small children to grown adults, are susceptible to Dehydration and other health discomforts that it brings with it, such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, and constipation!
So in today’s article, you’ll read about what to eat when dehydrated to beat the summer heat!
To stay hydrated during this rising temperature, it is essential to drink plenty of water and eat fruits and vegetables with high water content and electrolytes to help us maintain fluid balance in our bodies1. In contrast, anti-inflammatory compounds and antioxidants in these foods help us avoid conditions like inflammation and heatstroke by strengthening our immune system and flushing out toxins!
Dehydration takes place when you lose more fluids than you take in due to several reasons, such as sweat, vomiting, or diarrhea, And your body does not have enough water to carry out its normal cognitive functions.
If you don’t replace the lost fluids, you’ll get dehydrated; if left untreated, dehydration can lead to severe illnesses and discomforts such as inflammation or nausea! To keep this water loss in check, we need to determine what to eat when dehydrated.
To understand what to eat when dehydrated and take care of our bodies together, we’ve curated a list of foods to incorporate into your daily diets if you feel dehydrated.
Eat These 14 Foods To Beat The Scorching Heat!
So, if you’re one of those health-conscious people who often ponder what to eat when dehydrated and are eager to learn more about the types of foods that help you stay hydrated throughout the day, their benefits, and everything else about dehydration during the summer, keep reading!
Eat These Hydrating Foods During The Summer To Do The Trick.
1. Cucumber Slices
It’s no secret that cucumbers are one of those vegetables that contain very high moisture content, No wonder they’ve made such an excellent reputation for themselves in the culinary world!
In addition to being high in moisture content, cucumbers also contain antioxidants necessary to remove waste from your body; not only are they a good source of potassium, some amounts of magnesium, and phosphorous, but they also provide Vitamin K!
They help reduce skin irritation, but they also facilitate and help in managing proper bowel movements regularly!
Incorporating cucumbers into your diet is extremely easy as you can eat them as a vegetable salad. If you feel like getting a little creative, you could exchange cucumber slices for your packaged chip packets whenever you feel a little hungry!
2. Watermelon Flesh
92% water content
When we think about what to eat when dehydrated more than often, we land upon the most popular seasonal fruits, One of which is watermelon, which is a favorite seasonal staple for people all over the globe. We’ve seen people get creative in how they include any melon in their diet, be it in a diced form or as popsicles!
It is always a treat to munch on diced watermelon.
Fruits and vegetables containing high water content can help you rehydrate quickly!
Watermelon flesh is a great way to include antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals in your diet! It has body hydrating benefits2, but it also helps reduce skin irritation due to dehydration and prevents dry mouth!
If you want to eat something that tastes good and provides more than just plain water to your system, a single cup of watermelon is always a good alternative to water or other drinks when you’re feeling a little under the weather and thinking about what to eat when dehydrated.
3. Banana
75% water content
If you’re trying to analyze what to eat when dehydrated, then a Banana is the correct choice for you!
Dehydration causes a lot of potassium loss in the body. To regain the lost amount of potassium and water percentage in the body, it is essential to add bananas to our diet!
They are sufficient in water, but they also provide needed proteins, fibers, carbs, and added sugar to the body when dehydrated!
You can consume bananas as breakfast during the morning hours or as a pre-workout snack. You can get really creative in the ways you want to consume bananas.
A lot of people prefer banana shakes and smoothies instead of eating them raw!
4. Tomatoes
95% water content
If what to eat when dehydrated is a question you often deal with, Then you might be closer to the answer than you presume! With 95% water by weight value, tomatoes are a perfect way to add enough water to your diet!
Not only is it a good source of fluid intake, but it also provides the human body with the antioxidant Lycopene3, which helps prevent health conditions such as cell damage!
One of the many hydrating foods is a rich source of vitamin c, vitamin k, fibers, folate, and potassium, which help beat water loss during summers.
It can be served as pasta sauce, stew, fresh salsa, or sliced with some salt or pepper as a salad!
5. Iceberg Lettuce
96% water content
we were asked to think about what to eat when dehydrated, and on the list of hydrating foods, iceberg lettuce has received numerous mentions as the most hydrating, crunchy vegetable high in antioxidants, with high water content and additional nutrients such as vitamins and minerals!
Although there are many popular articles quoting wellness professionals as to when asked about ‘what to eat when dehydrated, ‘that iceberg lettuce is of no nutritional or moisture content value, contrary that, it shows optimum levels of antioxidants, Vitamins A, K, C, and folate, the kinds of B vitamins that help in creating DNA and genetic material!
The high water content of iceberg lettuce helps us manage our water intake and avoid dehydration!
6. Cottage cheese
85% water content
Cottage cheese has become popular because it quickly makes you feel full. Cottage cheese contains 85% moisture, which gives it its liquid form.
When listing what to eat when dehydrated, Dairy products arise at the top of anybody’s head.
And While dairy products are perfect for your health, dehydrated cottage cheese also provides abundant amounts of calcium and protein components to the diet.
It boosts water levels, but cottage cheese also contains more protein and makes your belly feel Satiated throughout the day!
7. Celery Sticks
95% water content
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), celery has no calories ( just 10 calories per stick ), less protein and carbohydrates, but is high in fiber and has high water content.
When listing what to eat when dehydrated, Celery comes as one of the most moisture-containing food items, with 95% moisture content.
Celery sticks may feel dull and bland when eaten alone, but we can also make them more filling by adding them to our daily salads and some chopped tomatoes and cucumbers and seasoning them with salt and pepper to our tastes.
It can easily be included in our diets as it can be eaten directly raw or after cooking it! Another way of consuming celery is by using it with dips such as yogurt or hummus, which lowers the carbohydrate intake when it is used as bread.
8. Strawberries
91% water content
When thinking about what to eat when dehydrated, strawberries also come up as a perfect option, As strawberries amount to 91% of the water, they’re one of the many foods that are rich in disease-fighting antioxidants and fiber, and also help add many daily-use vitamins and various minerals to your daily diet!
Strawberries can help satiate the body’s water intake, prevent dehydration, and provide many other health benefits such as reduced inflammation and protection against heart disease or diabetes4!
They are high in flavonoids, which have been linked to improved cognitive function.
Strawberries can be easily incorporated into your daily diet by adding them to your salads. Many people also like to add them to their shakes and smoothies!
Adding thin slices of strawberries to sandwiches and wraps, on the other hand, is a very creative way of eating strawberries.
9. Carrots
85-95% water content
These orange-colored vegetables are trendy among the masses when asked about what to eat when dehydrated, as they are extremely rich in fiber content and vitamin A and beta-carotene, both of which are trusted to help reduce inflammation!
The high moisture content level in the carrots provides an excellent source of fluid intake for the body.
They are popular among other food items for their high water content when asked about what to eat when dehydrated, but carrots also provide innumerable health benefits!
It is packed with various vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin K, potassium, and some amounts of calcium, that help strengthen our body’s bones!
10. Yoghurt
88% water content
Yogurt is your best friend during this summertime heat. If you’re wondering what to eat when dehydrated, Medically reviewed by a healthcare professional, it not only satisfies the need for required fluids in your body but also provides the extra protein and nourishment needed by the gut to aid digestion!
Dairy products not only help replenish enough fluids in the body, but they also help the human body avoid sun damage caused to the skin by bringing the rising body temperature down.
Plain yogurt is very beneficial for the health and wellness of our bodies when compared with flavored yogurts, as it is free from any kind of unhealthy processed sugar components!
It’s high in protein and so many daily-value minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, which are extremely helpful in maintaining our body’s bone density, all of which are provided through plain yogurt!
Rehydrating Drinks To Beat the Heat!
11. Skim Milk
87% water content
If you’re feeling extraordinarily thirsty and thinking about what to eat when dehydrated, we have the answer! One of the most hydrating drinks to replenish all the needed nourishment for the body is milk.
Be aware of how much fluid you lose daily through perspiration and urine, and drink enough to keep up with whatever amount you’re losing; when discussions about what to eat when dehydrated come up, Dairy products such as milk can act as an excellent way to satiate this loss of water!
Milk provides that extra nourishment required for the body, but it also helps keep the body parts hydrated and the joints lubricated.
12. Coconut water
94% water content
Suppose you’re feeling extraordinarily thirsty and wondering what to eat when dehydrated. In that case, Coconut water is the most unique and healthy way for you to overcome all the water loss caused by dehydration when compared to other sports drinks.
Drinking water when dehydrated is necessary, but if you’re thinking about what to eat when dehydrated, that will replenish the fluid intake and cater to the nutrition value of the body?
Then coconut water is the better option for you, as your body needs fluids and electrolytes to regain equilibrium, and coconut water helps in recovering the water loss and the various nutrients present in it, such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
Coconut water is a great drink to have not only when you are thirsty, but it can also be consumed to cure various discomforts such as indigestion, inflammation, and dehydration, which are caused more or less for the same reason!
13. Vegetable soup
If the specially curated list still feels insufficient to you and you’re still wondering what to eat when dehydrated, then you can walk ahead and make a vegetable sop for yourself!
Most green-leaved crunchy vegetables such as zucchini, celery, and cucumber are eaten either cooked or raw as salads, but these vegetables lose water when cooked.
Therefore, to retain the moisture content of raw vegetables, they’re turned into vegetable soups.
The nutrient richness of a bowl of soup is determined by the vegetables used to prepare it; you can increase the calories and nutrients amounts as desired, depending on the patient’s needs, by adding or removing vegetables from the soup ingredients.
14. Sports Drinks
People worldwide satiate their thirst for water by eating different kinds of water-rich foods, such as meats, vegetables, and fruits, or simply by sipping water. But if you’re still not satisfied and are yet thinking about what to eat when dehydrated?
Then you can also turn to some sports drinks, candies, gummies, and gels, which assist in gaining more fluids in the body.
Many people also turn to some tables that can be added to water before drinking it to make it more nutritionally appropriate to overcome dehydration.
But any kind of these nutritionally appropriate tablets, gummies, or gels should be checked to see if they’re properly medically reviewed before ingestion.
Various factors, including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and strenuous exercise in hot weather or high altitudes can cause dehydration! Water loss makes older adults and pregnant women most susceptible to inflammation.
Stay hydrated throughout the day, understand the particular causes of your body’s water loss, and learn how to cater to your water needs during summer. And then you can quickly think about what to eat when dehydrated!
Incorporating some of these fluid-rich foods may also help prevent water loss from the body.
Drinking water not only when you feel thirsty but also when you are sipping small amounts of fluids throughout the day may help you stay on track with your water consumption requirements and help your body be fully functional with no Harm.
If there are more readily available food items that help increase the water-by-weight ratio in our body, or if you would like us to make more such lists about what to eat when dehydrated, please let us know!
Until then, I encourage you to try some of these water-rich foods and drinks and stay hydrated!
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- Ichiki, Takako, Vineet Augustine, and Yuki Oka. “Neural populations for maintaining body fluid balance.” Current opinion in neurobiology 57 (2019): 134-140. ↩︎
- Kalman, Douglas S. “An Overview on the Beneficial Effects of Hydration.” Extreme and Rare Sports: Performance Demands, Drivers, Functional Foods, and Nutrition (2019): 297-310. ↩︎
- Rao, A. Venket, and Sanjiv Agarwal. “Role of antioxidant lycopene in cancer and heart disease.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 19.5 (2000): 563-569. ↩︎
- Onat, Altan, et al. “Impaired protection against diabetes and coronary heart disease by high-density lipoproteins in Turks.” Metabolism 58.10 (2009): 1393-1399. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology
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