Feeling Dehydrated? Here’s How to Hydrate Like a Boss

We all know it’s important to drink water but … why? And how much water do we really need to drink daily? What about if you’ve overdone it a wee bit at the weekend’s holiday party and are hung over? We’re breaking down the basics of healthy hydration, from the signs and symptoms of dehydration to the healthiest ways to rehydrate, fast. How Much Water Do I Need Daily? You’ve probably heard that you should be drinking eight glasses (or 64 ounces) of water daily. Or maybe you’ve been told to drink half of your bodyweight in ounces of water each day (or 75 ounces for a 150-pound person). These guidelines are a helpful place to start, but hydration needs vary considerably from person to person. Factors like body size, climate, physical activity level, alcohol consumption and the medications you take also influence how much water you need to consume. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Dehydration? There are a few ways to gauge your hydration status. The most obvious is the sensation of thirst. If you feel thirsty, you’re probably already slightly dehydrated. Another helpful indicator is the color of your pee. The next time you go to the bathroom, take note of your urine. If it’s pale yellow, you’re likely well-hydrated. If the color is darker—think: a concentrated yellow or amber-colored—there’s a good chance you need to drink up. Other common signs and symptoms of dehydration include dry mouth and thirst, fatigue, weakness, confusion and (not surprisingly) infrequent trips to the bathroom. On the flip side, it is possible to overdo it on H2O. That is, if your pee is consistently colorless, you may be drinking too much water, which can mess with electrolyte balance in the body over time. Remember: go for gold! Or, um, pale yellow … What Are the Best Ways to Stay Hydrated? Here are our top three favorite ways to stay on top of your hydration game. 1. Drink Enough Water (Gasp!) Start by making it a goal to hit eight glasses of water per day, then increase that number based on your thirst, energy levels and—you guessed it—the color of your urine. If you’re taking medications like diuretics or laxatives, talk to your doctor about your daily water needs. And, remember, alcohol is a diuretic, so if you’ve been indulging more than usual over the holidays, make sure to drink even more water. Find plain water boring? Pump up the flavor profile by adding fresh fruits or vegetables such as cucumber slices or pineapple to your pitcher. You can also count unsweetened herbal teas or a seltzer towards your daily water intake. RELATED: Give Bloat the Boot! These 9 Teas Will Help Relieve Bloating 2. Eat the Rainbow Speaking of fruits and veggies, they’re full of water! Celery, cucumbers, radishes and tomatoes are all up to 95% water by weight, while watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit and cantaloupe are more than 90% water by weight. Don’t count your watermelon snack as one of your glasses of water for the day, but do know that certain foods can help keep us hydrated. Consider it one more reason to load half your plate with fruits and veggies at meals. RELATED: 13 Hydrating Foods to Eat to Boost Your Water Intake 3. Sip Smarter Sure, water is important, but sometimes our bodies need an extra boost from oral rehydration solutions (ORS). ORS include beverages like Pedialyte that provide sugar and electrolytes, but can also be full of unwanted ingredients. When it comes to rehydrating fast, we recommend making your own ORS with a clean and simple recipe. Friendly reminder: Electrolytes include minerals such as the potassium, sodium and magnesium that are involved in everything from fluid balance and muscle contraction to blood pressure regulation in the body. When we lose a lot of fluid, be it from vomit or diarrhea during an illness or sweat in a tough workout class, we also lose ‘lytes. That’s a problem, since low levels of electrolytes are associated with muscle cramps, not to mention the hallmark signs of dehydration. RELATED: Why You Really Need to Pay Attention to Hydration During Winter How do you know when you need to replenish ‘lytes? Experts recommend reaching for an electrolyte drink instead of plain old H2O if you’re exercising for more than 75 minutes or working out in a very hot and humid environment. Ditto if you’ve been throwing up or dealing with diarrhea for a day or more due to an illness. We recommend choosing an electrolyte drink that’s low in added sugars. Here are a few options: Nuun tablets: We love that these electrolyte tablets provide minimal added sugars, plus all the important minerals. Halo Sport: Halo includes vitamins A.C and E for immunity, a full spectrum of 72 ionic trace minerals, and naturally-occurring electrolytes from Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Ultima Replenisher: These zero-calorie packets come in fun flavors like blue raspberry and cherry pomegranate. The only drawback: They’re fairly low in sodium, one of the key electrolytes we need to replenish when dehydrated. Harmless Harvest Coconut Water: Refreshing and all-natural, coconut water is another option that offers more potassium than plain water (though it’s low in sodium). Though coconut water is naturally sweet, its sugars can add up quickly: Just one cup of coconut water can deliver about 14 grams of natural sugar. Want to DIY? Make your own oral rehydration solution at home by combining 1 quart of water with ¾ of a teaspoon of table salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cheers! (Image: Shutterstock)

Biohacking on a Budget: 5 Simple, Low-Cost Biohacks For Better Health

These days, we’re all about learning how to DIY just about everything. The allure of finding and trying new methods for widely accepted practices in hopes of getting better or faster results is real. So, it’s no wonder we’re totally into biohacking, which basically refers to the practice of studying our diet and lifestyle and making changes to achieve optimal health and overall well-being. What is Biohacking? While some biohacking methods are very simple and might sound quite familiar—like meditation, intermittent fasting, and light therapy—some are extreme and meant to alter the biology of the body in order to enhance its productivity and performance level. Biohacking practices aimed at optimizing brain function have gained popularity, with individuals seeking ways to improve focus, memory, and overall mental well-being.  Some people will even use expensive and unproven technology to alter their body chemistry, with goals like living forever (or, perhaps to 150!), adding enhancements like night vision or the ability to pay for coffee with a flick of their wrist. For most of us, though, we just want simple and low-cost ways to improve our biology for better quality of life and health, right? Here are a few biohacks you can try without breaking the bank or implanting technology under your skin. These methods offer promising avenues for optimizing brain function and promoting well-being, empowering individuals to take charge of their cognitive health without excessive costs or invasive procedures. Here are a few biohacks you can try without breaking the bank or implanting technology under your skin. 5 Low-Budget Biohacks to Try 1. Eliminate refined sugar. You may already be aware that sugar is a leading cause of inflammation, which is the root cause of almost every condition and disease. Yet, the typical American adult consumes about 60 pounds of added sugar each year, or 77 grams of supplemental sugar (nearly ½ cup!) each day, according to the American Heart Association. That’s not doing our hearts—or our waistlines or brains—any favors. Human studies confirm the link between added sugar and higher inflammatory markers. Excess sugar consumption has been associated with heart disease, obesity, dementia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and many more wellness woes. Knowing all of the above, cutting out refined sugar seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? So, why are we still eating this stuff, knowing it’s not so great for our health? While scientists and nutrition experts have argued about this for some time, there’s evidence that eating sugar may cause symptoms similar to addiction. This explains why it’s so difficult for many people to stop. While not the easiest biohack on the list, it’s sure to have a positive impact on your health. Plus, it’s definitely not going to cost you any more to eliminate this sweet ingredient. It may even save you money in the long run. 2. Eat veggies multiple times a day. Eating lots of vegetables isn’t a new recommendation for improving your health. This has always been on the list of top things to do to get the nutrients your body needs to thrive. Veggies contain multiple antioxidants that fight inflammation in your body. So, the more vegetables you can add to your plate at every meal, the better. But for some reason, there is this misconception that making healthier food choices is more expensive than eating quick and less nutritious meals. Sure, you can spend a lot of money on fresh, organic vegetables that go to waste after sitting in your fridge for too long, but you don’t always have to buy fresh produce. Organic frozen veggies can be even more nutritious than fresh ones. RELATED: Are Frozen Fruits and Vegetables as Healthy as Fresh? So, next time you’re at the grocery store, why not add a mix of your favorite fresh and frozen veggies to your cart, and start plotting how to incorporate them into your meals for the week? Challenge yourself and see how many different recipes you can come up with using the same vegetables. You may be surprised by how many fun and healthy recipes there are out there. 3. Eat grass-fed beef (and butter) and low-mercury, high in omega-3 fish. So, what’s the deal with grass-fed and finished beef, anyway? What’s the difference between it and standard beef? Well, for starters, did you know that grass-fed beef contains up to five times as much omega-3 as grain-fed beef? Plus, it contains about twice as much CLA (conjugated linoleic acid)—a fatty acid associated with several health benefits—as its grain-fed bovine brethren. It shouldn’t be surprising then that grass-fed butter offers some added health benefits, too. It contains higher amounts of beta carotene—a potent antioxidant that’s been linked to a reduced risk of several chronic diseases—than regular butter. Again, some people automatically assume that eating grass-fed beef and grass-fed butter is going to be way more expensive. If you eat a lot of meat, then it might be, but one way to cut down on the expense of grass-fed meat is to eat less meat in general (but better quality). Then replace half of your typical meat intake with plant protein (like mushrooms and legumes). When it comes to fish, there’s actually no need to buy fresh wild salmon—unless you want to, on occasion—as canned versions are much less expensive. You can also replace wild salmon with canned sardines, which are high in omega-3s, low in mercury, and highly affordable. 4. Eat pastured eggs. All eggs are packed with important nutrients like protein, vitamin D, and choline, a compound essential for brain health. Eggs are affordable and their nutritional value can easily be taken up a notch by buying pasture-raised. In addition to being lower in calories and total fat, pasture-raised foods have higher levels of vitamins and a healthier balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats than conventional meat and dairy products. Specifically, eggs from poultry raised on pasture have 10% less fat, 40% more vitamin A, and 400% more omega-3s. In an ideal scenario, you’d buy your eggs straight

2-Minute Kitchen Tricks for Better Health

From the easiest homemade salad dressing to a morning smoothie that does double duty.

5 Surprising Factors that Affect Metabolism

Metabolism is one of those words many of us throw around without giving much thought to what it means or how it works. What is this elusive concept we blame for being “slow” (as we lounge at the beach instead of hitting the gym)? Put simply, metabolism is the process of converting the food (and drinks) we consume into energy. It’s a pretty important process given the fact that the body requires energy to do everything: walk, talk, breathe, digest … you get the picture. Some of our bodies are more efficient at this process than others, hence the popular idea of fast and slow metabolisms. How Metabolism Happens There are three ways metabolism happens: Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn doing nothing, i.e. just letting your body take care of basic functions, and it accounts for the biggest chunk (65%–75%) of total calories burned throughout the day. The thermic effect of food is the energy needed to digest, absorb, transport, and store the food we eat—accounts for about another 10% of calories burned. The thermic effect of exercise is the calories burned while you spin, lift, and pulse, which accounts for the rest. RELATED: 10 Smart, Healthy Ways to Lose 10 Pounds So how can you make sure your body is working as efficiently as possible to burn the fuel you provide and carry out all of its many functions? Metabolism is a tricky process to influence, but these factors may contribute to whether or not yours is happily humming. 5 Factors That Affect Metabolism 1. Weight loss Yes, this one feels like a cruel trick the universe is playing on all of us. After losing a significant amount of weight, metabolism generally slows down, making it hard to keep weight off. You may have heard about this effect after the study on The Biggest Loser contestants’ struggles to maintain their weight loss long-term generated lots of buzz. Some studies have pointed to yo-yo dieting as causing the most damage (with people whose weight has gone up and down repeatedly having the most damaged metabolisms) but other research has refuted that idea. Either way, it’s helpful to know that if you’re someone who has experienced major weight loss, that could affect your caloric burn long after. (In other words, you can’t just revert to your old diet once the weight’s off; you need a serious long-term plan for maintenance.) 2. Strength Training Here’s some better news: Lifting weights (heavy ones, please!) is one simple way to fire up your metabolism. Your body uses more energy to maintain muscle, so building muscle can keep your metabolism in overdrive long after your sweat session is over. High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has also been shown to fire up metabolism much more than steady-state cardio. 3. Too Much Exercise However, don’t go crazy lifting heavy and banging out burpee intervals every day seven days a week. Many experts say that if you push your body too far, your body enters an inflammatory, stressed state and your hormones get totally out of whack, which in turn messes with your metabolism. Your metabolism won’t be able to work efficiently unless you give your body time to rest. Balance intense, effective workouts with enough sleep and restorative practices like yoga. RELATED: A 30-Minute Yoga Routine to Fight Stress and Build Strength 4. Stress Speaking of stress…other stressors can also make your metabolism sluggish. Studies have shown women who had stressful experiences the day before a high-fat meal burned fewer calories after the meal, and that chronic stress is linked to long-term fat storage and weight gain. On the flipside, some research links meditation to weight loss, so maybe it’s time to finally commit to trying it? RELATED: A 2-Minute Calming Meditation to Manage Any Stressful Situation 5. Drinking Water Hydration plays a big role in maintaining an efficient metabolism. One small study showed drinking 500ml of water increased metabolic rate by 30 percent. Drinking enough water will help your body metabolize food and will also prevent overeating (since thirst is often mistaken for hunger). Try drinking a large glass of water with lemon as soon as you wake up and continue to drink it throughout the day.