Hydration

High water content food is always a good idea!  Rather than wash your cells in simple H20, get into the habit of eating foods with a high water content. Your body will reward you by making you feel awesome!

Hydration is just so important.  There are many articles out there written on the subject and here we just want to give you some cool life hacks to get you on the right track.  Maybe some stuff you've not heard before.

As well as working at The Strength Temple I'm an on call Firefighter, and sweating is a massive part of what we do!  We have pee charts at work in all the lavatory facilities to remind us how important it is to stay well hydrated.  So let me plant a few seeds in your mind that will hopefully grow into well watered super habits!

First thing is, don't flood yourself with water!  Too much water can create a situation called dilution hyponatraemia.   Drinking too much water basically causes a dilution of the sodium in your blood.  This effectively drowns your cells and makes them swell, so once again it is true - you CAN have too much of a good thing!

The good news is that it's quite difficult to drink that much and if you stay within health limits you will be fine and reap the massive benefits of good hydration.  On average about two litres of water a day will get you on track.  Here's a few of those new habits to get your teeth stuck into.

• Carry a water bottle.  I've just purchased one of the Brita ones with the straw so I get lovely filtered water for free from the tap.  Sip all day, don't binge on your water!
• Whilst I'm on the subject of filtered water - make it a habit.  I'm sure tap water's fine, but my dog will only drink filtered water or rain water.  When you consider how sensitive their sense of smell is when compared to ours I'd say there's got to be something in that!  If you can get it though, tap water is better than no water.  Drink your water!
• Eat foods that have a high water content.  Guess what - fruits are probably one the favourites, but vegetables are there too.  So you're getting water filtered by nature and all the goodness of fresh fruit and veg too :-)
• Drink Coconut water.  It tastes amazing with it's natural sugars and is a great source of Potassium.  Try and get the good stuff not from concentrate or even the young coconuts available now from companies like Cocoface in the UK www.cocoface.com.
• Make beautiful fragrant eastern inspired soups using home made stocks.  Check out our chicken stock recipe for inspiration.
• Drink a cup of water about 15 minutes before you eat.  This will prepare the route for digestion.  Try not to drink too much fluid whilst you are eating or immediately afterwards.  It is a source of that sloshing sound as the water sits on the chyme created during digestion.  Wait 15-30 minutes after eating before you start sipping again.  This shouldn't actually be a problem if you are well hydrated as you won't feel the need to drink.
• Try some of the new teas available.  Go caffeine free occasionally and perhaps a spot of raw honey if you need something sweet.

Let us know your hacks in the comments below and we'll add them.  Good luck with it and happy drinking!