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Healthy and Sustainable

BEWARE OF DEHYDRATION

Hydration is very important for our organism all year round, not just in summer.

Beware of dehydration

Hydration is very important for our organism all year round, not just in summer.
However, many people aren’t used to drinking water unless they are thirsty, and it isn’t often enough: 50.7 fluid ounces - 67.6 fluid ounces of water should be drunk every day through the foods we eat.

The first symptoms of dehydration are nervousness, headache, mental confusion, tiredness. It seems strange, but many people don’t recognize the symptoms of thirst or feel the need to drink. Beyond the age of 50 the feeling of thirst decreases.

Torrid temperatures are a serious health hazard for children and the elderly (in particular infants and younger children) due to their limited independence, and because they have a more delicate organism than that of a healthy adult. On the hottest days it is advisable to:

- Avoid direct sun exposure between 11 am and 5 pm.

- Live in environments with temperatures that do not exceed 27-28° C or install a conditioner in the room.
Have it regularly serviced once a year to avoid the spread of bacteria.

Children

Children often seem careless about the need to rehydrate themselves, even after having played a lot, maybe under the sun, when they have a greater physiological need for water than adults because of their build: about 75% of their weight is water.

- We can’t expect children to ask to drink, so let’s anticipate it by offering them water constantly, above all during play time and sports activities.

- Make them drink frequently, in small quantities and slowly, making sure that the water isn’t too cold.

- Use water to quench the child's thirst. Limit other drinks as much as possible, and avoid sweetened ones.

Elderly

For the over 65s, the same rules apply as for children, especially for those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, chronic respiratory illnesses, chronic kidney failure and neurological diseases.
These people must drink at least 3.3 - 5 fluid ounces of water every hour.

Tap water. It is preferable to bottled water for ecologic, economic and practical reasons.
To let the chlorine it contains evaporate, simply fill a bottle and leave it uncovered for a couple of hours or, better still, for a whole night in the open air or in the fridge. This is a precaution which is also useful for watering the plants at home, which are much more delicate than us!

Tea. Excellent, even cold, perhaps with the addition of lemon which provides vitamin C, slices of peach and a few mint leaves.
It is advisable to avoid soluble and industrial tea and to prefer tea leaves for infusion. Tea bags don’t usually contain first class tea, even if there are a few small producers who are an exception. Tea is infinitely more thirst-quenching if not sugared, but in winter if we want a nice hot cup of sweet tea we can add a teaspoon of honey.

Herbal teas: the flavors are many, to cater to all tastes: chamomile, melissa, mint, mallow, fennel, horsetail, licorice, rosella, rooibos, etc. 
They are usually sweet tasting so there is no need to add sugar. They can be prepared like tea and drank cold after being refrigerated. Another herbal tea which is excellent to refrigerate is obtained by boiling slices of fresh ginger for a few minutes in sugared water.

Squeezed juices: they are excellent as a snack and at breakfast time, prepared with mixed citrus fruits (grapefruits, pink grapefruits, orange, lime, lemons, clementines..). They are sources of vitamins, above all vitamin C; they must be drunk in moderate amounts and never before going to sleep (they cause stomach acidity) and preferably freshly-made: storage, even in the fridge, damages the vitamin C because it is photosensitive.

Shakes and extracted juice. They can be prepared with mixed fruit and, for those with a sweet tooth, milk can be added to the shakes, but they are also excellent if prepared with water. Fruit is already sweet so there is no need to add sugar.
Do not use the centrifugal juicer, because the result is almost totally free of fiber and the vitamins are damaged. The juice extractor, thanks to its slow speed, retains a good quantity of fiber and vitamins. This machine can also be used to prepare excellent vegetable beverages which are rich in minerals and antioxidants. Let’s remember to avoid fruit juices because they have very little fiber and do not guarantee the quantity of vitamins that fruit does. In this case always avoid sweetened juice which, like sweetened beverages, does not quench thirst and only adds more empty calorie.

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