Healthy ways to spruce up your water’s flavour

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We all know how imperative good hydration is, so it may be worthwhile to look at ways to entice ourselves and our loved ones into increasing our intake of H2O.

Liquid water enhancers have gained widespread popularity since they were introduced in 2011, especially for those on the go, but there are other natural ways you can spice up your water’s flavour to keep you from being dehydrated. (Don’t be afraid to mix all of these flavours together if you want.)

Add citrus fruits. Lemons, limes or oranges add zest to your drink and the benefits of additional vitamin C. Vitamin C helps wounds heal through collagen production, assists your immune system in fending off colds and illnesses and lends a hand in retaining good eyesight by decreasing your chances of developing cataracts. A citrus slice in your water also serves as a palate cleanser and a great way to end your meal.

Add berries. Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries pack an antioxidant punch that protects your body’s cells from damage caused by free radicals. Our bodies naturally produce these free radicals, but there are toxins in the environment, such as cigarette smoke, that stimulate our body’s production. According to a study published in the Annals of Neurology, eating berries also packs an added bonus of slowing down cognitive decline as you age.

Add herbs. Lavender or mint can jazz up your glass and provide a slew of health benefits. Studies show the smell of lavender helps calm people down and has a soothing effect, while also curing headaches and insomnia. On a warm day, mint leaves deliver a cooling flavour that can calm an upset stomach for those facing indigestion or bloating, or clear up your sinuses and soothe a sore throat. The minty fresh breath it leaves also doesn’t hurt.

Add ginger. This root is a frequent ingredient in Asian cooking that’s been used for more than 4,000 years, but it also has many medicinal uses. Some studies show ginger helps treat motion sickness as well as nausea and vomiting for pregnant women. Ginger’s properties have also been used to reduce inflammation in the body with a study showing it helped reduce pain for those suffering from osteoarthritis.

Add a pinch of salt. You probably won’t love the taste of table salt in your water, but salt helps your body absorb fluids right after a workout. With help from Strauss Water Canada’s WaterBar, you can make a homemade electrolyte drink that’s all natural and inexpensive to boot.

Why water is important to World Cup players

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The World Cup showcased soccer at its finest with teams duking it out in matches in Brazil over the last four weeks.

The event happens every four years, but before it begins, athletes participate in rigorous preparation. Soccer players focus much of their training on their dribbling and mental prep, but come game time their food and water regimen goes a long way.

Water breaks for the first time

History was made at this year’s World Cup when a water break was imposed for the first time ever during a match. According to ABC News, temperatures soared to a blistering 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) with a humidity index of 70 per cent during the game between US and Portugal, making it difficult for players on both sides who were sweating within minutes of the match’s start. A one-minute water break was called 40 minutes into the game to allow players to rehydrate and cool off before continuing to play.

FIFA was ordered by the Brazilian Court to implement water breaks within 30 minutes of each half when the temperature climbed higher than 32 degrees Celsius on the Wet Bulb Globe temperature index, which measures the amount of heat stress. Although FIFA has its own guidelines related to water breaks, the court felt the ruling was necessary to ensure they followed through. If they didn’t, FIFA organizers would pay the price with a hefty 200,000 Reals ($96,738 CAD) fine for each match.

What causes cramping?

England’s players saw firsthand how not drinking enough water can hurt their game. It was a shame to watch players suffering from cramps during the country’s match up against Italy where the intense humidity in Manaus, a city within the Amazon rainforest, forced them to tone down their playing intensity. The English team’s manager, Roy Hodgson, admitted that players cramped during the second half from lack of hydration. “We’ve worked very hard on that (hydration). We still did cramp up quite a lot,” Hodgson told MLSSoccer.com. “But the tempo of the game was quite fast … It was played at the proper tempo and the heat and humidity did take its toll.”

It’s a little known fact, but it’s common for athletes to be dehydrated, says a Kinesiology professor at the University of Connecticut. If you’ve lost one or two per cent of your body weight to dehydration, it isn’t a big deal, but more than that and your performance takes a hit. England served as an unfortunate example of that.

When dehydrated, the body works harder than it needs to; the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the brain, skin and muscles, and the more weight lost to dehydration, the higher the body’s temperature will rise. For every one per cent of weight lost, the body heats up by 0.15 to 0.20 degrees Celsius; and that’s something you don’t want.

For sports such as track and field or baseball, it’s easier to take a break and drink water, but the same can’t be said about the faster-paced soccer. Also, if you’re from a country that isn’t as humid, the situation is only exacerbated, which was the case for players from dryer/more arid European countries.

A study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found that during a 90-minute soccer match, the average amount of sweat ranged from 1,672 to 3,138 ml, but soccer players only replenished about (about 30 ml) of fluid for each pound of body weight a day to keep their bodies in tip top shape.

Proper hydration can make or break a team in any sport; once muscle cramps set in, it’s difficult to recover quickly. After the match, athletes need to take part in contrast bathing, which is when they alternate between bathing in warm water and then cold water for short periods of time to relieve pain and reduce muscle damage. Rest is also a must on the agenda in order to give their bodies the necessary time to recuperate; but this reduces their time to prep for the next match, a disadvantage most players can’t afford.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the importance of drinking water, especially when you’re competing to win. If you don’t enjoy water’s taste, you’re not alone; why not try a few ways to make it a little bit more bearable? Liquid water enhancers with fun flavours like iced tea or fruit punch will take plain ol’ H2O to the next level and there are also natural ways that pack a flavourful punch and deliver some needed nutrients.

What you need to know about water enhancers

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For the first time in 15 years, Coca-Cola saw a one per cent drop in its sale of carbonated drinks in the beginning of 2014. With obesity becoming a worldwide issue, people are looking for healthier beverage options.

According to the American Beverage Association, with 20 per cent of households already buying bottled water (which has its own health and environmental ramifications), flavour enhancers for water, such as Mio and Crystal Light, are the soda-alternative that has quickly cornered the marketplace. Liquid water enhancers were first introduced to grocery stores in 2011 and they’ve become a popular way to add flavour to H2O; so popular in fact that, according to a report by Zenith International, the category produced $412 million worth of sales in the US alone in 2013.

These may sound like a great way to spice up your water, but if you take a look at the labels, there are many ingredients you may not recognize.

What’s in it?

Some products include propylene glycol; and while Health Canada has approved it as a food additive, the chemical has a wide range of uses such as being an ingredient of antifreeze and cosmetics and is even used when creating artificial smoke. A test by NBC Chicago into various water enhancers found that, on average, propylene glycol accounted for 12 per cent of the product’s weight; this isn’t a toxic amount if only taken in small doses, however, if a 110-pound teenager drank the entire bottle in one shot, they would be ingesting five times the daily limit.

“He could well be potentially damaging himself at that kind of dose over that period of time because we do know there is an intermediate toxicity that affects the kidneys, the liver,” University of Illinois toxicologist Dr. Peter Orris told NBC Chicago.

Take sugar in moderation

Also, while many flavour enhancers boast that they are “calorie free”, they often contain high doses of artificial sugars that would affect your glucose levels. It is important to review the ingredients in such products to see if they include ingredients such as sucralose, acesulfame potassium (otherwise known as Acesulfame-K), aspartame and corn syrup, which are artificial sugars that shouldn’t be consumed in large doses.

A report published in the Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism Journal found that those who drank artificially sweetened drinks faced a greater risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and excessive weight gain as compared to people who don’t drink soft drinks. Also, the World Health Organization has been urging people to limit their sugar intake to below 25 grams per day, which is about six or seven teaspoons and only five per cent of a person’s daily calorie intake.

Caffeine

It is also important to note that some of these water enhancers contain caffeine, which is not recommended for consumption by children. Too much caffeine can be detrimental to a child’s health, leading to headaches, anxiety and sleep issues. Depending on the child’s age and weight, Health Canada recommends limiting the maximum daily intake of caffeine between 45 mg and 85 mg, which is about one to two cans of coke.

Moderation is key

With their easy to carry miniature bottles and a vast array of fun flavours to choose from, using enhancers can be a real treat. Besides offering delicious taste (which makes drinking the recommended 2-3 litres per day a little more palpable) many of the liquid enhancers on the market also boast benefits like having zero calories, being made with natural ingredients and containing added vitamins, potassium or salt. The great thing is that you can easily track the amount of flavouring (and therefore control the quantities of the additives going into your body) used by counting the number of drops you add to your drink. Being well hydrated is key to your body’s functionality; so as long as they’re used in moderation, liquid water enhancers are a great option for parents looking to encourage their children to drink more water.

If you’re at home with a little more time to spare, there are natural water flavouring options you can whip up in no time.

Strauss Water Canada’s WaterBar provides pure, great tasting water for better tea, coffee and hot and cold drinks, at your fingertips. Our triple water filtration and purification process kills micro-organisms and bacteria and absorbs the chlorine that can impair the taste of water. Water will be boiled instantly and dispensed at the touch of a button, which means no more buying, carrying or storing water. Tap into an unlimited supply of drinking water with our WaterBar.

How to avoid dehydration this summer

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Many people aren’t drinking enough water during a day and they may not realize the effects it has on them.

Recently, Miami Heat’s LeBron James had to be carried off the court during  an NBA finals game due to muscle cramping. The air conditioner broke down during the first game and temperatures climbed above 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). After James was pulled off the court, the Miami Heat lost the game. The NBA superstar suffered from dehydration, which led to the painful muscle cramps that left him immobilized. According to the Miami Herald, after the game, his body needed to be hooked up to two bags of fluids, along with taking salt tablets and potassium pills to restore his electrolyte balance.

“My body just shut down,” James told the Miami Herald. “Basically my body said, ‘OK, enough jumping for you for tonight. You’ve had enough.’ Nothing I could do about it.”

What’s dehydration?

Dehydration occurs when the fluids in the body aren’t replenished as quickly as they are lost. When exercising or spending time outdoors in warm weather, people are more likely to experience this since they lose fluids faster through sweat, which is what happened with James. When a person sweats, they are losing more than water, they’re also using electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium and chloride.

Athletes are more likely to experience muscle cramps from dehydration, which leaves the person in excruciating pain and, at times, temporarily unable to use the cramped muscle.

Symptoms of dehydration differ based on its severity. If you have a mild dehydration, some symptoms you’ll notice include sleepiness, exhaustion, thirst,  headache, constipation, dizzy or light-headedness. If you have a more severe case, symptoms can include extreme thirst, sunken eyes,  fever, shriveled skin, low blood pressure, rapid breathing, rapid heartbeat and very little urination when you use the bathroom.

How much water do you need?

Most people are familiar with the age old advice recommending that we drink eight cups of water a day. While that’s close to how much you need, both men and women require a different amount of fluids to stay hydrated. According to the Institute of Medicine, Men should drink about 3.7 litres, while women should drink about 2.7 litres each day.

Note, however, that this is only the recommended amount and things like physical exertion, age, height and weight, among other factors, play into how much water you should be drinking on a daily basis. For example, if you’re exercising or out in the heat you’ll need to drink more liquids since you’ll be losing your water at a faster rate. But, to avoid cramping during a workout, take small sips more frequently.

The easiest way to gauge how hydrated you are is to look at the colour of your urine when you go to the washroom; the lighter it is the more hydrate you are. Dr. Michael Farber explains to MSN Health & Fitness that if your urine comes out colourless similar to how water looks, it means that you’ve been staying hydrated. Whereas, if your urine comes out in a yellow-brown colour similar to the colour of iced tea, this means you’re not drinking enough since your urine is more concentrated.

The majority of a person’s fluids (80 per cent) comes from water or other beverages, while only 20 per cent of it comes from food. Stay hydrated and wherever you go this summer, make sure you pack some water with you.

Strauss Water Canada’s WaterBar is an easy solution for convenient and clean drinking water this summer. Our triple water filtration and purification process kills 99.9% of micro-organisms and bacteria and absorbs the chlorine that can impair the taste of water. Our WaterBars use an activated carbon filter, a micro-mesh filter and ultra violet light to deliver safe, great tasting water, all the while maintaining essential mineral elements including calcium and magnesium.