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Coconut Water: The Best Summer Drink?

Coconut Water: The Best Summer Drink?

June 26, 2017

by Marissa Spade

Summer is here and that means that it’s time for being outdoors, swimming, picnics, and hanging at the beach. It is important to be prepared before you take on any activity outside to beat the heat and take proper precautions to stay safe.

Before you do any activity outside, make sure you are hydrated and that you bring something along to help you stay hydrated.

When headed out for a day in the heat, some people just take water while others may take sports drinks. But what really is the best option to stay hydrated while beating the heat? Let’s look at hydration, dehydration, electrolytes, and your options for staying hydrated in the summer sun.

Hydration

The human body is made up of approx. 60-70% water, so it is imperative that the body stay hydrated to keep everything in balance. Since your body is made up of such a significant percentage of water, drinking fluids is crucial to staying healthy and to maintain the function of every system in your body. This includes your brain, heart, and muscles. Not only does water keep your major organs functioning, it carries nutrients to your cells, flushes bacteria from your bladder, and helps to prevent constipation.

Most people drink when they feel thirsty, and the recommended amount of water is 8 glasses a day. However, when you are being active or in the heat, your body needs to consume more water to make up what is leaving your body when you sweat.

Dehydration

What happens if you don’t consume enough water in the day? You can become dehydrated. Dehydration is when your body doesn’t get as much water as it needs. Without enough water, your body cannot properly function. There are three different levels to dehydration: mild, moderate, and severe. Each one depending on how much fluid is missing from your body. Severe, obviously being the most dangerous level of dehydration.

Usually, you replace the lost liquid from drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water, but sometimes there are cases where you just are not getting enough fluids back in to replace the fluids lost.

There are several ways that you can become dehydrated. You may just be busy and forget to drink enough water, from sweating, bodily functions, or by taking diuretics (water pills).

*If you are feeling any severe symptoms, you should seek medical help.

Electrolytes:

You may have heard of electrolytes when talking about sports hydrating drinks. The reason being is electrolytes play a critical role in keeping your body up and running, so to speak. They are found in your blood, urine, and bodily fluids. When you sweat, or have fluid leaving your body, electrolytes play roles in keeping water balanced both inside of the cells and muscles so that your organs can continue to function properly.

There are 7 major electrolytes:

Sodium (NA+)
- An essential electrolyte, sodium controls the total amount of water in the body. It is also important for regulating blood volume and maintaining muscle and nerve function.
Chloride (CL-)
- Extracellular fluid and works closely with sodium to maintain proper balance and pressure of the various fluid compartments of the body (blood, inside cells, the fluid between cells). You obtain chloride through the salt in your diet.
Potassium (K+)
- Important for regulating your and muscle functions. Proper balance between potassium and sodium is important to maintaining our health.
Magnesium (Mg++)
- Necessary for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. Boosts the immune system, maintains stable heart rate, stabilizes blood sugar, and promotes the formation of bones and teeth.
Calcium (Ca++)
- Necessary for the formation of bones and teeth.
- Most abundant mineral in your body- approx. 99% of all calcium is found in the skeletal structure.
Phosphate (HP04-)
- 2^nd to calcium, phosphorus follows as the most abundant mineral in your body, 85% of which is found in your bones as phosphate.
- The Phosphate anion works closely with calcium to strengthen bones and teeth but it is also essential to energy production within cells
- Necessary for tissue growth and repair.
Bicarbonate (HC03-)
- Buffering system to maintain proper pH levels. Lungs regulate the amount of carbon dioxide in the body. Which is combined with water and converted to carbonic acid.
- Without this system, rapid changes in pH balance could cause severe problems in the body like damaging sensitive tissue around the central nervous system.

Filling your body with the proper electrolytes will help to keep the equilibrium in your body.

Coconut Water

You’ve probably heard the benefits that coconuts and specifically coconut water have on your body. Some articles have even gone so far to say that coconut water is the new sports drink, but can it replenish your electrolytes and keep you hydrated like a sports drink?

Coconut water is only second to water on the purest liquid on earth. It contains approx. 46 calories and 10 grams of natural sugar per cup, and is fat free. Coconut water contains five key electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. It also contains multiple vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that are ideal for human health.

When comparing against unhealthy sports hydration drinks, coconut packs 15x more potassium per 8 ounces. It is a great post workout refreshment because it re-hydrates and provides important muscle relaxing nutrients to help in recovery. The only downside to coconut water is that it does not replenish sodium levels as well as a sports drink.

Bottom line: Coconut water is a refreshing drink to help hydrate you in the summer. It has natural benefits for your body that an unhealthy sports drink does not provide. It is good when you are looking to replace your potassium levels, but it shouldn’t replace water.

Here are some natural and great tasting options:

AminoHydrate:

https://tryabouttime.com/shop/aminohydrate/

Fuel your workout NATURALLY! AminoHydrate is full of essential branched chain amino acids and coconut water for intra/post workout hydration, fuel and recovery. Two amazing tasting flavors, Watermelon Lime or Orange Cream, This gluten free recovery formula has 10g Amino Acids, 7 g BCAA;S, 2g Citrulline, 1g Glutamine. Amino hydrate stimulates muscle protein synthesis, reduces protein breakdown and preserves muscle glycogen stores. The body uses these essential amino acids as fuel during exercise.

ProHydrate:

https://tryabouttime.com/shop/prohydrate-plus/

Chock full of Electrolytes and Coconut Water, you now have a healthier choice for intra/post workout fuel & hydration. AboutTime ProHydrate is a crisp & clean protein + hydration formula containing 10g whey isolate protein, 73 calories and 6g carbohydrates. Formulated from all natural ingredients, no chalky aftertaste and available in 2 amazing tasting flavors, Strawberry Watermelon & Coconut Lime

For other information about hydration, and for flavored water recipes… check out our other blog below!

The SKINNY on Detox Water.

June 26, 2017

by Marissa Spade

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