Top Tips Against Dehydration – With a Super Speedy Gazpacho Recipe!

This Week is the British Nutrition Foundation’s Healthy Eating Week! Their big message this year is ‘Eat well for you and the planet’.

The foundation aims to encourage us all to pay a little bit more attention to our diets and get more engaged and excited about healthy eating.  We need to focus on areas such as our fibre intake, getting at least five fruit and vegetables each day, varying our protein intake so it’s not always from the same source (mix of plants and animals), staying hydrated by filling up from our taps and reducing our food waste.

Registered Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist and Licensed Brain Health Practitioner, Ify at The Modern Glow joins us to share her top tips on hydration, as this is such a key area, especially as we move into the warmer months.

Keeping hydrated is important for everyone’s health. However older people are at a higher risk of dehydration, as they may forget to drink or not recognise that they are thirsty. Good hydration can help prevent constipation, urine infections, confusion, and falls.  Don’t let the fear of incontinence or needing to go to the toilet frequently restrict fluid intake. This often makes things worse.

The best defence against dehydration is prevention!

Adults should be aiming for six to eight glasses of fluid a day, drinking more fluids when the weather is hot or following exercise. Although teas and coffees count towards your fluid intake, these contain caffeine and shouldn’t be your only source of fluids.

Here are my six top tips for staying hydrated:

1. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink! By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already slightly dehydrated. Instead, have your water to hand and sip steadily throughout the day. If you are caring for someone, make sure drinks are readily available throughout the day and provide help with drinking if needed.
2. Add flavour to your water if you find plain water boring! I love to add slices of cucumber and mint for a refreshing taste.  Other herbs like rosemary or fresh fruits work well. I tend to avoid lemon as this can damage tooth enamel especially if you are going to be sipping all day. Herbal teas also count toward your fluid intake
3. Eat water-rich fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, strawberries, peaches, pineapple, cucumber, celery, tomatoes etc.
4. On very hot days avoid sun exposure from around 11 am – to 3 pm as this is when the sun tends to be at its hottest.
5. If you have a poor appetite, you may want to choose drinks that provide energy as well as extra nutrients and minerals, such as whole milk and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices. A 150ml glass of fruit or vegetable juice will count towards your 5 a day!
6. High fluid foods will contribute to hydration such as soups or smoothies. Why not try my super speedy Gazpacho below. Perfect for a hot day!

Eat well for you and the planet top tips:

• Choose wholemeal bread and crackers, or bread/ oat cakes with added seeds to give your meal a fibre boost
• Reduce food waste – use 2 teaspoons of ready-prepared garlic from a tube or jar instead of fresh. This can be stored in the fridge to use whenever needed
• Reduce food waste – use all the spring onion, not just the white part

Super Speedy Gazpacho Recipe – Serves 2

• 1 can butterbeans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 Red pepper, cored, deseeded, and chopped
• 1 Green pepper, cored, deseeded, and chopped
• 500g Ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
• 3 Spring onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil (plus extra to serve)
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Half teaspoon Paprika
• Half teaspoon Sea salt
• Half teaspoon Black pepper

Method

• Put all the ingredients into a high-speed blender.
• Blend until extra smooth.
• Taste and check whether the consistency and seasoning are right for you, if not add a little water or more salt and pepper.
• Pop in the fridge until cold – this gives the flavours a chance to come out.
• Drizzle with a little extra virgin oil when serving.
• Serve with some crusty bread, oat cakes or crackers.