Whether you are at the gym, beach or just feeling thirsty, water has always been the number one choice.
How much are we supposed to drink?
Most people fail to drink their 1 litre for every 33kgs they weigh, and don't account for extra demands of exercising or hot weather.
Trying to meet your water quota may seem hard enough but now different beverages have now been shown to have different hydration indexes.
The hydration index was developed from a Brittish study that studied different beverages and the amount of time they were retained in the body.
Ronald Maughan, a hydration expert from Loughborough University and lead author of the study has been looking at athletes and hydration for over two decades.
The hydration index has been modelled on the glycemic index, with the simple substitution of liquids for foods.
The experiment
Test subjects were given 1 litre of water to drink and the amount that was retained after 2hrs in the body was given a value of 1.
Then different beverages were consumed at different periods as a comparison to see how well they measured up against water.
Four liquids tested higher than a 1, showing they were retained by the body better.
These were oral rehydrating solution, low fat milk, full cream milk and finally orange juice.
Orange juiced fared only slightly above water with a 1.1 and the milk and rehydrating solution being around 1.5.
What does this mean?
This leads to the question, why were these beverages retained longer in the body?
The most obvious answer to this is they contain electrolytes, minerals, vitamins, proteins and fats.
Due to the body taking longer to process these elements, fluid is not absorbed as quickly hence placing less stress on the kidneys. When to much water is consumed to quickly it becomes a burden in the body and to regain homeostasis the kidneys excrete it quickly.
This then poses the question is it the fastest at hydrating once you are hydrated? , I will save that for another blog.
A good solution may be to drink water while exercising!!
Once you have finished to have a glass of milk, which will hydrate you longer.
A point to remember is that these beverages while being more hydrating are higher in calories so if you are trying to lose weight moderation is the key.
My name is Blair Harvey and I have had the pleasure of working at one of Australia's best Health Retreat's for the past fourteen wonderful years. Over those years I have had the delight of working with a spectacular kitchen team, we all have an immense passion for cooking good healthy food that is unique and tantalizing to your taste buds. Together we have not only developed our skills in cooking wholesome, nourishing and out right delicious foods, but we have been committed to broadening our knowledge of healing with whole foods and exploring the beauty of healthy living. Because of our enthusiasm in the benefits of foods and there healing properties I developed a blog to help us SHARE what we have learnt with the rest of the world.
You will find tasty gems of wisdom on health, food and healing, helping to expand your mind and revitalize your knowledge of healthy eating.