Eating For Health

Summer is here and hydration becomes even more important in hot weather.   Each summer I blog on hydration and this topic is one of my most popular posts.   From the list below, can you guess what beverage or food is best for hydration?     Water?   Juice?  Cow’s milk?  Eating some watermelon? Did you answer “water”?   Most people will answer “water” as being the best for hydration.   And most people would say drinking the 8 glasses of water a day is all one needs to do to stay hydrated.   But is water really the best beverage for hydration?   Are there other ways to stay hydrated like eating a slice of watermelon?   What about those electrolyte drinks?   Are these needed to stay hydrated?   What about kids?   Some kids are not the best about drinking water throughout the day.   What else can parents do to help keep their kids hydrated in hot weather? What is the first sign that you need more flu...

Summer means ice cream, popsicles, Slurpees, slushies, and iced drinks.   Many people enjoy these until they get what most people call “brain freeze”.   A Virginia Tech assistant professor has studied the brain freeze phenomenon.   Kristofer Rau is an expert in molecular biology, electrophysiology, and behavior assessment and has used his expertise to study why one gets “quick onset headaches” after eating some cold foods or drinks.    What causes you to have a “brain freeze”? Some call it a “brain freeze” others call it an “ice cream headache”.   After eating something really cold, you suddenly feel a sharp pain in your head.   Why?   The professor explains that your body wants to keep things at a certain temperature including your mouth.   Eating something really cold means your mouth temperature suddenly isn’t warm anymore so your body wants to warm your mouth back up.   More blood is sent to the roof of your mouth to warm it up,...

Summer is nearly here and hydration becomes even more important in hot weather.   Last summer I blogged on hydration and it is one of my most popular posts.   What beverage or food is best for hydration?   Water? Juice? Cow’s milk? Eating some watermelon? Most people will answer “water” as being the best for hydration.   And most people would say drinking the 8 glasses of water a day is all one needs to do to stay hydrated.   But is water really the best beverage for hydration?   Are there other ways to stay hydrated like eating a slice of watermelon?   What about kids?   Some kids are not the best about drinking water throughout the day.   What else can parents do to help keep their kids hydrated in hot weather? What is the first sign that you need more fluids/water?   Believe it or not the first sign that your body needs more water or fluids is thirst .   Thirst is your body telling you that you are becoming dehydrated. ...