Are you Dehydrated? 6 Foods Rich With Water

You may be familiar with the popular recommendation to drink up to eight glasses of water a day and feel that unless you’ve got a water bottle attached at the hip, you can never quite reach that amount. Fear not my friends, because there are other sources for the almighty liquid aside from your water bottle.

Did you know that nearly 20% of our daily H20 intake can come from the food we eat?

Next time you feel that mid afternoon slump try reaching for a veggie snack or fresh fruit instead of a caffeine kick. Your yawning may actually be in response to dehydrated muscles and not a lack of sleep.

You don’t always need to drink water to reach the recommended daily intake and can find a great deal of fluids in the foods you may already know and love.

Here are the top 6 natural foods that are made up of over 90% water and are sure to support a healthy and hydrated body:

1. Cucumber

These crisp and cold veggies are a great staple of any healthy diet. Generally eaten raw, cucumbers have the highest content of water of any solid food, coming in at just under 97% water by weight.

2. Celery

The list of health benefits is long when it comes to this crunchy and hearty stalk vegetable. The combination of high water and high fiber content in celery packs a powerful punch in curbing hunger, and despite common misconceptions that it lacks nutritional value, celery contains important vitamins like A, C, and K.

3. Radishes

These root vegetables are surprisingly rich in fluid and with 95.3% water content they help keep skin refreshed and muscles moisturized. As a member of the cruciferous family of vegetables, radishes also contain high amounts of phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins and minerals proven effective against cancer cells.

4. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are among the most common vegetable used in American cuisine and with nearly 95% water content, fresh tomatoes are a great way to reach your eight glass a day water goal. Avoid canned tomatoes at all costs as they are generally packed with sodium and additives like coloring and toxic preservatives.

5. Cauliflower

Another member of the cruciferous veggie family, cauliflower is a great source of water and antioxidants. This powerful combination is known to prevent the appearance of cancers in the bladder, breast, colon, prostrate and ovaries.

6. Watermelon

With a name like that, how can it not be a great source of water. Watermelon is also an excellent source of lycopene, a cancer fighting antioxidant which tomatoes are famous for. Watermelon actually contains higher amounts of this carotenoid than tomatoes and is extremely good for bone and cardiovascular health.

I cannot stress enough the benefits of getting enough water and how dangerous dehydration can be for key functions of the body. It is crucial however, that your fruit and veggies are organic when eating these water rich sources. Pesticides find no better home than in the water used to feed produce and without organic regulation, fluid rich fruit and veggies can be packed with these toxic chemicals.

Absorbing plenty of water can greatly improve your quality of life, but make sure the water sources are clean of chemicals or you could be doing more damage than good.