Paddling across the lake on an air mattress, developing real fighting spirit on the beach volleyball court with your best friends, wanting to sit at your desk in a bikini in the overheated office, and wanting to flee to the cool cellar first thing in the morning in the home office. That sounds like summer in Germany! Do headaches and tiredness on such hot days sound familiar? To stay productive even in scorching heat, drinking on hot days is especially important. Our nutritionist tells you how much you should drink on hot days and gives you valuable tips so that drinking enough in the heat is no longer a problem!
Why drinking on hot days is especially important
Did you know that the body of an adult is 60% water? Two thirds of it is inside the cells, one third outside the cells. The organs with the most water are the brain, liver and muscles, so these organs are also particularly sensitive to water loss. The distribution of water is controlled by so-called osmotic forces, which include certain proteins and above all minerals and trace elements. To ensure our organs function, our body has the task of keeping our body temperature at a constant 37 degrees. To ensure our organs keep working, sweat serves the body as a cooling function. Fluid is released to the skin, where it evaporates to lower our temperature. A water loss from 1% of body weight can already reduce endurance performance! Up to 6% water loss you feel strong thirst, weakness and headaches. Above 6% nausea and mental disturbances often occur. With a water loss of more than 10% of body weight, the life-threatening limit is crossed.
We sweat either when we exercise and our body has to protect us from rising heat from the inside, or when high temperatures act on us from the outside. To ensure the fluid balance it is especially important during exercise and high temperatures that we take in enough fluid.
Water serves the body for metabolism and other normal body processes. In addition, pathogens have an easier time if your nose and throat are not supplied with enough fluid!
5 tips for drinking enough in summer
How much you should drink on hot days
Do you know the famous rule of 3? Among other things, it says that a person can survive 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. That already shows you how important it is to make sure you get enough fluid. If you lose a lot of water because of heat or a high level of exertion, you should top up your fluid reserves by drinking regularly.
The German consumer advice centre recommends 1.5 litres of water a day. A rule of thumb, however, says that you should drink 30 ml per kilogram of body weight. At a weight of 65 kg that's just under 2 litres. When temperatures rise and you lose more fluid through heat or exercise, you should drink considerably more than the suggested 2 litres a day!
When you drink is crucial
Especially on hot summer days we are often busy around the clock and frequently miss our proper drinking breaks. Usually thirst then suddenly hits and we feel the need to gulp down litres of water in no time. By the time thirst overwhelms you, though, it is usually already too late. Symptoms like headaches and tiredness show you that you haven't had anything to drink for too long. That's why drinking on hot days in particular should happen at regular intervals. Spread the amount described above across the day, so that symptoms pointing to a lack of fluid can't even appear.
Our tip: start in the morning with 2-3 glasses of water and refill your empty fluid tanks from the night!
Which drinks you should have on hot days
To keep your body functioning with enough fluid, you should drink only water or unsweetened teas. Mineral water supplies you with magnesium, calcium and sodium and so supports your muscles, bones and teeth and regulates your body's water balance.
Besides mineral water, you can also drink unsweetenedherbal teas or infused water (water with fresh fruit, vegetables or herbs) to get enough fluid!
Sugary drinks such as cola and lemonade, but also alcohol and coffee, are not counted towards the recommended amount of fluid and should only be drunk in moderation alongside enough water.
Of all days, it gets scorching hot on the day of your planned workout? During physically intense sports activity we recommend mineral drinks or drinks with table salt. Did you know that green tea with a little salt and honey is the secret recipe of cyclists? Our ReCharge Teais also excellent for this mix! After a sweaty workout, fruit juices are the secret weapon: they have a high potassium content and so make up for the loss of this important mineral. Our favourites are Pink with lychee juice and Gold with pineapple juice!
How warm your drink should be on hot days
You often hear that on hot days you should rather drink a warm tea than ice water, because the body tolerates warm drinks better. But that's not quite right. Your drink on hot days should be neither too warm nor too cold! If you take in ice-cold drinks, your blood vessels narrow and your blood increasingly stays in the core of the body, which makes your body heat up and more fluid get carried away. Hot drinks, however, also make your body heat up and make you sweat even more.
To supply your body with fluid in the best way, make sure your drinks are at room temperature when drinking on hot days. If the drink feels pleasant on your skin, the temperature is fine for drinking.
Alcohol on hot days
Even though the lovely weather invites you to meet friends for a sundowner or in a beer garden, you should cut down on alcohol especially in the heat. Alcohol draws fluid and important minerals out of the body and can't simply be sweated out. So if people reach for alcoholic drinks more often at high temperatures, the body loses water without refilling its fluid balance. Lack of fluid, dizziness and, in the worst case, loss of consciousness can be the consequences.
In the heat it is therefore important to keep alcohol consumption within limits and to drink plenty of water alongside an alcoholic drink.
How to take in fluids on hot days
As already mentioned, the be-all and end-all on hot days is drinking enough water! But besides mineral water and unsweetened herbal teas, there are other tasty ways to take in fluids.
While we said earlier that sugary drinks aren't suitable for fluid intake, we make an exception forcold-pressed juices. As you already know from our last blog post onfructose,cold-pressed juicesdo deliver a share offructose, but also lots of important nutrients.These supply your body with vitamins and minerals on hot days and so support natural body functions.
Besidescold-pressed juicesmade from fresh fruit and vegetables, you can also take in a lot of fluid through your food. Watermelon and cucumber in particular are great snacks. They are almost 90% liquid and have a very low fructose content. The perfect snack for hot days!
And also the reason why our tasty Summer Edition The Watermelon contains a large share of watermelon. That way we give you the best of both worlds. A tasty refreshment, perfect for a day at the lake, without having to lug a heavy watermelon around!
Conclusion: how important drinking is on hot days
As with ourjuice cleansethe same goes for hot days: stay hydrated! Drinking enough makes us feel fitter and stay productive. To get through the summer fit and healthy, make sure you take in enough fluid, especially in the heat. 2-3 litres of water is the benchmark for healthy and especially sporty people.
You can also top up your fluid balance with healthy snacks, like watermelon and cucumber. It is important that you avoid artificially sweetened drinks and don't count alcohol or coffee towards your fluid intake.
