By Alithea De Jesus
For the country that is dubbed to have the longest Christmas celebration in the world, there is no better to celebrate Christmas after two years of limited celebration due to the pandemic than being healthy.
The Christmas countdown in the Philippines kicks off as soon as ber months appear on the calendar. Since the ber months are upon us, the inevitable Christmas rush, traffic and all other holiday activities pre-occupy us all.
Needless to say, it is also a time of erratic and intense weather conditions, with strong typhoons and heavy rains affecting almost the entire country. These weather changes can totally disrupt one’s daily routine and cause health concerns from dry skin, diarrhea to flu and illnesses caused by contaminated water.
Keeping healthy is key to warding off illnesses these wet ber months, what with the weather changes, the virus still lurking around and even the stress related to the holiday season. Staying hydrated helps keep one’s health in check.
It may seem a simple and easy thing to accomplish, but you’d be surprised how many of us find it hard to stay hydrated during the day. Here are several ways to make hydrating a habit.
Start your day with water
Hours of sleep deprive our body of water, and so drinking first thing in the morning starts the rehydration process right away. Drinking water in the morning also helps in cleansing the stomach and jumpstarting one’s metabolism.
Some prefer to take warm water upon waking up. Whatever your preference will do. What’s important is to start the day with water, hot, warm or cold.
Make sure to drink water throughout the day and not just during meals. Don’t wait to get thirsty to drink as that already indicates slight dehydration.
Monitor your water intake
On a daily basis, women should aim to consume 2.7 liters of fluids while men should go for 3.7 liters, according to the Institute of Medicine.
Dehydration can slow down a person’s physical and mental performance. It can eventually lead to chronic dehydration, which raises the risks of developing kidney stones, urinary tract infection, hypertension or a stroke.
As dehydration can happen whether outside or at home, one surefire way to get you to drink water more often is to always have a bottle of water next to you. If you’re heading out, carry a water tumbler with you wherever you go.
Make it a habit to track your water intake for the day. Some use large bottles that indicate volume content to measure how much they drink. The more tech-savvy ones turn to applications dedicated to tracking one’s water intake. Many of these are free online and will send you notifications throughout the day to remind you to drink.
Tracking your water intake will help you see what times of the day you are prone to drinking less and what causes this. More importantly, it helps you form the habit of drinking often, and once you’ve gotten more consistent on drinking the appropriate amount of water in a day, it will be easier to keep the habit going.
Hydrate with vegetables and fruits
Fruits and vegetables are great sources of water as well as vitamins and minerals. Adding water-rich foods to your daily meals will not only help keep you hydrated but also rid the body of toxins and make it stronger and healthier.
Some examples of water-rich fruits are watermelons, which contain 92 percent of water and is a great source of antioxidants; and cucumbers, which hold more than 90 percent of water and is rich in fiber, vitamin K and vitamin A. Oranges have 88 percent water content as well as vitamin C and potassium while apples are made up 86 percent water and are also a source of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber.
As for water-rich vegetables, lettuce, celery and cabbage are good for healthy hydration. Raw lettuce is made up mostly of water and strengthens bones, sharpens vision and helps you get better sleep. Celery, also made up mostly of water, can be beneficial when aiming for weight loss. Finally, cabbage has a water content of 92 percent and contains antioxidants that can help protect the body against certain types of cancer.
Minimize dehydration
When it’s too hot, try to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid getting dehydrated. Keep the fan or air condition on if necessary. If you have to go out, plan your activities with the weather in mind, and bring a bottle of water with you.
Wearing light and comfortable clothing when the weather is humid or warmer than usual also helps.
Trust only the safest source of water
Clean, safe and accessible water makes hydration easy, helping you and your family stay healthy and protected against illnesses such as flu, diarrhea and other diseases during rainy weather.
Waterlogic, the global leader in home and workplace hydration solutions, ensures you and your family are drinking clean and healthy water with its state-of-the-art water units that can filter out contaminants.
The Aqua SmartGuard (ASG) “cube” is a modern water filtration system that uses advanced technology to keep your drinking water free from bacteria and viruses, including the COVID-19 virus. It features a patented Firewall UVC technology that is tested and proven to remove 99.9999 percent of bacteria from the water. The Firewall also frees the water from bad tastes and smells while maintaining necessary minerals.
On the water unit’s outer shell, dispensing buttons, nozzles and tray is the BioCote, an antimicrobial additive that uses silver ion technology to keep microbial cells from growing and spreading on the dispenser’s surface. It helps decrease microbes in just 15 minutes and reduces 99.5 percent of bacteria in only 2 hours.
The Aqua SmartGuard is also a sustainable water source as it filters water right from the tap, helping reduce the use of plastic bottles. It offers four water temperatures: ambient, cold, hot and extra hot.
Making things even easier for those who want to start a healthy hydration habit, the ASG Total Care Services is a maintenance service that covers unit installation, regular replacement of filters and UVC lamps and even the maintenance of the overall unit for an accessible price of only Php1,490. Recently, ASG announced free subscription plus 50 percent off promo available for RCBC Bankard cardholders.
Cardholders can avail of the free one-month subscription and get a 50 percent off on the installation fee when they auto charge their subscription for 24 months to their credit card. This promo will run from September 5, 2022 to March 5, 2023. To learn more about this promo, visit RCBC’s website at rcbc.com.