Quenched

6 Creative Ways to Ensure Adequate Hydration

Now that we’re immersed in the heat of the summer, it’s essential that we pay close attention to our hydration status and make sure we’re consuming enough water. While this topic is applicable all year round, in high temperatures it is even more critical and timely. Contrary to popular belief, ways to stay hydrated can be fun and creative. Here are 6 ideas to challenge you to think “beyond the water bottle” when hydrating this summer.

Homemade popsicles

This option is delicious, fun, and refreshing and offers a lot of room for creativity and variation. However, it may need some advance planning as popsicles take at least 2–3 hours to freeze (depending on your freezer, amount of liquid used, etc.). The possibilities for homemade popsicles are endless, but for some direction and inspiration, first consider the type of liquid you’d like to use (such as diluted juice or a yogurt base) and if you want add-ins for additional flavor, texture, and fun (such as bite sized/non–choking hazard pieces of fruit or chocolate chips). Prepare these as an activity with kids or create your own and win the prize for “Mommy of the summer.”

Infused water

Despite the more creative ways to increase water intake, drinking water should of course be included in our efforts to stay hydrated. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to water consumption. Consider whether you prefer your water cold or room temperature, straight from a cup or sipped with a straw, out of a larger bottle or cup so it is easier to keep track of how much you’re drinking, or refilling a smaller, more manageable vessel. Beyond these considerations, you may benefit from switching it up and flavoring your water for some extra motivation. Simply include a splash of fruit juice or go the extra step and infuse your water with fruit, vegetables, or refreshing herbs such as mint. Rest a lemon wedge on your cup rim for decor and an additional dimension to the flavor profile of your water. Happy sipping!

Fruit platters

Incorporating fruit—whether whole, cut up and arranged nicely on a platter, or mixed together as a salad—is a great way to help improve hydration. You can create fruit arrangements on your own or delegate to a child (if age appropriate). Choose fruit based on your preferences and/or what you have in your kitchen. Try to include fruits with especially high water content, such as watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapples, and peaches.

Smoothies

Smoothies are a quick and refreshing way to squeeze hydration and many nutrients into our day. They can be used as a meal component (think breakfast on the go) or as a snack. They can be as simple as blending up some frozen fruit with water, milk, milk alternative, or yogurt, or more elaborate and substantial by including components such as nuts, seeds, or nut/seed butters. The latter will also contribute toward the protein (and overall satisfaction) content of this delicious and hydrating drink. Feel like indulging a little more? Add some whipped topping and enjoy!

Variety of vegetables

Like fruit, vegetables also contain a generous water component. Enjoy a hydrating salad or cut-up vegetable sticks with a dip. Vegetables with a particularly high water content include cucumbers, celery, lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, and cabbage.

Sleep Is Negatively Affected by Poor Diet

While we do not have full control of our health, there are behaviors within our control that can increase our chances of good health, including diet, exercise, and sleep. Often, these behaviors affect each other as well, and thereby work together to impact our overall health. In a recent study published in the journal Obesity, researchers at Uppsala University studied the impact of a less-healthy diet on sleep.

Fruit skewers

While similar in content to fruit platters, fruit skewers increase the fun, creativity, and excitement of eating fruit. Feel free to involve your kids in the activity of creating fruit skewers; you can incorporate educational components such as pattern making and shape identification to add even more benefit to this activity. For younger kids, be mindful to use skewers that are kid-friendly.

Esti Asher, MS, RDN, LD, is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Self-Care Enthusiast on a mission to help women reach their ultimate health and wellbeing potential inside and out. She shares credible, clear, and inspiring nutrition information with women via her virtual private practice. To contact Esti with feedback or inquiries regarding her nutritional services, please email her at: esti@estiashernutrition.com or visit estiashernutrition.com.

A total of 15 healthy participants with normal sleep habits and within the recommended range of sleep were studied. First, they ate a healthy diet for one week and had their sleep monitored in a laboratory. Next, participants ate the same number of calories, but from a diet that was higher in saturated fat and sugar and lower in dietary fiber, and they had their sleep monitored as well.

Researchers noted that participants spent the same amount of time sleeping and even had similar amounts of time in the various sleep stages. However, the deep sleep experienced by participants after eating an unhealthy diet was less deep and therefore less rejuvenating than when they had eaten a healthier diet. These findings were based on measurements of slow-wave activity. This type of decreased slow-wave activity is similar to what is seen when people age or suffer from conditions such as insomnia.

Further research would need to include a longer study with a bigger participant group and aim to pinpoint what factors in the less healthy diet may have caused the negative sleep outcome. In the meantime, we can add deep sleep to the list of benefits of consuming a healthy diet.

Study Explains Why a High-Sugar Diet Can Worsen Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease is a term used mainly for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, both of which are characterized by the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. Typical symptoms when not properly managed may include diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, weight loss, and fatigue. There are different diet recommendations for helping to minimize or eliminate the inflammation and pain, one of which is to reduce sugar intake and thereby minimize inflammation.

In a recent study, published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set out to understand the reason for the detrimental impact a high-sugar diet can have on IBD. They explained that IBD is on the rise, particularly in cultures and areas around the world with a high sugar intake. The researchers used two groups of mice to study the impact of sugar on IBD: healthy mice, and those with a GI tract similar to humans suffering from IBD.

The study was over 14 days, with both groups subdivided and then fed either a normal diet or high-sugar diet. All mice in the high-sugar diet group died within the first nine days, while those on a regular diet lived for the whole experiment. Upon further research, the scientists identified the damage caused by the sugar. Under usual and healthy circumstances, the large intestine replenishes its cells every five days or so; however, when in the presence of sugar, it took too long to repair the damage, and the colon not properly replenish itself. This ultimately prolonged the damage as opposed to correcting itself and creating new cells.

While additional research is needed for more thorough recommendations, this study provides helpful information for building upon in the future. Furthermore, increasing awareness of the reasoning behind the recommendation to reduce sugar intake for IBD sufferers may make it easier to follow.

Sabich Stuffed Eggplant

BY KOSHER.COM STAFF | YIELDS 2-4 SERVINGS

Sabich is a sandwich of pita or laffa bread stuffed with fried eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped salad, parsley, amba and tahini sauce. Enjoy this fun take on a classic dish and top a roasted eggplant with all the fixings.

Ingredients

3 Heaven & Earth Falafel Sliders, cooked according to package directions

2 eggplants, cut in half lengthwise

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Israeli salad

Tahini sauce

Israeli pickles

Amba

Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut a crosshatch pattern onto the open side of the eggplant.

2 Place the eggplant halves cut-side up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3 Turn the eggplant halves to cut-side down and drizzle the other side with olive oil.

4 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate.

5 Crumble up the falafel sliders onto the same baking sheet you used for the eggplant. Bake for five to seven minutes.

6 Top the cooked eggplant halves with eggs, Israeli salad, tahini sauce, crumbled falafel, Israeli pickles and amba. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

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In the pages of Wellspring, we share expert advice from some of the community’s most popular and competent dietitians and nutritionists. In this column, you get to see how they practice what they preach in their own kitchens. Pull up a chair at “My Table” and join the chat.

On long summer nights, when you’re taking that well-deserved break after putting in a day’s worth of work—or perhaps a week’s worth of work in one day—how do you unwind? Is it with food or without?

Shaindy Oberlander, BS, INHC