How to Stay Hydrated with Food?
Fruits and Vegetables with the Highest Water Content
We know staying hydrated is vital to a healthy, fully functioning body. After all, our bodies are more than 60% water, which is responsible for transporting oxygen, fat and glucose to our muscles, as well as digesting food and getting rid of waste. Yet drinking the daily recommended amount of water can be a challenge.
What to Eat to Stay Hydrated?
Everyone should try staying fully hydrated throughout the day as it is very important for our body health and performance. You can stay fully hydrated all day by drinking water and other fluids, as well as eating foods that are hydrating.
Water-Rich Foods That Help You Stay Hydrated
Luckily there are fruits and vegetables that supply an ample amount of water, in addition to vitamins and minerals that do more than just keep you hydrated.
Eat Your Water: Foods That Help You Stay Hydrated
Below Are Fruits and Vegetables with High Water Content:
1. Cucumber – 96% water
The top of the list – the almighty cucumber: one of the most water-dense vegetables. That doesn’t mean it lacks nutrients, though. This vegetable contains multiple B vitamins (B1, B5, and B7). B vitamins help nourish our nervous system, and reduce feelings of anxiety and stress.
Cucumbers boast an extremely high water content, with 96%! With most of its hydration being from the skin, which also contains vitamin C and caffeic acid. These two elements help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling.
2. Iceberg Lettuce – 96% water
This leafy green adds more than a crunch to your salad, it’s 96% water and is sure to keep you hydrated! Iceberg lettuce is also cholesterol and sodium free!
However, iceberg is actually incredibly nutritious, providing the body with bone-nourishing vitamin K and vitamin A for health of the skin, eyes, and blood. It is also high in fibre, and provides more water than any other lettuce, making it perfect for hot summer days.
3. Celery – 95% water
This vegetables 95% water content isn’t the only nutrient responsible for its hydrating benefits, just 3 celery stalks provide provide natural salts that help to replenish levels of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.
High in water, celery provides only 6 calories per stalk. It has also been found to reduce blood pressure, and contains 8 anti-cancer compounds that help fight against many forms of cancer.
4. Radish – 95% water
This tasty snack vegetable is not only high in water, but is a great source of fibre, vitamin C and B6, and minerals like zinc, riboflavin, potassium, copper, magnesium, manganese and calcium. They also make great mucus-busters, for those dealing with hefty coughs or clogged sinuses.
5. Zucchini – 95% water
One of my favourite vegetables (although technically a fruit, because it comes from a flower), the zucchini, also happens to be incredibly rich in water. Not just that. This vegetable (fruit?) also contains 8% of your daily recommended amount of potassium, meaning it is great for your heart by helping your blood cells function better, protecting against clogged arteries and lowering blood pressure. It also makes a great substitute for pasta when using a spiralizer.
6. Tomato – 94% water
Tomatoes also make the list of the top 15 water-dense foods. They’re a great source of vitamins A, C and folic acid, and contain lycopene, an antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red colour, and has been found to significantly reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
7. Green Cabbage – 93% water
This cruciferous vegetable has been a staple food for many throughout history – and for good reason too. Cabbage is not only 93% water, but it is a powerful anti-inflammatory, helps clear problem-prone skin, heals stomach ulcers, improves the immune system, and slows cancer cell growth.
8. Watermelon – 92% water
Watermelons, as their name suggests, are almost all water, 92% to be exact. This refreshing treat also contains plenty of beta -carotene, lycopene and vitamin C to help maintain eyesight, keep your skin glowing, and boost that immunity. We’re all aware that watermelon is high in water – that’s why most of us turn to watermelon on a hot summer’s day. It is by far, one of the most powerful, body-healing fruits out there, with benefits ranging from reduction in body fat, cardiovascular-strengthening effects, anti-inflammatory effects, kidney support, and helps alkalize the body.
9. Strawberries – 92% water
These tart berries are another fruit that are comprised of 92% water. In addition to their high water content, strawberries also offer an abundance of antioxidants and folate, both of which help maintain low-blood sugar.
Strawberry also happens to be high in phenol antioxidants that help protect against cancer, promote heart health and act as potent anti-inflammatory.
10. Spinach – 92% water
This leafy green is also made up of 92% water, making it especially beneficial in keeping you hydrated. Spinach is also rich in magnesium, potassium, and B-vitamins, all of which are known to increase energy.
Although spinach isn’t as high in water as iceberg lettuce, it contains a higher concentration of nutrients like lutein, potassium, finer, and brain-boosting folate. Not only that, but 1 cup of spinach contains 15% of your daily intake of vitamin E, which prevents the propagation of free radicals in tissues, and plays a role in smooth muscle growth and neurological functions.
11. Sweet Peppers – 92% water
All peppers – green, yellow, orange, red and purple – contain plenty of water, but green peppers are a bit higher (closer to 94%). Peppers make a great snack and they make an excellent source of carotenoids and vitamin C to help power and support the immune system.
12. Green Peppers – 92% water
This green veggie may be 92 percent water, but it’s still abundant in numerous vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6, beta carotene, and folic acid.
13. Eggplant – 92% water
These large, oddly shaped vegetables make great substitutes as a plant-based “burger” when marinated with herbs and spices, and can also be made into a raw eggplant “bacon” if you own a dehydrator.
Aside from its wide culinary uses, eggplant contains a broad range of nutrients like vitamins C, K and B6 and minerals like potassium, folate, manganese, phosphorous, calcium, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium and pantothenic acid, all of which help the body fight off various disease.
Aside from its wide culinary uses, eggplant contains a broad range of nutrients like vitamins C, K and B6 and minerals like potassium, folate, manganese, phosphorous, calcium, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium and pantothenic acid, all of which help the body fight off various disease.
14. Cauliflower – 92% water
I was slightly shocked to discover that cauliflower was so high in water. It also happens to be a nutrition superstar, helping to improve digestion, reduce stroke and high blood pressure, combat age-related memory decline, reduce inflammation, support the body’s detoxification system, and inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
15. Broccoli – 91% water
This tasty cruciferous vegetable packs the most nutritional punch of any vegetable and is quite literally considered a miracle food! It is high in calcium, protein, folic acid and vitamins A and C. It also contains one of the best cancer-fighting phytochemicals in the plant-food world called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane helps increase the activity of a group of enzymes in our body that kill off cancer-causing agents.
16. Grapefruit – 91% water
Most citrus fruits are naturally high in water – that’s what makes them so sweet and juicy! They contain a whopping amount of vitamin C and are relatively good sources of copper, vitamin A, pantothenic acid, finer and potassium. Fresh grapefruit juice in the morning makes a great coffee replacement.
17.Cantaloupe – 90% water
This super fruit is super hydrating! Not only is this melon made up of 90% water, but just a one-cup serving contains as much potassium as one medium banana. Getting an adequate amount of potassium is essential in hydration, especially for athletes or those working up a sweat, as it helps to maintain fluid-balance, muscle function, and bone strength.
This succulent melon contains 2% less water than watermelon, but is still, nonetheless, a great water-dense fruit. It is packed with nutrition, with just 1/4 of a melon providing you with 100% of your recommended daily intake of vitamins A and C. If you love making melon smoothies, try blending cantaloupe with a little bit of lemon and ginger for a satisfyingly sweet and sour smoothie.
18. Peach – 88% water
These fuzzy globes of deliciousness help hydrate your body, as well as protect against cancer, aid in weight loss and heal the heart. Make sure you eat organic peaches, however. The conventional peaches are sprayed with a lot of pesticides.
19. Orange – 87% water
This sweet treat makes the perfect after-work out snack. It’s comprised of 87% water, contains more than 100% of your daily recommended value for vitamin C as well as plenty of potassium known to help the body restore its fluid levels.
Just like grapefruit, oranges are naturally high in water, but rank a little lower than the grapefruit. Oranges are incredibly body-healing, vibrating with only the purest of life energy. They help clear out mucoid plaque (thanks to their citric acid content) and help lower blood pressure, alkalize the body, improve digestive health and lower cholesterol among so much more.
20. Pineapple – 87% water
The pineapple might only be 87% water, but it is one of the best anti-inflammatory fruits out there, thanks to bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme in pineapples that helps reduce pain and swelling and eases discomfort in those suffering from arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, sinusitis and inflammatory skin conditions (acne, eczema, rosacea, dermatitis and psoriasis), digestion, detoxing, and immunity-boosting benefits.
21. Raspberries – 87% water
Lastly, we have the raspberry. This delicious superfood also contain 87% water and are packed with fiber, keeping your digestion in check and blood-sugar levels low.
These tasty little fruits are among some of highest-ranking plant foods in terms of water content. They have been researched for their potential in management of obesity by increasing enzyme activity, oxygen consumption, and heat production in certain types of fat cells. That, PLUS they are high in antioxidants for total body-healing effects.
Keeping Your Body Hydrated By Consuming Fruits and Vegetables with High Water Content Is A Healthy Living Style!
List of Fruits and Vegetables With High Water Content
Following is a list of foods with most high levels of water content. Adding these foods to your daily routine will not only keep you hydrated but also give your plenty of nutritious benefits.
Food
|
Water Content%
|
Water Melon
|
96%
|
Cucumber
|
96%
|
Lettuce(iceberg)
|
96%
|
Pine Apple
|
95%
|
Zucchini
|
95%
|
Grapes
|
95%
|
Radish
|
95%
|
Celery
|
95%
|
Tomato (red)
|
94%
|
Tomato (green)
|
93%
|
Cabbage (green)
|
93%
|
Cabbage (red)
|
92%
|
Cauliflower
|
92%
|
Peppers(sweet)
|
92%
|
Eggplant
|
92%
|
Grapefruit
|
91%
|
Spinach
|
91%
|
Cantaloupe (Melon)
|
91%
|
Broccoli
|
91%
|
Pear
|
89%
|
Peach
|
88%
|
Orange
|
87%
|
Pineapple
|
87%
|
Raspberries
|
87%
|
Cranberries
|
87%
|
Carrots
|
87%
|
Apricot
|
86%
|
Plum
|
85%
|
Blueberries
|
85%
|
Apple
|
84%
|
Grapes
|
81%
|
Cherries
|
81%
|
Potato(white)
|
79%
|
Peas (green)
|
79%
|
Banana
|
74%
|