Stay Hydrated and Fresh: Eat Your Fruits and Veggies
by Rebekah Severson, age 15
Almost
every kid has been told to eat his or her veggies. Why? Because they are good
for you. We all know this, but may not realize that a big benefit of veggies is
their water content.
Water makes up at least 90 percent of many vegetables – and
fruits. Knowing this, the goal of drinking eight glasses of water per day seems
much more attainable.
With
the highest water content of any raw fruit or veggie, the cucumber cannot be
beat. Containing 96.7 percent water, the vegetable is always refreshing. Keri
Gans, a nutrition and health consultant
suggests
cucumber soup.
“Soup is always hydrating, but you may not want to eat
something hot in the summertime. Chilled cucumber soup, on the other hand, is
so refreshing and delicious any time of year,” says Gans. It is an excellent way
to increase your water intake.
Another
high water content veggie is celery, which is 95.4 percent water by weight; but
it’s not just the water that makes it so beneficial. Celery also contains
folate and vitamins A, C, and at just six calories a stock. It is a great
natural antidote for heartburn and acid reflux, due to its ability to
neutralize stomach acid before it acts up.
Some
other hydrating vegetables include radishes, with 95.3 percent; tomatoes, with
94.5 percent; and green peppers, with 93.9 percent.
Although veggies dominate the field in hydrating power,
fruit is another effective way to boost your water intake. Grapefruit is a hydrating fruit, with a water content of
90.5 percent. Eating it can be a great way to lose weight and help lower bad
cholesterol. According to
researchers, compounds found in grapefruit help burn fat and stabilize blood
sugar, which can then help curtail cravings.
The
fruit with the highest water content is watermelon, with 91.5%. One of its
major health benefits is its antioxidant, lycopene, which has been linked to
the prevention of cancer. Lycopene is found in red fruits and vegetables, and
watermelon contains more of it than even raw tomatoes. Overall, eating
watermelon is a key way to stay healthy.
Nutrient- filled fruits and veggies have
seemingly never-ending benefits for health, and when you add H2O to this
equation, there is no way to deny the necessity of eating them more often.
[Source:
CNN
]
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