Fruits and veggies may not immediately come to mind when you think about hydration, which helps with everything from preventing dry mouth and cleansing your body of impurities to keeping your muscles, joints, and spinal discs working right. While water is certainly something you should be enjoying on a regular basis, there are some other ways you can get the level of hydration your body needs to function properly and stay healthy, such as including certain fruits and vegetables in your diet – like the ones mentioned below.
Watermelon and Cantaloupe
With a water content exceeding 90 percent, it’s easy to see why watermelons make this list. Plus, just a cup full of sliced watermelon contains almost 120 ml of water. This fruit also has a very low calorie density, so you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging and hydrating. Cantaloupe’s water content is roughly the same.
Blueberries, Strawberries, Apples, and Other Water-Rich Fruits
The water content of antioxidant-rich blueberries is about 85 percent, but strawberries kick things up a few notches at 91 percent. What’s more, you’ll still get plenty of disease-fighting antioxidants with strawberries, which can be easily enjoyed as in smoothies or salads. Apples, on the other hand, aren’t especially full of essential nutrients, but they do have water content of 85 percent, although they do rank low on the glycemic index. You’ll also be treated to abundance of water if you add the following fruits to your diet:
- Grapefruit – 88 percent water content
- Oranges – 88 percent
- Peaches – 89 percent
Lettuce and Cucumbers
With veggies, lettuce and cucumbers top the list when it comes to water content. Overall, lettuce has a water content of 96 percent. Even a quarter-cup’s worth of lettuce will give you about 60 ml of H2O. The 95 percent water content of cucumbers also makes them a reliable hydrating food.
Zucchini, Celery, and Other Hydrating Veggies
A single serving of chopped zucchini has more than 90 percent water content. Overall, however this veggie’s H2O content is close to 95 percent. Delicious either raw or cooked, celery boasts an impressive 95 percent water content. Other water-abundant veggies include:
- Tomatoes – 94 percent water content
- Bell peppers – 92 percent
- Cauliflower and cabbage – 92 percent each
The standard recommendation with daily water intake is eight, 8-ounce glasses per day, which is about half a gallon of H2O. What’s good about getting some of your water from fruits and veggies is that foods of this nature also contain an assortment of nutrients that are equally good for your body.
