Staying Healthy, Part 1 Hydration

During this cold and flu season, I thought I'd share with you some of the things we've learned over the years to help our family stay well. I'll  be covering a variety of things in separate posts as they come to mind.

First of all, remember to stay hydrated. It is difficult to meet our daily water requirements in the winter when we aren't as likely to feel thirsty, but our body still needs the same amount of fluids as it needs in the summer months. If your skin is dry and itchy, you may be suffering from mild dehydration, so increase fluids.

Here are some ways to do this:

1. Drink water with each meal. This is a given.

2. Start your day with a nice mug of hot tea. (Most mugs I've measured lately hold more than 8 oz, so that helps raise your total intake.) We keep herbal teas, oolong, green tea, and some fruit flavored teas on hand so that everyone can find a tea they enjoy. We also have tea breaks a couple times throughout the day.

3. Serve broth based soups with your meals. This can vary with your tastes, but this is a nice way to get warm while increasing your fluid intake.

4. Continue to eat your fruits and vegetables as they also contain water.

I am not a doctor, so I am not giving you medical advice. I am a mother whose family is blessed with good health. We know that our bodies can't fight off germs unless it has the essentials with which to work. Staying hydrated helps to ensure that our bodies can work efficiently.