Hydrate : with more than just water.
Proper hydration plays a major role in supporting digestive enzymes, maintaining healthy bowel movements, and keeping your gut lining strong and resilient. And yet, so many people struggle with symptoms like bloating, constipation, sluggish digestion, and even fatigue—all of which can be connected to how and when you hydrate.
The classic lemon water, but why?
Having lemon water when you wake up before your morning coffee or smoothie is one of the simplest (and most overlooked) tools for not only waking up your digestive tract but also helping you hydrate right off the bat to start your day.
Why would you want to do this?
It stimulates stomach acid production (important for breaking down proteins and absorbing nutrients.
It helps encourage gentle bile flow to help emulsify fats.
It supports your liver’s natural detox pathways.
It can relieve early morning bloating or sluggishness.
Eating your water
It’s not just about what you drink—what you eat matters too. We all know by now that food plays a big role in everything and should not be overlooked when we have the conversation about hydration. There are an array of fruits and vegetables that have a high water content. Not only does this help keep us more hydrated, it also supports keeping your gut lining healthy, lubricated, and digestion moving.
So, why is eating your water different from drinking it?
Natural hydration: Drinking a glass of water will pass through your system quickly; however, water-rich foods release moisture more gradually, helping your cells absorb it more effectively.
Rich in minerals: A lot of hydrating foods contain natural sources of potassium, magnesium, and calcium, which support hydration at a cellular level.
Soothing: Many high-water-content fruits and vegetables have natural cooling, alkalizing, and anti-inflammatory effects.
Try incorporating these foods into your daily meals more:
Cucumber
Radishes
Grapefruit
Zucchini
Watermelon
Strawberries
Romaine and other leafy greens
Celery
Peaches
Build hydrating salads, prep and cut up some veggies for the upcoming week to have as an easy snack, or make a nourishing smoothie to get loads of nutrients in one drink.
Adding in minerals
We all know that drinking water is important, but how many times have you been drinking water and you are still thirsty, maybe feeling depleted or even bloated (and now running to the bathroom more)?
Without adequate minerals, your body cannot properly utilize and absorb fluids that you are taking in. Minerals act like little conductors, helping water come into and leave the cell, as well as support hundreds of other processes related to our digestion, nerve function, nervous system, and adrenal health, to name a few. Not only can they help us hydrate more efficiently, minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium also support adrenal function, which is deeply connected to your body’s stress response and energy levels. So if you're feeling depleted or burnt out, this simple step can make a big difference!
Ways to help up your mineral intake can look like:
Adding a pinch of unrefined sea salt or Celtic salt to your water
Incorporating mineral-rich foods into your water (cucumber, celery, lemon, fresh basil or mint, etc.)
Incorporating mineral-rich foods into your diet (pumpkin seeds, seaweeds, beets, leafy greens, shellfish, eggs, etc.)
Herbal infusions (my personal favourite - Why drink water when you can drink tea?)
Herbal infusions are fantastic for so many reasons. Some of the biggest reasons are that they taste delicious, can hydrate and heal at the same time (if there are specific things that you are working on for your health), and you can enjoy them cold or at room temperature so you don't have to be drinking a hot beverage on a hot day. This almost makes it like a no-brainer.
What is the difference between tea and an herbal infusion?
Teas are made with close-to or boiling water and typically steeped for a few minutes, uncovered.
Infusions are made with hot or cold water (depending on the plants you are using) and are steeped longer (anywhere from 20–25 minutes to 8–10 hours) while the top of the container is covered to help contain all the medicinal constituents and volatile oils.
Here are a few blends that I love to make a huge batch of for the next day:
Infusion #1
Lemon balm, nettles, raspberry leaf, milky oat tops, alfalfa
Mix 1 tablespoon of raspberry leaf, 1 tablespoon of nettle, ½ tablespoon of milky oat tops, ½ tablespoon of alfalfa and mix thoroughly. Add 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of water and let sit for 8 hours. Strain and add lemon or honey to suit your liking.
This blend is packed full of minerals, so if you are someone who has been feeling extra depleted, run down, hormones are off balance, even a bit stressed out, this one's for you.
Infusion #2
Hibiscus, peppermint, lemon balm, raspberry leaf, marshmallow root
Mix 2 tablespoons of hibiscus, and 1 tablespoon of each of the other individual ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of water and let sit for 8 hours. Strain and add lemon or honey to suit your liking.
This blend has a bit more flavour and is a bit more tart, but is packed with cooling herbs for the hot days and helps to aid with digestion while also soothing the digestive tract, and gently nourishing the body.
Helpful tip : If you want to try out making your own herbal blends but don’t want to spend money on a large amount of herbs, there are a lot of health food stores and herbal apothecaries that you can buy a small amount from.
Enjoy, Pinkies up!
