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Welcome to the
July issue of “Making the Healthy Choice the Easy
Choice.”
Here you will
find information you can use on a timely topic, healthy
eating, recipes and more! I welcome your feedback and
questions. Please send them to
Janet@nourishyourlife.com Thank you!
July is the
month to drink water-a lot of it!
Here in
Michigan it is hot! As I watch the weather repots and
temps around the nation, I’ll bet it is hot where you
live, also…
The hotter it
is, and the more we perspire, the more water we need to
drink to replace lost fluid. How much water? The most
common answer is about 64 ounces a day. That is 8-8oz
glasses! How to drink that much? Try drinking ½ cup each
hour; in 16 hours you will have consumed the 64 ounces.
Another common answer is to drink .5 ounces for each
pound that you weigh. So, if you weigh 150 # that would
require you drink 75ounces…Personally, I think the best
way to judge if you are drinking enough, is by the color
of your urine. The color should be that of wheat; a
light yellow. If it is darker, you may be dehydrated. If
it is clear, you may be over-hydrated. Now, may I ask
you a personal question? What color if YOUR urine…and
what do you need to do about it…
My challenge
for you this month is to drink sufficient water to
maintain your health. Not too much and not too little.
Quote for
the month:
“We never know
the worth of water until the well is dry.”
Thomas Fuller
1732 A.D.
Health
benefits
There are many
other health benefits to drinking water. These are the
reasons that are given on the Purwater website that have
been compiled from Webmd.com and mayoclinic.com
You know that drinking water is good for you, but did
you know that every system in your body depends on
water? Here are 10 reasons why drinking water is good
for you and why you should make drinking 8-10 glasses of
water part of your daily routine.
1. Get healthy
skin. Drinking water moisturizes your skin from the
inside out. Water is essential to maintaining elasticity
and suppleness and helps prevent dryness.
2. Lose weight.
Increased water consumption can help you control weight
by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst.
Water will also keep your body systems, including
metabolism and digestion, working properly and give you
the energy (and hydration) necessary for exercise.
3. Flush
toxins. By helping to flush toxins, appropriate water
intake lessens the burden on your kidneys and liver.
4. Reduce your
risk of a heart attack. Researchers at Loma Linda
University in California studied more than 20,000
healthy men and women and found that people who drink
more than five glasses of water a day were less likely
to die from a heart attack or heart disease than those
who drank fewer than two glasses a day.
5. Cushion and
lube your joints and muscles. Water makes up a large
part of the fluid that lubricates and cushions your
joints and muscles. Drinking water before, during, and
after exercise can also help reduce muscle cramping and
premature fatigue.
6. Stay
regular. Water helps prevent constipation by adding
fluid to the colon and bulk to stools, making bowel
movements softer and easier to pass.
7. Stay
hydrated, get energized, and be alert. On average, most
adults lose about 10 cups of fluid a day through
sweating, exhaling, urinating, and bowel movements. Even
minor dehydration can cause impaired concentration,
headaches, irritability, and fatigue.
8. Regulate
your body temperature. Perspiration is your body's
natural mechanism to control body temperature. And to
sweat, you need plenty of water.
9. Reduce your risk of disease and infection. Water can
help prevent kidney stones and reduce your chances of
getting bladder, kidney, and urinary tract infections.
One study found that women who drank more than five
glasses of water a day had a risk of colon cancer that
was 45 percent less than those who drank two or fewer
glasses a day.
10. Get well.
The traditional prescription to "drink plenty of fluids"
when you're sick still holds strong. Water can help
control a fever, replace lost fluids, and thin out
mucus.
Pass the water,
please!
Each month we
offer you a new recipe featuring quinoa and the featured
food. This month we wish to pass along to you a great
recipe from Today’s Health and Wellness Magazine.
Quinoa Salad with Summer Vegetables and Grapes
Makes two servings
Ingredients
2 cups water
2/3 cup quinoa
2 Tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 ounce cooked cocktail shrimp, roughly chopped
½ cup halved seedless grapes
6 small cherry tomatoes, halved
a small yellow summer squash, diced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Directions
1. Bring the
water to a boil in a small saucepan set over high heat.
Stir in quinoa, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook
for 10 minutes. Set aside, off the heat, covered, until
the water is absorbed (about 5 minutes.)
2. Whisk the
yogurt, lemon juice, dill, mustard, salt and pepper in a
bowl.
3. Place the
quinoa in a serving bow; fluff with a fork. Stir in
shrimp, grapes, tomatoes, squash, and scallion. Add the
dressing and toss to coat; serve at once.
Nutrition
facts: 368 calories; 5grams fat; 27grams carbohydrate;
54gams carbohydrate.
Do you know of someone who would benefit from this
information?
We welcome you to pass it on.
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