Highly Processed Foods Increase Dehydration Risk
Diets high in ultra-processed foods — aka junk food — make it harder to stay hydrated during hot summer days.
This article is part of a Wise & Well Special Report: Extreme Heat and Human Health.
I spent countless hours outside as a child in the humid Deep South, occasionally remembering to grab a sip of water or Sunny D before my next adventure. My parents never sent me on my way with a water bottle in tow, as I now do when my own children head off to summer camp. But my parents kept me well hydrated by stocking the kitchen with water-rich foods.
The typical Western-style diet leads us to consume less fluid overall at a time when adequate hydration is key to surviving the heat waves striking multiple countries. Sweltering temperatures have led to much more focus on staying hydrated with liquids, but disappointingly few headlines focus on the role diets play in hydration. Highly processed foods with a low water content are rapidly replacing more traditional, water-rich foods.
Bottled water purchases have increased by 40% over the past decade as more people focus on drinking enough fluids, but at least 20% of total daily water intake typically comes from water-rich foods like fruits and vegetables.
