Most of our body is made up of fluid, around 60 percent, so it makes sense to put as much effort into what fluids we consume as we do into what we eat. Drinking also has a much faster effect on our bodies than eating and digesting. Fluids will be absorbed into the body extremely quickly; hydrating , energising, nourishing and helping your body to recover.

Here are some great healthy drink cures to common ailments…

What ails you? ANXIETY

Cure: Go on, down swift half. Beer has hops that will calm you down , but better make it a non-alcoholic pint.

What ails you? INDIGESTION

Cure: Take a bottle of peppermint oil and add a couple of drops with 2 teaspoons of sugar to a glass and mix together. Pour in water to dissolve the mixture and stir. Drinking this will lessen the spasms in your intestinal tract.

What ails you? INSOMNIA

Cure: Try warm milk, it’s easy to warm up in a pan and quicker in the microwave. Milk contains L·tryptophan, the same type of protein that turkey has, but not so filling. You may be tempted to add something a little stronger to your nice warm mug, but alcohol may knock you out but you’ll have a poor sleep, may need the loo in the night and you won’t feel fresh in the morning.

What ails you? CONSTIPATION

Cure: In this case you need a mixture of liquid and fibre to help things along. Stir up a smoothie with all your favourite fruits, berries, orange juice and a handful of bran flakes in the blender first thing in the morning.

What ails you? OVERHEATING

Cure: Drinking lots water straight after exercise or when you are thirsty encourages your kidneys to expel the fluid faster. The solution is to drink a sports drink that contains sodium and electrolytes. This will help move the much needed water to the parts of your body where its needed most.

What ails you? Being PECKISH before lunch

Cure: Drink a glass of semi-skimmed milk. It contain fat and protein that are the best nutrients to satisfy those temporary hunger pangs without filling you up before a main meal. Much better than ruining dinner with solid food snacks.

What ails you? ILL WITH INFECTION

Cure: Brew up a health drink with some green or black tea. Tea helps fights infection, even those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Studies have shown that the horrible superbug  Staphylococcus Aureus became vulnerable to being killed off.

What ails you? PREVENTING CANCER

Cure: You’re going to need antioxidants. Green tea and fruit have them, but chocoholics will be pleased to know that cocoa powder has more antioxidants nearly everything. Hot chocolate drink is perfect for warming you up on a cold day too.

What ails you? HEADACHE

Cure: Two things you can try here. Number one, drink a good litre of water. Your brain is three-quarters water, so dehydration is a very common cause. If it’s more a stress headache or the water consumption is not helping try strong cup of coffee. The caffeine in the coffee constricts arteries a little in the head that can have a relieving effect from the pain.

What ails you? DIARRHOEA

Cure: Not a cure as such but you really need to keep your fluids topped up with diarrhoea. A sports energy drink will help. Drink the ones with essential electrolytes to help hydration and keep your system balanced.

What ails you? TIREDNESS

Cure: Don’t start on the coffee for a caffeine fix, try having a fizzy water drink instead and add a zesty lime or lemon to it for the aroma to energise you and refresh with the carbonation.

What ails you? HANGOVER

Cure: Time to open the tomato juice or have a virgin Bloody Mary. The damage caused by the alcohol will be reversed by the tomatoes high levels of antioxidants.

What ails you? SORE THROAT

Cure: Orange Juice would be an ideal choice with its high levels of vitamin C but the acidic content may agitate the throats soreness. As a less harsh alternative, brew a tea and squeeze in some lemon juice to get the vit c kick and the warmth from the tea will soothe the soreness.

What ails you? DRY SKIN

Cure: Drink plenty of water is the first must do but as a regular addition try flaxseed. Blend the seeds with a health drink and the oil from the grain will help take away the dry skin.

As always, seek medical attention if any of these conditions persist of worsen.

We all know drinking responsibly is a good idea, but if you’re going out for a social occasion it’s very easy to start with one or two drinks followed by one or two more drinks. Before you know it you’ve drunk too much too avoid the big morning come down. Maybe it is time to consider a non-alcoholic beverage as a health drink alternative. The main benefits being you won’t be having that bad hangover in the morning and you will be able to function normally and of course be 100% confidence that you won’t be  over the limit when driving to work the next day.

Changing to beer or lager with low or no alcohol can lessen your chances of falling victim to it’s addictive powers and doing stupid and even dangerous things you may do while you are in an inebriated state. Also most people tend to drink less of the high carbohydrate drinks when they are not drunk and so are much less likely to gain weight over time with the added bonus that you are more likely to have a more meaningful and intelligent conversation at your social engagement.

There are of course serious medical problems when you drink too much high calorie lager and beer. You will be adding fatty weight at a steady rate that will lead to a number of cardiovascular problems including high blood pressure and diabetes. These can put a substantial strain on your heart and cardiovascular system which can of course lead to very serious consequences. Taking the non-alcohol or low alcohol beer option suddenly seems to be a sensible idea and a healthy drink choice for the health-conscious but still sociable person.

As with most dietary considerations, everything in moderation also applies to drinking alcohol. The odd alcoholic beer or glass of wine will not have any quantifiable effect on your long standing health and even the odd slightly overdoing it on your birthday won’t have any major effect long-term; as long as you make sure you do the right thing the next day and rehydrate yourself thoroughly.

Non-alcoholic beer has in the past had a reputation of being a bit of a joke beer. Not having the desired effect that you are drinking beer in the first place, was seen as a bit silly, but in these modern times of health conscious individuals and with driving being the primary mode of transportation, the view of drinking non-alcoholic beverages in a pub or club has changed dramatically. With the introduction of the smoking ban in restaurants and pubs people have also had pause for thought in regard to the condition of their general health.

Also, the choice of actually being able to buy a non-alcoholic beer in a pub or club is now very common, with quite often the choice of low or non-alcohol beers that taste very palatable and comparable to their alcoholic counterparts. You don’t have to order a Coke or water anymore and drinking  a non-alcoholic beer will make you feel like you are having a normal night out. In fact, unless the people around you bought your round then they won’t even know your drink in a non-alcoholic beer, you’ll just impress them with your ability to down the pints without slurring your words.

The best time to use sports drink are during or after exercise. They speed up hydration compared to regular drinks, they contain easily digestible carbohydrates and replace electrolytes that have been lost during your sweaty workout.

These sports drinks come in many flavours to suit all tastes but also vary greatly in what they contain. This type of workout you are doing will affect the type of sports drink you should consume. In general though a sports drink should be non-carbonated, should contain 14 to 17 g of carbohydrates, around 100 mg of sodium and at least 30 mg of potassium. You may not need the electrolyte replacement if your diet contains more than the daily recommended dose of salt or your workout is less than an hour in length.

Other ingredients in sports drinks include vitamins, protein and other minerals. some of these added ingredients aren’t strictly necessary but they will not hurt. Not recommended though sports drinks or energy drinks that are carbonated, this is because carbonation slows the digestive process and can cause stomach pain if you are doing sports such as running or cycling.

Another new addition to sports drinks and energy beverages is caffeine. Extra caffeine can help give you that extra energy boost in short but fast activities such as sprinting but will not give you any benefit in regards longer workouts, in fact it may be detrimental as too much caffeine will cause you to dehydrate.

Protein-based sports drinks are used as a post workout drink. Quite often they are a thicker consistency made with sometimes milk or water and are used as a means to build up muscle mass. Do not use these types of drinks if you are trying to lose weight, although they can be used by all athletes and not just bodybuilders.

Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, drinking lots of energy and sports drinks may not be such a good idea. They contain many more calories than normal drinks with their higher carbohydrateand glucose levels. It is recommended to take both a sports drink and a bottle of water with you to the gym, then when you start to work out take alternate sips of the energy drink and then the water. This is what you see tennis players do between games when they are taking sips from multiple bottles, they are fulfilling their energy requirements and alternatively making sure their hydration levels are topped up.

Two hours before an important race or sporting event it is best to start hydrating yourself and also getting some glucose into your bloodstream to supply that extra bit of energy when you begin the exercise. Drinking in plenty of time before the activity will allow your body to fully absorb the water and glucose, giving your muscles that extra boost may give you that extra advantage over your competition.

You should be looking to drink every 20 minutes of exercise between four and 8 ounces of fluids. The sugars in the sports drink will then keep your insulin levels higher and load your bloodstream with glucose. Your muscles will not tire as quickly as you will be using the glucose rather than all your muscle glycogen, making sure that the muscle glycogen lasts longer and provides you with maximum energy throughout your exercise.

The rule of hydration and energy drawing workouts is to make sure you drink water for hydration for the first hour of exercise, then make sure you start adding an energy drink after that first hour for the extra carbs and the extra calories that you now need. As soon as you finish the workouts, make sure you drink some energy drink that contains the electrolyte is to speed hydration and boost the replacement of muscle glycogen.

Also, don’t forget to eat within 30 minutes of a high intensity workout. With your energy drink ad foods such as bread, pasta, rice or maybe a cereal or sports bar. The food and drink will take carbohydrates into your bloodstream, up your insulin levels and help your muscles to soak up glycogen.

As you can see, keeping hydrated during exercise can be a science in itself. Make sure you understand what your body needs so you can make the most of each workout. Always remember to at least take a bottle of water out with you when you go for a run or head for the gym, but if you can get hold of a sports drink to help you rehydrate more quickly. The sodium and glucose assist with absorption of water molecules into cells and the salt will help replace those lost electrolytes, which you need to avoid those killer muscle cramp attacks. Ouch!

WATER MUSCLE

Your muscle may feel solid but it is in fact three quarters water. A loss in this fluid will greatly affect your athletic performance. Dehydration will affect your workouts in many ways, you won’t be able to lift as much weight as when you are hydrated, you will get tired more quickly and will also take longer to recover after the workout.

Up to 65% of your weight is made up of water, so it is no surprise that H2O is a primary nutrients for your body. It is used to transport oxygen and nutrients as well as pump up the blood volume. It is the medium for biochemical reactions and is the volume that holds your cells. It contains electrolytes (salt). Which are chemicals that carry electrical messages between muscles and nerves. It also lubricates your joints.

The muscles themselves will physically shrink if they are not well hydrated. Nutrients will take longer to reach their destinations, your nerve signals will scramble, muscle contractions will weaken, and physical performance will decline rapidly the more dehydrated you become. You will also be more susceptible to cramp, especially in hot conditions.

MORE THAN AVERAGE

With a modern busy lifestyles, most people walk around in a dehydrated state, not drinking anywhere near enough to meet their daily requirements. How much you should drink depends upon your metabolism and the ambient temperature. Also of course if you are doing any exercise and you’re sweating; altitude also plays a part. For a man who eats 2500 calories per day and lives in a moderate temperature, which is fairly low humidity would need approximately twelve 80 ounce cups of fluid a day. It does no harm to drink more than this and in fact to be even more beneficial to fully top up your fluid intake during the day.

if you want to take care of your body and keep fit you’ll need to drink substantially more to replace fluids lost through exercise and sweating. Up in daily intake to a gallon a day or even more on your workout days would be a good idea. Yes, you’ll find you need to visit the rest of room more often but then this should be the case anyway if you are fully hydrated. Passing water through your system constantly will flush out toxins and make sure your body has no harmful free radicals floating around.

Apart from the sensation of thirst, checking the colour of your urine is a very good indication of your hydration. Your urine should be colourless and odourless if you are fully hydrated, if it is darker than the colour of straw, then you are dehydrated and your kidneys will be having a hard time trying to flush out the harmful toxins that will be building up.

Other signs of dehydration are dry eyes and mouth, tiredness, general fatigue and headaches. With these mild indicators of dehydration you should be taking a glass off-the-shelf and having a large drink water from the tap.

DRINK NOW

One problem is using your first as an indicator that you need to drink. By the time you are actually thirsty you are already mildly dehydrated. It is best not to wait until you’re thirsty to drink something but to set yourself times when you drink and hydrating fluid whether you are thirsty or not. If you are active in a hot climate, then having this schedule will plan to drink regularly is even more important.

• Have water with every meal and snack.
• Drink a couple of cups of water when you first get up in the morning and before you go to bed, even though a late-night drink might wake you up to urinate.
• Keep a jug of cold water in the fridge and drink it dry every day. Put another jug on your desk, so you’re not tempted to drink only fizzy drinks, tea or coffee.
• Take water to the gym or out with you on that run or cycle ride.

Some people find it hard to drink just plain water. in this case you could add a dash of fruit juice, a twist of lime or lemon, or any subtle hint of flavour that you like. You may find the water from your tap to not be to your taste. You can either splash out (excuse the pun) on bottled water or you could use a water filter system to take out any contaminants, chlorine, or hard water deposits. This can quite often improve the taste of your tap water.

You do not have to use water only as a method to keep your hydration levels up to daily requirements. Other good options include soya milk, rice milk, dilutive fruit juices, soup, decaffeinated tea and coffee, sports drinks and pretty much any food that has a high moisture content. Steer clear though of the coffee and tea, the odd cup here or there will not do you any harm, or drinking too much will lead to dehydration due to the caffeine content.

We all know that alcohol is the worst culprit with regards to dehydration. It is a diuretic and will accelerate fluid loss, leading to those horrid hangovers and headaches the next day. if you are going to drink alcohol, then at least have a glass of water for every alcoholic drink you consume, this will limit the diuretic effect.

SPORTY ONES

In a follow-up to this article we will investigate the more complex and important issues of hydration when you exercise and participate in sport and the importance it plays in getting you to your fitness goals and making sure you compete to your full ability.

The ‘Queen of all Fruits’

Mangosteen is a rare, tangerine-sized fruit, which grows primarily in Southeast Asia. It has a dark reddish/purplish rind or skin, a sweet pure white pulp and seeds. Whilst on holiday in Thailand, I ate mangosteen bought fresh from the market and they were delicious. In the markets in Thailand and in the other Southeast Asian countries, it is the most expensive fruit to buy. Every single mangosteen is picked and sold. You will not see one drop from the tree to the ground and every part of the fruit is used. It is so highly prized, it is called the ‘Queen of all Fruits’.

Natural health providers in countries like Indonesia and Thailand have traditionally used the fruit for thousands of years. In India, for example, traditional Ayurvedic doctors used the rind of mangosteen for issues related to digestive health, immune support, as well as enhancing overall health, such as maintaining healthy eyes, skin and hair.

The power of xanthones

This tropical fruit boasts superior nutritional and antioxidant properties, along with a number of vitamins and minerals in trace amounts. Perhaps most importantly, mangosteen has a full array of beneficial plant compounds like xanthones – best known for potent antioxidant capabilities. Mangosteen is one of nature’s greatest sources of xanthones and the rind is the fruit’s highest xanthone concentration. There are 43 xanthones in mangosteen. Just over 200 xanthones exist in nature. Xanthones are a class of chemical compounds with a wide range of bioactivity. When you digest the xanthones of the mangosteen fruit, the xanthones will change the biochemical pathways within the body, aiding a powerful natural healing process.

The benefits

Research has shown that the potent antioxidant properties of xanthones found in mangosteen can help:

• Strengthen and speed up the immune system
• Support cartilage and joint function
• Promote a healthy respiratory system
• Protect cellular health from effects of stress and pollutants
• Neutralize free radicals by enhancing the body’s capacity to combat damage from free radicals and stress
• Boost body stamina and energy
• Maintain intestinal health

The fruit also contains catechuns (phenols as found, for example, in green tea etc) with documented anti-cancer and anti-oxidant effects, polysaccharides with an anti-bacterial effect and stilbenes, which is anti-fungal.

For all these reasons, it is fair to say that mangosteen is the new superfruit health drink in the western world. It strengthens the body and it can heal the body, which in turn can give you a greater sporting performance. Drink mangosteen juice everyday and you’ll be drinking to optimum health.

The equation of optimum health is diet + exercise + the X-factor = optimum health. The X-factor = proper supplementation, and proper supplementation for example, is a mangosteen supplement.

I drink a mangosteen supplement called Vemma every morning. I started taking my daily shot of Vemma to help lessen my migraines, which it has. But I soon discovered there are other benefits. My energy levels have increased, I enjoy a better night’s sleep, I suffer fewer colds, and my hair is thicker. In addition, there are probably many more benefits that I am not physically aware of, such as, the prevention of various diseases.

So, if you were to ask me what my desert island fruit would be, I would reply ‘mangosteen’ without a second thought. It is the ‘Queen of all Fruits’ after all.