Summer heat makes hydration even more important than usual. According to the Harvard School of Health, drinking enough water each day is crucial for many reasons: to regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevent infections, deliver nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly. Being well-hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood.
While recommendations of how much water we should drink daily can vary, not all of those cups have to come from plain water. For example, some can come from water flavored with fruit or vegetables (lemons, berries, or orange or cucumber slices). Even so, it can be daunting to drink 8 or more cups of water a day! The good news is roughly 20% of our daily water intake comes from solid foods, primarily fruits and vegetables.
Here are a list of ten top hydrating foods, along with their water content. It might surprise you that watermelon isn’t even in the top five! <Source>
Cucumber. Water Content: 96.7% Want to pump up cucumber’s hydrating power even more? Try blending it with nonfat yogurt, mint and ice cubes to make cucumber soup.
Iceberg Lettuce. Water Content: 95.6% Crispy iceberg has the highest of any lettuce, followed by butterhead, green leaf and romaine varieties.
Celery. Water Content: 95.4% Thanks in part to its high water content, celery neutralizes stomach acid and is often recommended as a natural remedy for heartburn and acid reflux.
Radishes. Water Content: 95.3% They’re also filled with antioxidants such as catechin (also found in green tea).
Tomatoes. Water Content: 94.5% Sliced and diced tomatoes will always be a mainstay of salads, sauces and sandwiches, but don’t forget about sweet cherry and grape varieties, which make an excellent hydrating snack.
Green Peppers. Water Content: 93.9% Bell peppers of all shades have a high water content, but green peppers lead the pack, just edging out the red and yellow varieties (which are about 92% water).
Cauliflower. Water Content: 92.1% In addition to having lots of water, these unassuming florets are packed with vitamins and phytonutrients that have been shown to help lower cholesterol and fight cancer.
Watermelon. Water Content: 91.5% This juicy melon is also among the richest sources of lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant found in red fruits and vegetables.
Spinach. Water Content: 91.4% Spinach is rich in lutein, potassium, fiber and brain-boosting folate, and just one cup of raw leaves contains 15% of your daily intake of vitamin E.
Strawberries. Water Content: 91.0% All berries are good foods for hydration, but juicy red strawberries are easily the best of the bunch. Raspberries and blueberries both hover around 85% water, and blackberries are only slightly better at 88.2%.
It also helps to avoid dehydrating drinks. This includes alcohol, coffee, and some types of tea. These drinks can act as diuretics, which means they can increase urine output and lead to increased fluid loss.
While it’s always recommended to drink plenty of water after a massage, the point is that it’s healthy to hydrate every day – whether you’ve had a massage or not. Pay attention to signs of dehydration such as dry mouth, little or no urine, dark yellow urine, fatigue, dizziness, or confusion. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to start drinking water. Thirst is a sign that your body is already slightly dehydrated. Carry that water bottle and make it a habit to sip on water regularly throughout the day!
Education Update
Lisa Tarr recently took a class on The Whole Body View and Brain Mapping. The Whole Body View is a hands-on bodywork approach to touch and movement therapy that utilizes, gentle invitational movements as “brain mapping scans”. These techniques facilitate profound relaxation while releasing deep-seated restrictive body mind patterns. Most recipients report an immediate increase in neuromuscular mobility and a return towards one’s optimal performance, leading to greater overall well-being and function.
Congratulations, Lisa, on adding more knowledge and techniques to help clients!
Gentle Reminder!
Please be courteous and turn OFF your phone (or set it to “Do Not Disturb”) so you can enjoy your massage thoroughly and focus on you and your body. Ringing, and even incoming message notifications, can take away from the session and are not just a distraction to you but to your therapist as well. Thank you!
Feature of the Month – CBD Massage
If you are dealing with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia or arthritis, add CBD lotion to any session with Lisa, Leah or Erica to provide some relief with its powerful pain relievers. As Massage Magazine reports, animal studies have found that CBD can accelerate healing of injured connective tissue, while also battling anxiety to offset pain.
Does a CBD massage get you high? CBD oil is hailed for its ability to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, and a massage could be the most effective use of it. CBD stands for Cannabidiol which is the cannabinoid in cannabis. It doesn’t have the THC that cannabis has which means you won’t experience the ‘high’ effect.
It does provide a relaxing effect and is perfect as part of a massage. A CBD oil massage has all the benefits of a regular massage as well as the added benefits of CBD.
Take care of your health with a CBD massage! This wonderful massage session uses a high-quality CBD lotion that can added to any massage session with Lisa Tarr, Leah Johnston or Erica Fagan.
Therapist of the Month – Roberto Castillo
Roberto has been a massage therapist since 1991 and practiced his career in the Orlando area, recently moving to Sarasota. Over the past 30 years he has achieved a vast experience in a variety of modalities beginning with Swedish for relaxation and de-stress.
His strong interest in kinesiology has developed his expertise in focusing on medical and rehab conditions, specializing in deep tissue and sports massage. This experience allows him to assess each client’s needs, determining the best approach to achieving the goals for the session.
Services Provided: Swedish Massage, Deep Tissue Massage, Focus Massage, Sports Massage. Roberto is available on Saturdays, Mondays and Tuesdays.
Donna’s Corner
Respect is something that is earned but can be so very quickly eroded. While there are numerous ways to show respect for others, I am talking about respecting another person’s time, be it in your job, meeting with friends, or an arriving for an appointment. 
Being late, while sometimes unavoidable, shows disrespect for not only your own time, but also the time of the person you are meeting!
Punctuality is not just a virtue, it’s about respect. When everyone is respectful of each other’s time, everything runs a lot smoother. Even when something completely unexpected happens that will cause you to miss an appointment or meeting, communication is the key to maintaining that respect.
And no, running late does NOT count as cardio exercise!
Everyone has many things on their plate and doesn’t want their time to be wasted. No matter how busy you think you are compared to someone else, you never really know what’s going on. That’s why it’s important to always, no matter who it is, show respect for their time. You’d certainly want them to do the same for you.
Our MTC Team appreciates the many clients who come in on time for their appointments. Our therapists do utilize their time between appointments for a variety of tasks as well as for a needed break. When you’re on time, the office runs smoother, the sessions can be their full length, and the therapist can best prepare for each session.
We appreciate you making MTC part of your self-care practices and always look forward to seeing you.
