Dehydration is caused by not drinking enough water, too much alcohol/soda/caffeine or sometimes due to illness. Symptoms range from headaches and fatigue, to kidney stones and urinary tract infections. See your GP for serious causes and symptoms.
These vegan banana milkshakes (Ela Vegan) are made with frozen bananas (chop them first) to give an ice-cream texture, then blended with plant milk, organic peanut butter and natural vanilla. Despite being ‘opaque’, bananas are nearly all water.
To make an easy mylkshake, blend 1 cup of oat milk with 2 cups non-dairy ice cream, 1 teaspoon real vanilla and Sweet Freedom Syrup (caramel, gingerbread, raspberry, hazelnut or cinnamon). Pour into a tall glass and top with vegan whip.
But most people can rehydrate safely over a few weeks. How much water to drink depends on weight, age, lifestyle and weather (some people with medical conditions should not drink too much water).
A good ball park is to twice fill a reusable water bottle (650ml) each day. More if you drink wine!
After a few weeks, you should see that you feel better and skin and joint conditions improve. Urine should be light straw colour (dark urine is usually due to hydration).
What Kind of Water Should Pets Drink?
Vets say spring or filtered tap water is fine. But (unless given for medical use under a vet) not to give distilled water (this removes minerals and electrolytes).
Never give fizzy water to pets, it could cause bloat. Don’t let pets drink from puddles (it could contain oil, antifreeze or dangerous bacteria).
The Refreshing ‘National Drink’ of Mexico
If you’re feeling hot and muggy in warm weather, try making ‘agua fresa’, instead of our English equivalent (store-bought Slush Puppies, which use blue dyes to make raspberry flavours?)
These drinks contain artificial sweeteners (the blue dye which can trigger asthma attacks in some, is used to distinguish it from the red cherry flavour).
In Mexico, everyone drinks agua fresca. It’s basically a mix of water, sugar and fresh fruit sugar. This strawberry agua fresa (Broke Bank Vegan) is an inspiring way to use up that glut of fresh strawberries, if you went overboard at the PYO farm. You can also make it with raspberries, though it will be more tart.
Avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing or weak immunity.
This is a simple case of hulling your strawberries and then blending them up with some water, adding optional lime juice, and adding a natural sweetener like agave syrup (this is also Mexican, related to the cactus plant). You could alternatively use stevia powder, but only a little, as it’s very very sweet.
This is a good drink to try if you tire of plain water but don’t want to keep drinking fizzy pop. This is also a great drink to get hydrating into people who don’t drink enough water, and those who won’t eat their fruit!
Guava Agua Fresca is another version, you could swap for apple or pear. It’s kind of like a homemade healthy Slush Puppy (without the blue food colouring!)
You don’t need to spend £200 on an expensive blender. But if you do like making homemade drinks, go for a good one (say Russell Hobbs brand at around £50) with a glass jug. This way you won’t burn out the motor and have to replace it.
Know that when you buy new electrical appliances in the UK, it’s the law that the store you buy from has to take back your old one.
So if you have a cheap plastic jug blender with frayed wires in the cupboard, take it with you to the kitchen shop, supermarket or Argos and they will recycle it on for you.
When To Drink Electrolyte Drinks
Electrolytes are minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium) that help to regular fluid and muscle. Found in bananas, spinach, potatoes and coconut water.
For intense dehydration (like recovering from illness or alcoholism), it may be good to buy electrolyte drinks for a few weeks, to speed up getting hydration back to normal. Freesoul is a natural electrolyte drink for chronic dehydration, sweetened with stevia and containing minerals.
Before consuming electrolyte drinks, check with doctor first for pregnancy/nursing and medical conditions.
Humantra sells fruit powder sachets with all six electrolytes, sweetened with stevia. Just add one pack to 500ml of water and shake, for quick hydration.
These hydrate up to 6 times better than water, and also contain minerals, vitamin B12 and Himalayan sea salt for electrolyte balance.
