Adapt your drinking behavior to your destination
It is important to drink properly when traveling in order to arrive at your vacation destination well rested and refreshed. But even there you should not just sip colorful delicacies, but adapt your drinking behavior to the corresponding climatic conditions. Depending on how these are, the feeling of thirst and the resulting drinking behavior can vary greatly.
Salt makes you thirsty – or so you thought
When we spend our vacation by the sea, we breathe in the healthy, salty air there every day. This is good for our airways, the mucous membranes are better moisturized and their self-cleaning mechanisms can work at full capacity – an additional health bonus alongside the relaxing effect of a stay by the sea.
When we think of salt, thirst quickly comes to mind. But do we feel more thirsty by the sea, where it is often very warm in summer in addition to the salty air? Yes, but only briefly. While it was previously assumed that salt must make you thirsty, researchers have discovered that after a while the exact opposite occurs. Increased salt intake only makes you thirsty in the short term, you drink more and also excrete more urine. However, the kidneys then switch to water-saving mode, water is removed from part of the urine and returned to the blood. The body’s own recycling? Not really.
Our body needs about 2.7 liters of fluid per day. We should drink 1.5 to 2 liters of this in order to be sufficiently hydrated and to ensure that a large number of processes in the body run smoothly. Our organism runs on a low flame. However, this economy mode makes us hungry again, the typical appetite by the sea. We eat more and this covers part of our fluid requirements. Cleverly designed by the body, but not quite ideal for the bikini figure we worked so hard to achieve before our vacation.
It is better to drink enough even though you are not thirsty. You start the day with the classic glass of water before breakfast, so the first fluid boost is already achieved. It’s best to pack plenty of mineral water for day trips or lazing on the beach. This really quenches thirst and supplies the body with minerals that have been lost through sweating. You should make a habit of taking regular sips between meals when on vacation by the sea. It not only fills up the fluid reservoirs, but also the stomach, so that we don’t get hungry so quickly.
Everything is very different in the mountains
If our vacation takes us to lofty heights and we climb mountains, we have to take different circumstances into account than by the sea. The higher the altitude we are at, the lower the humidity. Our mucous membranes dry out – and need an extra portion of fluid to keep them moisturized. Appetite also decreases at higher altitudes.
This makes it all the more important to drink enough, because the lack of food intake means that the proportion of liquid we normally consume with food is lost. It is a good idea to drink high-energy drinks such as sports drinks or juice spritzers. These not only provide sufficient fluids, but also supply the body with carbohydrates and minerals, both of which we need to stay physically fit and to be able to cope well with tours, whether on foot or by bike.
Hot asphalt and road dust definitely make you thirsty
If we prefer city trips, we don’t have to worry about feeling thirsty. Whether we are inland or by the sea, when we plunge into the hustle and bustle of the city, we soon have a nose and mouth full of road dust, we are hot and thirsty. And that’s a good thing. Not only does drinking moisten the mucous membranes, making it easier to get rid of dirt particles, but the short breaks we take to drink are also good for the body. Here it is a good idea to find a shady spot and sit down for a while to give your legs a break.
Mineral water is a good drink. It does not burden the body with excess sugar and quenches thirst for quite a while. In cities, we are offered calories on every corner in the form of ice cream and food to go, so there is no need to consume them with a drink. If we drink enough and in small portions throughout the day on city trips, we won’t run out of breath so quickly and we can cope with the day’s sightseeing.
Drink yourself fit through your vacation
Depending on where and how we spend our vacation, we should definitely adjust our drinking habits and the respective drinks. Here it is good to have not only the right drinks with you, but also enough of them. If we drink enough of the right beverage at each vacation destination, we can really enjoy every day to the full. Whether you’re spending your vacation by the sea, in the mountains or in the city, mineral water is always a good choice.
