Healthy Paleoista Holiday Tip of The Day: Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually just thirsty? While I’m certainly not suggest you sip on water instead of eating a balanced, Paleo meal, consider the impact of being a bit dehydrated in combination with a hectic, stressful day at work when you may not have eaten properly and then hit the mall during a mad attempt to procure some gifts. How much more likely are you to be lured in by the wafting aroma coming from the cookie stand or the cinnamon bun shop compared to if you arrived well fueled, hydrated and in a balanced blood sugar induced balanced state of mind? So…when you’re making your food choices, another angle to take is how hydrated each option will leave you.  Is the food fresh and full of water or dried out, powdered and basically…the opposite of food? A crisp, fresh apple instead of a piece of apple pie.  A crunchy plate of raw veggies with avocado rather than a wheel of brie baked in pastry, served on gluten-rich baguette slices. Or, a freshly blended concoction of your favorite raw greens in lieu of a Starbucks Venti Mocha Peppermint Latte. Does each item you’re about to ingest provide, or extract water from your body? If it’s fresh, real Paleo food, it’ll offer the former, while if it’s a processed, refined food, representative of the typical Standard American Diet, and even more so during the holidays, it’s the latter. Go crisp, keep hydrated and provide your body with one more way to ward off temptation. That homemade pecan pie your co worker brings in to the office that she baked in honor of National Pastry Day today will be far less tempting if you’ve eaten properly and have a fully hydrated system!