Most of us get around 20 percent of our water content from food, but the ideal would be to eat the right foods and drink enough water throughout the day, so that we stay properly hydrated. See, dehydration is bad. When we’re not hydrated, we feel tired, we develop a headache, and our skin loses its glow. We also get moody and irritable and we’re not ourselves. Moreover, we’re not able to perform at our optimum.

Dehydration happens to us all. If you’ve ever been deathly hungover and felt as though you could drink a river, you were dehydrated. We can’t rely on just water alone to keep us hydrated, especially after a workout. If we don’t eat the right foods, we’ll can start to feel tired and low in energy. Let’s take a look at 10 amazing foods that help you stay hydrated and refreshed.

Watermelons

It’s hardly surprising that this low fibre fruit tops the list. After all, the clue is in its name! True enough, watermelons are packed with water – as much as 92 percent. That’s a lot. Watermelons also contain 8 percent sugar, which is not a bad thing. In fact, its sugar and mineral salt content is what makes it so good at keeping us hydrated. Watermelons also contain potassium, magnesium and sodium, all of which contribute to its status as a superstar fruit that quenches our body’s thirst.

Not sure how to eat watermelon? Enjoy it as part of a salad, or just munch on it alone in the morning at breakfast time with a cold glass of orange juice. What a way to start the day!

Cucumbers

This is one of the most well known foods that help you stay hydrated. If watermelons’ 92 percent water content wasn’t enough for you and you’d prefer to be even more hardcore, try cucumbers. They contain as much as 96 percent water, which makes them the perfect go-to snack if you’re hungover or you’re recovering from a punishing workout.In fact, cucumbers are a better source of water than water itself because it delivers the same levels of hydration at twice the volume of H2O. This is down to its natural sugars and mineral salts, which copy your body’s electrolyte balance. All the water is inside the body of the cucumber, though, which means that to get the best results you’ll need to peel off its skin. That said, its skin is where all the fibre is. Choices, choices!

Courgettes

Courgette, also deserve to be included into our list of foods that help you stay hydrated. They look like cucumber, contain almost as much water, and are excellent in a Mediterranean diet.

Chicken Noodle Soup

When you were feeling under the weather as a kid and needed hydrating, what did your mom give you? If she was anything like all the other moms, she would have given you chicken noodle soup. A perfect winter warmer, chicken noodle soup is also a great way to restore vital fluids in your body. It fights the flu by keeping you hydrated, and contains enough carbs to make sure you absorb all the sodium it’s providing you.

Bananas

Bananas give you more energy than almost any other fruit. They’re the snack of choice for superstar tennis players because they’re rich in potassium, which helps to hydrate you because it’s an electrolyte. An imbalance of these guys can cause dehydration, which means that you don’t need to be a genius to work out that more bananas equals more hydration.

Iceberg Lettuce

Another one of great foods that help you stay hydrated is iceberg lettuce. Just looking at it is enough to make us feel fresher! Okay so iceberg lettuce isn’t as nutritiously dense as other leafy grains (such as spinach), but it’s still worth adding to your diet thanks to its high water content, as well as its high fibre, vitamin K and folate content. It can be a bit boring to the taste, however, which is why you need to add it to some really cool and tasty sandwiches and salads. Chicken salad is good, while adding a few slices of iceberg lettuce to a burger or taco is another amazing option.

Eggplant

If you’re looking to stay hydrated and lose weight at the moment, it’s time to start eating more eggplant. Eggplant is a strange looking vegetable, but once you’ve opened it up and fried it, you’ll be met with a delicious, fibre-rich delicacy that should be a must on everyone’s grocery list. Because it’s rich in water and fibre and low in calories, it makes for the ideal weight loss food.

Radishes

Radishes are such a gorgeous root vegetable that we just can’t believe more people don’t eat them, they are also part of fabulous foods that help you stay hydrated. One of the forgotten ones, radishes are super duper refreshing and make an excellent addition to your summer and spring dishes. And unlike a lot of the options on this list, they have a spicy kick to them that provides an extra kick to your meals. Even better, radishes are stuffed with important antioxidants, including the catechin compounds that’s found in green tea, too. Slice and dice them, and add to your salads and sandwiches this summer. Lovely!

Celery

Be careful with celery, as it’s one of the few vegetables that people can actually be allergic to (yep, as weird as it sounds, celery can actually kill you if you’re allergic). On the good side, celery is crammed with water and contains almost no calories. In fact, it has just six calories for each stalk. Despite this, it’s a good source of fibre, so will help to keep you feeling full for longer. It also contains vitamins A, C and K, as well as folate.

Tomatoes

One of the most popular fruits there is, tomatoes also need to be mentioned in our list of foods that help you stay hydrated, and you don’t need us to remind you to eat more of them. But just in case you do, here is why you should eat more of this luscious as red lipstick fruit: Tomatoes are rich in selenium, high in water (their water content is 94.5%), and they add colour and flavour to SO many different dishes. Literally, you can add them to pizzas, salads, sandwiches, breakfasts, wraps, burgers, soups, smoothies…pretty much anything you can think of! Forget everything else, tomatoes are the real foods that add beautiful colour to any dish.