Watch out on your choice of fluids

Smart thirst quenchers protect you from waterborne diseases, this season

Water, water, everywhere… as the rain gods smile on us and the clouds open it brings joy. However, with the heavy rains, come a host of several water-related diseases such as typhoid, gastroenteritis, food poisoning, Hepatitis A, diarrhoea, malaria, dengue and chikungunya which are quite common and can be fatal.

When I was a child we used to get water from the tap, and we would boil it and carry our water everywhere. At home with that boiled water after it cooled down we used to make lemon water and buttermilk occasionally. A bottled drink or fresh juice was the choice of drink.

With globalisation, better transportation and freely available bottled water and drinks; you see water that comes from France, from Italy, from almost every spring and stream on the planet; water with minerals or without salt; water that sparkles or just sits quietly in your glass.

Let’s not forget the huge list of flavoured water -- fruit juices, soft drinks, probiotics drinks, aerated drinks, caffeinated drinks, energy drinks, iced teas, etc. Be careful of what water you choose as it may be of poorer quality than what flows from your tap water.

While the other drinks may refresh you temporarily but will not really quench your thirst. On the other hand, if you choose smart thirst quenchers they might actually boost your immunity and protect you from water-borne diseases.

The Union Government’s, as well as World Health Organization's top agenda in India, is to ensure safe drinking water and fluid choices for the general population to prevent a host of diseases. Most of us get water with one turn of the tap and it comes gushing out like a miniature waterfall especially with the water cuts removed come monsoons.

Tap water is the most important source of water for drinking and our daily needs but depending on where your water comes from, it could contain chemicals like chlorine and pesticides or impurities like bacteria and parasites that are the main cause of water-borne diseases. Over the years, the situation has deteriorated further with rising population and less water supply. Whether the water is from well, spring, lake or rivers it needs to be clean.

Some simple tips to save you from waterborne diseases:
Boil water for a minimum of 20 minutes and then keep the containers covered as leaving it open makes it prone to air-borne bacteria.

The next option is to buy a water purifier and service it regularly. Improve gut flora by adding probiotics. The gut flora plays an important role in boosting immunity which is nothing but our body’s ability to fight diseases.
See that your seal in your bottled water is intact.

Avoid fresh fruit juices, vegetable juices, and soft drinks as it can catch not only water-borne but air-borne diseases.

Add on herbal infusion especially peppermint and ginger as both are anti-inflammatory and aid digestion and prevent flatulence

Always cover water and prevents insects and dirt from settling on it.

Of course, it is best to carry your water but over time people are more on the move and are not carrying water. Their hands are reaching out to drink whatever is handy. It is so confusing as to what one should drink to quench thirst as once upon a time we had just water and now, one can recite a list of choices longer than the daily specials of a menu card.

Good choices of bottled or packaged drinks during monsoons are…