Summer “Tea-Tox”

Sick of plain water? Cool off with detoxifying herbal iced teas instead.

- Jonny Bowden

It’s important to stay hydrated, especially during the summer months. The weather is heating up. It’s a time of “shedding. ” We’re getting rid of things—figuratively and literally. We shed our outer layers of clothing, and we frequently drop some “winter weight.” In lighter clothing, we feel freer and more buoyant. Energy goes up, libido increases, and spirits are lifted.

During the summer months, we spend more time outside and get more sun (and with it, vitamin D). We also exercise outdoors more often. We start noticing higher numbers on our FitBit step-counters. And we sweat more. With this increased loss of fluids, we crave cool, watery foods (what would summer be without watermelon?).

We lose a ton of water during the summer months, which means we need to drink a lot more fluids. Physical performance and physiological function begin to be compromised when you’re even 1 or 2 percent dehydrated! Research shows that being dehydrated by just 2 percent impairs attention, psychomotor skills, memory, and subjective state of well-being.

Another reason drinking a lot of fluids during the summer months makes a lot of sense: Our bodies naturally detoxify as the weather warms up (part of our “shedding” process), and fluid intake helps this process along.

I recommend doing a summer detox, which by definition includes drinking copious amounts of fluids. But you don’t have to go nuts with a detox, limiting yourself to broths or fresh vegetable juices, or subscribing to expensive programs of specially made juices. And you don’t have to drink only water, especially if you find it bland and boring. You can do yourself a lot of good by doing what I call a “tea-tox”—using cooling teas made with anti-inflammatory, naturally detoxifying herbs.