The Water Secret, by Dr Murad, claims that water is the key to looking young and staying healthy. But the water secret theory paradoxically contends that moisture at the cellular level cannot be replenished by downing the recommended 8-10 glasses a day, which does nothing more than fill up your bladder and swell up your body. Rather than drink water, the secret is to “eat” it. So we’ve come up with some water-rich foods that refresh.

The great thing about foods with high water content is that they are low in calories and fairly filling. Not long ago, I ate a Greek salad at a restaurant that was mostly heirloom tomatoes.  To my surprise I couldn’t finish it. I now know why: tomatoes are about 95% water. The other bonus is that H2o foods tend to be colorful, which is a good sign that they’ll be high in antioxidants.

I had expected fruits to be more watery than veggies for some reason. But not so – with the obvious exception of watermelon. Still, fruits are mostly 80% water. Some recommended water-rich foods that are over 90% water as well as bonus nutrients are:

Watermelon – 25% of your daily intake of vitamin C

Cucumbers  -  A natural source of silica that will do wonders for your complexion

Tomatoes  – Full of the potent antioxidant lycopene

Zucchini  -  35% of your daily intake of  vitamin C

Cooked chicken breast (65%) – 121% of your daily intake of the amino acid tryptophan, 72% of vitamin B

Boiled red kidney beans (77%) – a great source of folate, a form of vitamin B essential for healthy cells

Chard (97%) – a fantastic soure of iron

Celery – a natural source of sodium, fiber and potassium

Grapefruit – bursting with vitamin C