Sunday 26 February 2017

Tuesday 21 February 2017

How Well Are You Hydrated?


If you have access to a water cooler, hot and cold water is likely to be abundant, but does this mean that you are adequately hydrated? We all understand that hydration is important for body functions, but knowing that you are properly hydrated can be a little more complicated than counting how many glasses of water you’ve been drinking. Fortunately, there are a few signs to indicate if you are properly hydrated or need to get back to that cooler.

Urine Colour:

Although it may seem a little gross, taking note of the colour of your urine is one of the most reliable indications of whether you are properly hydrated. If your urine is lightly coloured or looks like water, you are well hydrated and have a handle on how much water you should be drinking. However, if your urine is darker, you need to include more water in your daily diet. The reason for this is that urine is one method the body uses to remove waste. A darker urine colour shows that your body is conserving water as much as possible. If your body has plenty of water available through proper hydration, your body is more able to release more fluid allowing your urine to have a lighter colour.

Sweat:

Another reliable sign of hydration is sweating. More water in your body allows use for a variety of functions including sweating. This will lead for you to sweat more during physical exertion. While sweating during exercise is a good sign that you are hydrated, you will need to replace this lost fluid by drinking a little more.

Feeling Thirsty:

This is one of the least reliable signs of needing to visit the water cooler. Hot and cold temperatures, illness and other underlying reasons can affect whether we feel thirsty. Additionally, even if the feeling of thirst is due to not drinking enough water, the fact that you feel it, is a sign that you are already dehydrated. For this reason, it is important to ensure that you drink enough to avoid feeling thirst, particularly in hot weather.


If you are interested in improving your hydration levels with great tasting water, you should speak to us. Aussie Natural has a wide product range including models of water cooler, hot and cold water dispenser and filters. We also have a range of bottled spring water sourced from the Darling Ranges. Our team would be happy to discuss your water requirements and assist you in determining the best solution. 

Foods to Complement Office Water Coolers for a Hydrated Work Day

Most of us are aware of the importance of hydration to make the most of our work day. Hydration is vital for concentration and can help you to maintain focus, avoiding that mid afternoon slump. While you may have a cooler in your office to help keep you hydrated, there are also a number of water rich foods that can boost your hydration level.

Fruits:

Forget crisps and sweets for your mid afternoon snack, as fruits and veggies are the ultimate in hydrating foods. These nutrition powerhouses can contain as much as 95% water, which means that you not only get a vitamin boost, but you can also improve your hydration. Some great examples are strawberries and watermelon, which contain 92% water. However, if these fruits are not in season, you won’t be stuck for alternatives. Peaches, grapefruit, and cantaloupe also have a high water content of approximately 88%.

Veggies:

Or if you are in a more savoury mood, there are lots of veggies with a high water content. Cucumber and lettuce contain 96% water, so if you can incorporate a salad bowl into your lunch, you will immediately improve your hydration level. However, spinach, eggplant, cabbage, and cauliflower all contain approximately 92% water. So, if it feels a little too cold to eat salad, a hearty vegetable curry or stew will help to help you to stay warm and hydrated.

Soups:

There are many office water coolers that also dispense hot water, which makes them perfect for preparing a hydrating lunch. Soups, instant noodles, and snack pots tend to be very convenient and only require that you add hot water and stir. This makes them easy to take into work as you don’t need to worry about anything leaking liquid inside your bag. Just try to choose a low sodium alternative, as high salt content can contribute to feeling dehydrated.

Of course, eating lots of water rich foods should not replace drinking lots of fluid. It is important to understand that even if you are enjoying a diet packed with hydrating foods, you should still be drinking at least one and a half litres of water each day. So, you will still need to take a trip to the water cooler several times a day, but it will also provide the opportunity to catch up on all the office gossip.

If you are interested in water dispensers for office or business use, you should speak to us. Aussie Natural has a wide selection of water coolers for office or home use. Our team would be happy to discuss your requirements and offer a solution to meet your needs.


Water Filters; Perth Motion Sickness Sufferers Secret Weapon

Whether you are driving, sailing or flying, motion sickness can be a very unpleasant experience. The symptoms can appear without any warning, or you may find that they are ongoing. Regardless of how motion sickness affects you, there is a way to combat feeling unwell with the secret weapon of good quality drinking water.

Hydration is the Key:

Most of us are aware that the human body needs sufficient fluid to properly function. However, you may not be aware that this includes the motion sensors of the body. The main culprit of motion sickness is the fluid inside your ears, and this can be managed in a number of ways. One of the most effective is hydration. In an ideal scenario, you would begin hydration up to 48 hours before your trip. You would need to start drinking fluids at regular intervals, avoiding caffeine and alcohol, as these beverages can exacerbate the motion sickness symptoms.
Once you have prepared yourself, you will need to plan for hydration on the journey. Drink fluid in small quantities as gulping large amounts could upset your stomach. Have a bottle of water handy and keep taking small sips to maintain hydration.

The Importance of Quality Water:

While in theory, any fluid could alleviate the symptoms of motion sickness, good quality water provides the best option. Sugary soda and fruit juice can be too sweet for a delicate tummy, preventing you from drinking enough. Fortunately, you need not spend a fortune on bottled water to stay hydrated as you can use water filters. Perth homeowners can drink deliciously cool filtered water in preparation for their journey, but don’t forget that you will need a couple of bottles for convenience during your journey.

Distract Yourself:

Finally, during your journey, you should consider distracting yourself. While reading or looking down while you are in motion can exacerbate feelings of nausea, there are other distractions that can help to make you feel better. Listen to an audio book, do a puzzle or even look out of the window to play a car game. Even getting chatting will help to keep your mind off the motion, making the trip go quicker and minimising your symptoms.


If you are interested in water filter symptoms, you should speak to us. Aussie Natural has a wide range of products including water filters for home or office use. Our team would be happy to discuss your requirements and offer guidance as to the devices best suited to your needs. 

Pregnant? Be Sure to Keep a 600 ml Bottled Water Handy for Complete Hydration

When you are pregnant, you are likely to be receiving advice from everyone around you. Family members, work colleagues and even strangers on the street are all likely to be telling you what you should and should not be eating, what exercise to take and even if the shape of your bump can determine whether you are expecting a boy or a girl. However, one aspect that is often overlooked is hydration. While we consider the importance of drinking water when we exercise, many pregnant ladies forget that they need to be drinking plenty of water to ensure that their new family member is strong and healthy.

How Much Water for a Hydrated Pregnancy?

Hydration during pregnancy is vitally important, and you will need to drink more water than you would normally. Most experts agree that during pregnancy you may need to drink approximately three litres of water each day. This is about the same as twelve glasses of water to ensure that you are fully hydrated. This is approximately fifty percent more water than the average for non pregnant women. Additionally, for each hour of exercise, you will need to add another glass of water to replace any lost fluid. Although this may seem like a massive amount of water, you need to realise that the water you drink travels directly to your unborn child.

The Benefits of Proper Hydration in Pregnancy:

Although most of us are aware that proper hydration is important, during pregnancy the benefits are even more diverse. For example, proper hydration not only helps to keep your body feeling cool during those hormonal flushes, but it can relieve headaches and help to minimise swelling. This can help you to feel far more comfortable during the pregnancy, particularly in the later stages.
However, the quality of what you are drinking also plays a role. Sugary drinks, soda, and other beverages may help you to feel hydrated, but they can also cause sugar spikes that can increase feelings of fatigue. The best fluid for hydration is spring water. This is not only good quality water, but it also contains essential minerals and nutrients. This means that it is a good idea to always have a few 600 ml water bottles handy.


If you are interested in staying hydrated with great quality 600 ml bottled water, contact us. Aussie Natural is one of the best 600 ml bottled water suppliers. Our water is sourced from the Darling Ranges, and we have a wide range of bottle sizes available.

Thursday 16 February 2017

The Importance of Drinking Enough Water

Most people are now aware of the importance of drinking enough water to stay hydrated. However, even today we find some misinformation on how much to drink and what can happen to our bodies if we fail to drink enough. For those seeking the ultimate in water drinking technology, the best option may be to hire ceramic water dispensers. Here are a few fascinating facts about how our bodies work and the important part that water plays in staying healthy and alert.



The Importance of the Kidneys:

Our kidneys filter somewhere between 113 to 140 litres of water every day. Only 1 or 2 litres are actually egested out of our bodies via our urine; any remaining water is recovered into our bloodstream. The kidneys simply cannot function without adequate water, and if the kidneys cannot function, our bodies can’t get rid of waste. When the kidneys cannot function, there is also a build of excess fluids that can lead to chronic kidney disease and kidney failure if left untreated. This, in turn, will also have a cascade effect, and other vital organs in the body will begin to shut down.

The Dangers of Early Dehydration:

Most people have experienced some level of dehydration in their lives. The first thing we notice is a feeling of thirst, every time you feel thirsty you have allowed your body to become dehydrated. The trick is to drink water regularly throughout the day before you begin to feel thirsty. One of the key aspects of dehydration is that the body is losing more water than it is taking in. The will result in an imbalance in the electrolytes in the body, electrolytes, such as potassium, phosphate, and sodium facilitate the electrical signals that pass between our cells. A failure to pass these signals or having them disrupted can lead to seizures, muscle spasms and a loss of consciousness.

The Dangers of Severe Dehydration:

When dehydration becomes more severe, the consequences can be life threatening. In addition to kidney failure, there are other complications, such as anaemia, heart failure, a compromised immune system and damage to your central nervous system. Some other effects can also include an increase in blood pressure, dehydrated airways, allergies, asthma, premature skin aging, constipation, digestive problems, stomach ulcers, joint pain and impaired cognitive function.

Here at Aussie Natural, we have a variety of water solutions available including a ceramic water dispenser. Perth residents will be delighted to learn that we source all our spring water locally and we deliver directly to your home or business. Our ceramic water dispensers for home and business use are very economical to hire. There is really no excuse to not stay hydrated with a steady supply of high quality spring water that comes at an affordable price. If you have any further questions, we will be happy to discuss your needs in more detail.


Is it Safe to Refill Bottle Spring Water?

Many of us understand that it is vitally important to stay hydrated throughout the day. If insufficient water is drunk, a person can suffer from severe effects and become ill. One of the ways that most people ensure that they drink enough water is to carry a bottle with them to sip from. This is an admirable goal, but there are few problems that need to be understood. It is quite a common practice to refill a spring water bottle from the day before at home and reuse it. Let’s explore why that might not be the best course of action to take.

The Process of Drinking:

Many people shop for their water as they go about their day or store bottles in an office refrigerator. You may even have water bottle suppliers that deliver fresh water direct to your door and take them with you when you leave your home. Either of these scenarios is fine if you drink your water in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, far too many people take a bottle of water and have it sat in a hot car or carry it around on a hot day. Scientific studies are not conclusive, but they do point to an increase in chemicals released into the water by plastic that has been heated by the sun. If you’re out and about it may be a good idea to get a cover for your water bottle or invest in a metal bottle and decant your water into that vessel instead.

The Trouble with Bacteria:

A recent study carried out research on reused water bottles, and there were some surprising results. A single water bottle carried by an athlete over the course of a week collected a colony of over 900,000 bacteria per square inch.  That is more bacteria than you would find on an average toilet seat. The water inside the bottle fared even worse as it contained 313,499 CFU per square cm. Although the bottles were washed between uses, they were not washed thoroughly enough, and this caused the buildup of bacteria.

Fresh is Best:

Obviously, ingesting large amounts of bacteria on a daily basis is not conducive to good health. The easiest solution to this problem is to not reuse spring water bottles at all and open a fresh bottle every time you need to drink. This will ensure that you are only drinking fresh water and not collected bacteria from other days in the week. However, not all bottled water are created equally so choose a good quality option.


Here at Aussie Natural, we offer the best bottled water delivery direct to your home or business. Our water is locally sourced spring water that delivers high quality at an affordable price. Contact us today for more information, and we will be happy to discuss your needs in detail.

Where Should You Locate an Office Water Cooler?

When they are considering filtration systems and water accessories, Perth business managers often have to make a tricky decision. Placing a water cooler in the right place requires a little thought to get right. Let’s take a closer look at some of the challenges that need to be overcome and why you need an Aussie Natural water cooler.



Drinking Laws:

There are laws in place to ensure that staff members are provided with adequate drinking water at work. Initially, this was regarded by many managers as a burden, but over the years the water cooler has become an essential part of life. Studies have shown that drinking water regularly increases the attention span and improves cognitive function. It has also been proven that an occasional round of socialising at the water cooler raises morale and actually improves productivity.

The Modern Water Cooler:

Older water coolers and water filter accessories such as covers were truly awful looking pieces of equipment. Modern systems are sleek, light, portable and they have a very small footprint compared to their ancestors. A water cooler from Aussie Natural will take up only a foot of floor space making it ideal to situate anywhere that it is needed.

Correctly Positioning the Cooler:

Now that we know that the water cooler, accessories, and supplies can be placed anywhere, where do we place it? The best location would be a high traffic location that is centrally located in a smaller office facility. A larger office with more workers and multiple floors may benefit from having additional units placed at strategic points such as entrances or hallways. It is important to consider that people may gather around the water cooler, so extra space is useful. The water cooler should always be placed against a wall as this will help to prevent the unit being knocked over and damaged. It is also a good idea to locate the cooler on a spill mat to minimise the effects of spilled water on the flooring.

Protecting the Water:

Water can be adversely affected by direct light; this is because algae can form inside the water bottles. This will turn the water green and make it unpalatable to drink. This algae is not hazardous to health, but it can be off putting to drink. For this reason, we recommend that the water cooler is located out of direct sunlight, but this is not possible in many modern office buildings. A solution to this problem is to use a water bottle cover to protect the water from the sun. Depending upon where any spare bottles of water are stored it may be necessary to cover those as well.


If you would like further details about water coolers, contact us. The Aussie Natural team would be delighted to answer any queries you may have.

Key Information on Water Filters Perth Residents Should Know

As our customers can attest, Aussie Natural stock benchtop water filters systems that are as efficient as they are compact. Just like our water cooler, the water filtration range only takes up one square foot of space on your floor or benchtop. This makes them easy to fit into most spaces, and unlike water coolers that use bottled water, they can be plumbed in the water supply directly. You can then enjoy delicious filtered water straight from your tap without having to change bottles every day. However, there are some other details regarding our water filtration process that can be useful to understand.


How Does Our Water Filtration Work?

When they think of water filters, Perth residents may immediately think of the water treatment carried out on their mains water supply. This initial process removes a great deal of contaminants from our water, but it doesn’t go far enough for those seeking a higher quality water. Our water filter systems take the mains water supply and pass it through a five micron filter and then through a carbon filter. We do this to remove any remaining chemical contaminants, and any residual traces of the chlorine used to treat the public water. This makes the water cleaner, better tasting and healthier for drinking and cooking.

The Rental Agreement:

Our water filtration systems for home and business use are available on a rental basis from Aussie Natural. As part of the rental agreement, we take the responsibility to ensure that the water filter is serviced regularly. This will ensure that the system works as intended and minimises the chances of an inconvenient failure. We have water filtration systems available in a freestanding Hot and Cold dispenser or in a Cool and Cold benchtop unit. The choice is yours to make, but you can rest assured both units deliver a continuous supply of clean filtered water every day on demand.

Using the Water Filter System:

Making a decision on which water filtration system fits your needs could be problematic for some, so here is a quick primer. Our Hot and Cold dispenser can deliver water that is hot enough to make beverages, such as instant soups, teas, and coffee. This makes this particular system very popular for offices and other workplace environments. The Cool and Cold systems using the cool setting are great for cooking and preparing food. This makes this unit a popular choice for home use, and it is usually located in the kitchen. Both systems deliver cold water which is great for drinking especially on a hot day.


All of our installation work is carried out by qualified and certified plumbers with the minimum of disruption. Why not call us today for more information? Our sales team is standing by to answer any remaining questions you may have.