by Fern Shaw | Feb 27, 2023 | water cooler, Water Coolers
There is a common misconception that wine, spirits and even beer, for example, contain no kilojoules and that this is reserved solely for food. Sadly, this is not the case.
So you may see a lot of people who will eat sparingly, but consume glassfuls of wine and spirits (and even beer) and wonder why they’re not losing weight.
Here are a few examples of wines vs. spirits in the kilojoules department:
- 225ml glass of white wine = 659 kilojoules
- 225ml glass of red wine = 641 kilojoules
- 225ml glass of full strength beer = 341 kilojoules
- 225ml glass of vodka (30ml tot) and soda = 266 kilojoules
- 225ml glass of gin (30ml) and tonic = 545 kilojoules
Two large glasses (450ml) of white wine (1 318 kJ) are equivalent to:
- Five chocolate chip biscuits – 1245 kJ
- Seven jelly snakes – 1 292 kJ
- Four medium apples – 1 354 kJ
- Twelve squares of milk chocolate – 1 350 kJ
- Five large, hard boiled eggs – 1 283 kJ
- Seven chicken nuggets – 1 353 kJ
- One toasted ham and cheese sandwich – 1 244 kJ
225ml glass of soda water = 0 kJ
225ml glass of water = 0 kJ
Although it’s doubtful that anyone would want to spend the rest of their weight conscious lives calculating kilojoule content per gram of lettuce or dollop of mayonnaise (lots!), hopefully these comparisons should give one pause when embarking on a liquid diet in the hopes of staving off the pounds from eating.
What we would suggest is rather chug-a-lug soda or spring water with your next packet of jelly snakes. Even better if you’re trying to shed weight is to keep your water glass or water bottle replenished and make frequent trips to the water cooler station throughout the day.
by Fern Shaw | Feb 23, 2023 | water cooler, Water Coolers
There’s no denying that the statistics speak volumes:
771 million people – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water.* Millions of people take multiple trips each day to collect water. 282 million people spend more than 30 minutes each time. More specifically, women and children bear the primary responsibility for water collection. Women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. This is time not spent working, caring for family members, or attending school.
The ramifications of these stats and staggering amount of people affected can seem quite daunting in terms of how to address this global issue. The good news, though, is that there are multiple organisations that continue, year on year, to provide sustainable solutions to the lack of water and adequate sanitation to many thousands of people in hundreds of communities.
Sustainability may seem like the buzzword – bandied about without much meaning, but the truth of it is – sustainability is vital in the provision of water and sanitation to those for who access to water is an ongoing fight for actual survival.
There’s much truth in the adage, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime’, but before this philosophy can be realised, help is needed to provide water to communities that more often than not, do not have the most basic of infrastructures for a steady supply of water.
Sustainable water projects are those that include both short term and long-term solutions that pave the way forward by provide communities with convenient access to a constant supply of potable water and water for productive use every day.
That’s why, at AquAid Water Coolers we have, since our humble beginnings more than two decades ago, partnered with charities that not only provide emergency relief but also sustainable solutions to poverty around the globe, as is the case with Christian Aid and in the case of The Africa Trust, throughout Africa.
To learn more about the work that these organisations carry out, visit the AquAid website, and see how your water and water cooler purchases are making a visible difference to others.
*source: Water.org
by Fern Shaw | Feb 16, 2023 | water cooler, Water Coolers
Feeling lethargic when Nature is urging us to hibernate during the winter months is nothing new. What can be new and life changing (for the better) is how you counter that lethargy.
One of the simplest methods to counteract constant tiredness and feeling lethargic and having these impact on the rest of your day is to drink water as soon as you wake up.
Drinking water first thing in the morning:
Jump-starts your metabolism. The food we consume on a daily basis is metabolised and transported by way of water throughout the body. Having a sufficient amount of water in your system helps fire up your metabolism; it can also help with not eating too much. When we’re not adequately hydrated, we often mistake thirst for hunger, which can lead us to eat more.*
Helps fuel your brain. When it comes to daily productivity, hydration is crucial. The human brain consists of 73% water, so staying hydrated is especially essential for maintaining optimal brain activity. It is, of course, a daylong process, but starting with a glass of water right away is a step in the right direction.
The mornings set the tone for the rest of your day. If you feel sluggish, it will reflect in your morning activities/workouts, productivity at work, in fact, any daytime routine.*
Immediately helps rehydrate the body. Sleeping for hours is a long time to go without any water consumption. Drinking at least a glass (or two) of water right when you wake up is a good way to quickly rehydrate your body. So before you reach for that cuppa or coffee, rather refresh with water and kick start your day in the right manner.*
Increases your level of alertness. One of the biggest indicators of lethargy or low energy is that you are dehydrated. Because water aids in both body regulation and brain function, it is also closely related to balancing out our moods.
After a long period without anything to eat or drink, the first thing you consume in the morning can be a shock to the body. If that first thing is water, it will get the body working and can boost your alertness and low energy levels.*
Remember AquAid for all your water cooler and fresh drinking water requirements. With our decades of experience, you can rely on our expert knowledge to guide you in which of our high-quality range of water dispensers is the perfect install for your hydration needs.
sources: *from an article at Business Insider speaking to Nutritionist Rania Batayneh
by Fern Shaw | Aug 2, 2022 | water cooler, water cooler, water dispenser
With our lives now predominately online (often whether we like it or not) and our virtual conduct changing from day to day, it can be tricky negotiating one’s conduct in the physical realm. Added to this is with so many of us having worked remotely for such a long period, returning to work in the office or school can be a little challenging.
Change is good. Of course it is. There’s no progress or movement without change. Certain things though, don’t change. That’s also good. All said it’s good to know that in the physical realm thankfully some things never change.
How you approach the water cooler station happens to be one of those things that hasn’t changed. Perhaps the banter has (massively, for obvious reasons) and very likely you’re using an AquAid touch-free water dispenser, but overall, as you head out to hydrate, water cooler station etiquette remains as it was.
Should you be feeling a little out of touch (no, not the same as a no-touch water cooler) here are a few helpful pointers:
- Don’t block access while you’re catching up with colleagues.
- Don’t use your water cooler to wash your containers/mug, water glass, or bottle!
- Keep your interaction light and impersonal. It may be important to you, but most likely hearing about your Aunt Violet’s verruca removal isn’t really what a workmate had in mind.
- Do confab about work. There are countless studies that prove exchanging ideas and comparing notes away from your office, workspace or desk often results in a good outcome.
- Keep the area tidy, help replace the bottled water if you can and if you note the bottle water supply is uncommonly low, make sure to alert your bottled water supplier. It may help to know that at AquAid, we have 23 local depots, meaning replacing your bottled water is quick and efficient.
by Fern Shaw | Jan 13, 2022 | Water, water cooler
“You can tune a guitar, but you can’t tuna fish. Unless, of course, you play bass.” – Douglas Adams
With the all-encompassing advent of our world online, I have been wondering for some time now if puns are the things of beauty they once were. Post millennium there are more social media pun dedicated pages than you could shake a stick.
One cannot help but think that if puns are becoming obsolete (by the mere fact that there are just too many of them being churned out to be of any relevance) are the other witty extensions of language also on the slippery slope to obsolescence?
While you ponder this, we’d like you to consider the raison d’être behind the rather pun filled headline of this blog.
As I’m sure you’ve gathered, what we’re asking (a perennial favourite) is are you adequately (AquAidly) hydrated? If not, why not? Is it because you’re unsure of what qualifies as adequate hydration? Well, there we can help.
Being as we are a water and water cooler provider of some 23 years, it’s our business to know all about proper hydration. We’re constantly checking to ensure that we’re up-to-date about all things drinking water related.
One of the ways that we pass on this information to you, dear online reader, is by providing a quick reference guide at our website. That’s here.
Aside from that, we have over 22 AquAid branches throughout the UK, staffed by highly experienced water knowledgeable teams who are well equipped to provide you with the best water provision solution – tailor-made to suit your hydration requirements.
We can’t, of course, make you hydrate properly as that’s certainly up to you. We’re also not using the terms – lead-horse-water-drink in here, perish the thought – but we are hoping that you recognise for your own health and well-being how important it is to make sure that you are aware that in order to perform at your peak -whether at work, school or play – you need to be adequately (AquAidly) hydrated.
We would love to be able to assist. Contact us today.
by Fern Shaw | Apr 15, 2019 | water cooler, water cooler
If this image starts your nose itching instead of being able to simply admire the precision mowed grass, it’s quite likely you’re one of an estimated 10 million people in the UK who suffers with hay fever.
With spring already here (officially arriving in the UK on 20 March) it usually brings with it a soaring pollen count.
There are 3 pollen seasons in the UK and each has a different source: tree pollen, released during spring; grass pollen, released during the end of spring and beginning of summer and weed pollen, released late autumn.
Hay fever (or seasonal allergic rhinitis), occurs when your body makes the mistake of treating the tree pollen, or pollen from shrubs, as a harmful organism, and the immune system goes into action by making antibodies to try to prevent it spreading. This can trigger a runny nose, itchy watery eyes and coughing, sneezing and sniffling – common allergy symptoms.
How can drinking water possibly help reduce my hay fever?
Usually the first thing a hay fever sufferer does is reach for the anti-histamines, which makes sense, however, as your body has gone into overdrive producing a ‘liquid’ reaction – runny nose, watery eyes, constant sniffling and sneezing – you can dehydrate through this additional loss of fluid. This coupled with the fact that anti-histamines tend to dry you up which can also lead to your dehydrating at a faster than usual speed. That’s the one aspect to consider.
The other aspect is that according to some studies, a lack of water causes you to produce more histamine, a protein that regulates water in the body and stimulates your thirst response. Histamine also plays a role in the body’s response to pollen. When you breathe in pollen, your body releases histamine, which is a main cause of allergy symptoms. Ergo, If you’re thirsty, you have more histamine being released which may make your symptoms stronger and last longer.
There is also information gleaned from a 2013 study found that dehydrated individuals produced less allergy-blocking antibodies. With less of these antibodies, your body releases more histamine. Both of these contribute to more frequent and more intense allergy outbursts.
There’s more than one win here though – if you maintain good hydration habits, with frequent water refills from your water cooler in your workplace, as well as ensuring you carry drinking water with you when you’re out and about, not only will your general well-being increase but you may also be able to easier reduce your allergic reaction during the pollen seasons every year.
