If you’re aware of how important it is to drink plenty of water, but you find water boring to drink, it’s time to get creative with ways to flavor water. Infused water or naturally flavored water is a great way to make drinking water fun, and it gives your water some flavor so that you end up drinking more water.
You’re supposed to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, which equals approximately 64 ounces, 2 liters, or half a gallon of water per day.
If you don’t drink enough water, you could end up with dehydration symptoms such as fatigue, dry skin, headaches, stiffness and muscle cramps. Dehydration can even cause sugar cravings and brain fog.
Drinking more water can aid in weight loss, especially since when you’re thirsty, your body often mistakes thirst for hunger. This is why people crave sugary treats when they’re dehydrated.
Unfortunately, due to the ‘boring’ or ‘bland’ taste of water, many people reach for a soda or some other type of beverage instead of water. Since water is the healthiest beverage to drink, free of liquid calories or added sugar, it’s wise to find ways to flavor water so you drink more of it.
Below are 5 ways to flavor water so that you want to drink more of it:
1. Cucumber and Mint Infused Water
Fancy hotels serve cucumber and mint infused water at check-in for a reason: it tastes refreshing and delicious. This is one of the most popular ways to flavor water. To make this, simply slice a cucumber and lime in very thin slices, and place them in a large pitcher, along with some mint leaves. Pour water over this concoction, and leave the pitcher of infused water in the fridge overnight so that it becomes infused with the flavors.
2. Strawberry and Lavender Flavored Water
One of the most unique ways to flavor water we’ve heard of is strawberry lavender water. To get that strawberry flavor, you’ll want to slice up quite a few strawberries and pop them in your water pitcher. As far as lavender goes, a little goes a long way, so you likely only need to put two or three lavender sprigs in your pitcher. You can let this infused water absorb the strawberry lavender flavors overnight, and serve it in the morning or the next day.
The beautiful red and purple colors of this flavored water make it a great choice to serve if you have guests over. A pitcher of infused water always impresses guests, and you could even decorate their glass with a strawberry by slicing it and sliding it on the rim of the glass.
3. Lemon and Raspberry Infused Water
There are many benefits of infusing your water with lemon. For one thing, lemon offers a great potassium boost. Lemon also is beneficial for digestion, since the acid helps break down the food you consume.
Plain lemon water is delicious, but for extra ways to flavor water with lemon, try a lemon and raspberry mix, or lemon and orange.
You may wish to squeeze some lemon juice directly into your glass of water in addition to the addition of the lemon slices.
4. Grapefruit Infused Water
Grapefruit is a great detoxifier, and adding sliced grapefruit to your water also adds a fresh flavor to your water. Simply slice some grapefruit and put it in your water glass. For extra flavor, squeeze some grapefruit directly into your water.
5. Ways to Flavor Water With Water Flavoring Products
Certain products for flavoring water such as Crystal Light, unsweetened Kool-Aid, and Sweet Leaf flavors are healthy and very low-calorie ways to flavor water. There are quite a few water flavoring products available, but always read the nutrition label, as some of them contain lots of sugar and added calories.
It’s healthiest to choose ways to flavor water the natural way, with a sliced up organic lemon, slices of cucumber, mint leaves, and other organic flavors.
Drinking enough water is just one component of a healthy diet. To find out the optimal diet for you based on your DNA, read your genetic diet and nutrition profile from CircleDNA.
