5 Great ways to drink more water

Staying hydrated is crucial for our health and wellness, yet we often don't drink enough water.

Many people argue that water is tasteless and prefer drinking other liquids instead. This is all good and well, however, most of those other liquids are not healthy as they may contain too much sugar, caffeine, etc.

I, for one don't always like the taste of water, and used to force it down until I discovered these great ways to drink more water.

Fruity Water

Pic credit: Mikhail Nilov

Not getting enough water in means your body is missing out on certain benefits.

What are some ways in which water helps your body?

Water delivers oxygen throughout the body and prevents and helps to cure arthritis by lubricating the joints.

It cushions the brain, spinal cord and other sensitive organs and tissues, thus helping with back pain, migraines, and angina.

It helps with food digestion by forming mucus & saliva, lowering acid levels in the stomach and the bowel depends on it as well. Water shortage in the gut can lead to colitis and other gut problems.

Water also regulates body temperature and helps maintain blood pressure, flushes waste from the body and prevents kidney damage.

It helps the body with mineral and nutrient absorption and boosts skin health and beauty.

It boosts exercise performance and helps with weight loss.

In addition, it helps prevent and cure early adult-onset diabetes, asthma, and Cholesterol

Source

I know this is all very encouraging but be careful not to overdo it. Drinking too much water can lead to "water intoxication" which is when sodium levels in the blood plasma are too low. This can cause lung congestion, brain swelling, headaches, fatigue, confusion, nausea, seizures, coma and even death.

You can drink it hot or cold, plain or with a bit of flavor- natural flavor is most ideal.

Drinking it at certain times and at the right temperature can increase the benefits of water. You can drink:

2 glasses warm water 1st thing in the morning- about half an hour before you have breakfast.

1 glass cold/ room temperature water 30 minutes before a meal.

1 glass cold/ room temperature before you take a bath or shower.

1 glass warm water before going to bed.

What are interesting ways to drink more water?

Use filtered or bottled water, alternatively, you can preboil tap water if the first two options are not available to you- then cool it before use.

Remember adding these ingredients won't give a burst of flavor, in fact the flavors are very subtle. To get the most out of the added ingredients, add it to a jar or pitcher, press or crush it a bit, then top with ice cubes and add water.

Strawbery water

• Enhance water with fresh mint leaves, ginger, or your favorite herb.

• Add Citrus slices for a refreshing taste and to make your glass look inviting.

• Cucumber slices add a fresh, clean taste to water. You can include mint or ginger in if you prefer.

• For a more subtle flavor infuse fresh berries, melon, pineapple, or peach, or you can freeze fruit in ice trays.

• You can even combine berries with citrus and herbs.

Try these interesting options from Culinary hill. They're just too good not to try.

You can also add the pulp of one granadilla/ passion fruit to a glass of water and ice. If you're using passion fruit it may require sweetener, go for natural sweetener instead of sugar. This actually counts as homemade juice, but it's still a nice way to get some water in. Also check out my blogs on "Health benefits of passion fruit / granadillas" . Lemon Ginger and honey Tea as well as 10 Best Foods for Healthy Immune System .

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Tell us your favorite way to drink water in the comments or join the forum.