Staying hydrated is key to good health however, drinking up to between 6 and 8 glasses of water in a day can be a real challenge. Water is needed by the various organs and parts of the body in a variety of ways making it beneficial to stay hydrated. It also helps to detoxify the body by removing toxins and other forms of wastes. Dehydration on the other hand will have adverse effects on the body physically, mentally and emotionally and may eventually lead to death if it persists.

Adding flavor to your drinking water can serve as a form of motivation or a way of helping you to take more of it. This enables you to get the recommended daily volume. You can do this by infusing it with a variety of flavors, fruits, vegetables, spices as well as herbs. Doing this does not only make you stay hydrated, but it also helps to aid your digestion and provide you with the necessary nutrients. It can also help in promoting weight loss. You will find the benefits off staying hydrated here.

What Does it Mean to Infuse Water?

This is when a combination of fruits, herbs, vegetables, or spices is immersed in water for drinking. In this way, vitamins, as well as minerals are released into it from the fruits, vegetables and herbs. This means that you are not just drinking water but you are also getting a supply of nutrients. You can find below some of its benefits.

Prevents Dehydration

This is the main purpose of infusion. It is to help motivate people who need to drink enough water daily but are not so keen on doing so. By infusing fruit, vegetables and herbs, it makes drinking water more appealing and tasty. This in turn helps to avoid the negative effects that are associated with dehydration.

It helps in Weight Management

Infused water may also help you manage your weight in several ways although there is a wrong notion concerning this. Some people think that it is the solution directly that helps to prevent weight gain but this is far from the truth. What helps is that the more you drink water, the less food you are likely to eat so you reduce your daily calorie intake this way.

Secondly, this drink can be taken in place of sugary drinks and juice that contain added sugars. Consequently, this helps to reduce your sugar intake and less sugar equal fewer calories and this equal less weight.

It Helps in Getting Rid of Waste in The Body

An important work of water in the body is its ability to remove waste and toxins from the body. Fruits contain antioxidants and this helps in flushing out any toxins or waste that might be present in the body.

Some other benefits of infusion are that it helps to aid immune defense and prevents heartburn. It also helps in the regulation of blood sugar and in soothing headaches. Infusing mint herbs may help to freshen a person’s breath.

In addition to the above, it helps to keep the skin healthy and beautiful by giving the skin a good texture as well as a good appearance. It also regulates the body’s pH and may help to fight cancer.

How To Make Infused Water

Making infused water is simple and straightforward. You may choose to create your mix or check online for recipes. What you simply need are fruits, herbs or vegetables of your choice and of course, a jar, pitcher, carafe, flask, or an infuser water bottle where the infusion will take place. The advantage of infuser bottles and flasks is that they can be covered and carried about wherever you want to go. This will enable you to have access to your infused drink all day and at any time you want to.

Also, an infuser bottle has an advantage over a flask as it can be kept in your refrigerator to cool while infusing. When you use a flask, you will need to pour from another jar into the flask. An infuser bottle comes with a chamber for adding your fruits so you can do so directly and put the bottle in the refrigerator.

The next step is to cut your fruits into your holding container, add water and if you prefer it cold, put it in the refrigerator. Depending on how strong you want it to taste, you can leave the fruits and herbs in for about 2 hours or overnight. Some may choose to leave them for up to 12 hours.

Common Ingredients to Use

In making your infused water, you can make use of fruits, herbs, spices and vegetables. You can decide to simply use any one of these alone or have a combination of two or more. Below is a list of some of the ingredients you may try.

Fruits

Lemon, lime, orange, apples, grapes, tangerines, tangelos, raspberries, strawberries, cucumbers, watermelons, cranberries, etc.

Herbs and Vegetables

Sage, basil, mint leaves, thyme, spearmint, lemongrass, calendula, oregano, apple mint, parsley, rosemary, anise hyssop, marjoram and lemon balm. Others are lemon verbena, dill, hibiscus, bee balm, etc.

Spices

Fennel seeds, juniper berries, ginger, cloves, vanilla beans, cardamom pods, star anise, etc.

Helpful Tips

• You may leave your fruit to stay for up to 12 hours in the water.
• To prolong the freshness of your infused drink, ensure to remove the fruits after a maximum of 12 hours. With this, your drink can last up to 72 hours (3 days) in the refrigerator after the fruits are removed.
• When your container or bottle is half empty, you should refill it in order to preserve the flavor. When it is empty you will have to wait for some hours to get another infusion.
• You can make the process even easier if you wish by freezing leftover fruits, herbs, vegetables in a tray for making ice. You can then add these to your water later.

Conclusion

Drinking water is a necessity but it can be quite boring to drink it as it is. To spice things up and be motivated, you simply infuse it with ingredients such as fruit, vegetables, or herbs. This will not only make it tasty and appealing, but it will also benefit you health-wise.