Water Essentials: How to pimp up a glass of water

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The essence of water

Of all the vegetables, spices and other consumables that form part of a healthy defence against the ravages of nature. There’s one particular wonder-drink whose benefits are not quite matched by its sex appeal: water! There are 1,001 articles and reports in circulation that remind us how vital water is to a healthy lifestyle. Its benefits to our skin, our metabolism, our cognition, and of course weight loss. But few, offer any reasonable solutions to actually attaining that daily recommended intake of 6-8 glasses. A pint when you wake up, a glass before mealtimes, and a bladder-busting pint before bed are to be topped up by regular sips from the bottle you are expected to keep at your side, say the experts. Well, it’s a healthy regime, but is it really how you want to live your life?

Drinking water can be fun!

Most likely not. But without too much trouble or expense, it’s quite easy to add a little colour and flavour and a lot of natural nutrition to your daily fluid intake. The kind of colour and flavour that’ll have you dropping what you’re doing to hit the refrigerator whenever that hourly break comes by. Adding fruit and herbs to your water is a great way to create an appealing edge to keeping yourself hydrated. And, it’s cheap enough a habit that you can easily keep a couple of jugs in the fridge the whole time to save repeated chopping and infusing.

Cucumber and Lime Detox Water

A great one for first thing in the morning is the Cucumber and Lime Detox. Without being too much for your taste buds while you’re still waking up, it’s flavoursome enough to have you want to finish it to the bottom. Rather than, staring at yourself in the bathroom mirror trying to force down that morning glass of plain old tap water. Drinking it before breakfast will get your brain going, undo the dehydrating effects from all the water you couldn’t drink while you were sleeping, and will also suppress your appetite so that you take your time over a moderate, thought-out breakfast. Rather than, chasing up a bowl of sugary cereal with a plate of jam-spattered toast.

The benefits…

The half-lime that you should slice and add to the drink will also get your vitamin C intake for the day well underway. So, drinking water isn’t just about dieting but about building your bodies natural defences. Cucumber contains the silica mineral, which will strengthen your nails, as well as plenty of copper, potassium, manganese, magnesium, biotin and vitamin B1. It doesn’t have the sugars of a fruit juice, so it is a wiser choice for losing weight.

Calming Chamomile and Mint Water

At the other end of the day, when you may be feeling stressed and restless from a tough day’s work. Rather than reaching for the wine (count those calories!) or comfort food. You’ll want to set it up before you leave for work in the morning, so it has a few hours to infuse at room temperature. One litre of water will want a single chamomile teabag, and this is where much of the calming influence comes from. Drink before your evening meal to promote digestion and also potentially support the diet process. It can help you sleep, boost your immune system and even relieve menstrual cramps and tension, all of which will contribute to a better sense of well-being and control over your life.

The benefits…

To this, you can add a whole sliced lemon, which will continue the good work for your immune system that the lime in your cucumber drink started in the morning. And fresh mint is the perfect way to top this one, as its natural stimulant properties can help perk up your mood and lace the calmness of the chamomile with a sense of optimism that is always beneficial to the dieting process. You can even try this one with sparkling water to add a bit of pizzazz to your evening drink. We all know how appealing that glass of wine can be, especially when stress levels are high. Chamomile promotes weight loss by reducing the stress. Helps reduce comfort eating, it stimulates the production of gastric juices.

Healthy water drinking can not be overemphasised

When the water tastes this good and this healthy, you’ll want to be reaching for this and other recipes throughout the day. As far as weight loss is concerned, we know that drinking water half an hour before meals is a great way to regulate your appetite and the way you choose what to eat and that drinking water after lunch has been shown to help you lose weight better than drinking a supposedly ‘diet’ soda. To keep that water appeal going, take a look at some of the alternative recipes in this new infographic. Harnessing nature’s goodness towards your well-being and confidence need not be a dull affair.

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