Did you know that we are supposed to drink 8 cups (64 ounces) of water every day? That may be easy for someone who enjoys drinking water. But, how do you drink more water when you don’t like it all that much?
Even if you do love a big glass of water, 8 cups every day can get a little… boring. To say the least.
But, staying hydrated is important for every part of your body to work. This is especially true for your brain, kidneys, and digestive system. So, then, how can you make sure you’re getting enough to maximize your body’s function?
Side-note: be sure to read to the end of this article. Towards the end, I talk about my exploration into how the quality of water may be affecting the ability of the body to use it efficiently.
But first, let’s get to those 9 ways you can spice up your water.
If you prefer to listen to this article instead, you can do that here:
Spice it Up #1: Drink Brewed Tea
Tea is a great way to get more water in your diet. And the tea can be hot or cold, whichever fits your liking.
You can brew yourself a cup of Earl Gray in the morning to wake you up. And at night you can brew yourself a cup of Chamomile to calm you down.
The best part about tea is that you get the benefits of drinking more fluids and all the great benefits of the tea. Each type of tea has its own benefits, but most contain antioxidants that help fight inflammation. Green tea, for example, is shown to increase the body’s ability to break down old, damaged cells and replace them with new, healthy cells (aka autophagy).
So, whether you’re drinking black, green, or herbal tea, it’s a great way to help you get more fluids.
Spice it Up #2: Get Creative with Fruits, Herbs, and Vegetables
Another great way to drink more water when you don’t like it is to add fruits, herbs, and/or veggies (i.e. lemon, mint, cucumbers) to your water. This is called infused water.
A good place to start is to add your favorite fruits to your water. There are many different combinations you can do, like this strawberries and lime infusion. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try something wild and add a little bit of everything to your water.
You could also freeze the ingredients in an ice tray and add them to a glass of water. This is a great way to spice up your water while chilling it off.
My only warning is to be careful of acidic fruits (i.e. lemons, limes, pineapples, grapefruit, even oranges). Too much of these fruits can destroy the enamel on your teeth. So, limit drinking these acidic foods to a few glasses per week.
Spice it Up #3: Make popsicles
Similar to freezing fruits, herbs, and veggies in ice cubes, you can also cut them up and freeze them with a little bit of water, juice, or yogurt. Making your own popsicles is a great way to get more fluids in your diet.
Here is an easy and simple recipe for peach lemonade popsicles. And here’s one for rainbow popsicles that use apple juice as the base.
If you are trying these with your kids (or spouse) who don’t like eating whole fruit, you can make it more appealing by pureeing the fruit first. Like what was done with these pureed fruit popsicles.
Spice it Up #4: Drink Fruit Smoothies or Natural Fruit Juices
Whether you juice your own fruits or buy fruit juice from the store, juices can provide more fluids in your diet. But, make sure that if you buy juice that it is 100% fruit juice with no added sugar.
The reason why is because sugar can act as a dehydrator. When a lot of sugar is in your digestive tract (or blood vessels), water is drawn from your cells to flush it out. So, though you are drinking fluids with sugary beverages (like juice), your body has to draw more water from your body to get rid of it.
Also, large amounts of refined sugar change the pH of your mouth. The change in pH destroys the enamel on teeth and makes the mouth vulnerable to infections and cavities.
This is why it’s important to make sure the sugar in your drink is coming from fruit and not from added or refined sugar. Even better, make a smoothie from fruits and vegetables, that way you’ll get the sugar with the whole fruit. Natural sugar from fruit is not dehydrating like added sugar is because you’re getting the whole food with the sugar. Natural sugar also doesn’t alter the pH of your mouth, unless you eat (or drink) several cups of fruit.
You can test if a drink is too sugary by taking a few sips of the drink. If you’re thirsty or feel as if your mouth is dry, then there is too much sugar in your drink. If you’re going to drink fruit juice, water it down. That way you aren’t drinking too much sugar at one time. Ideally, go for smoothies when you can.
Spice it Up #5: Add a Little Flavoring to Your Water
Using water kefir grains is a great way to give your water natural carbonation. Kefir grains are a collection of bacteria and yeast that looks similar to cauliflower or ice.
They work by breaking down the sugar in filtered sugar water, juice, or coconut water. Some of the probiotics from the grains also get in the water.
So, not only do you get the benefits of natural carbonation, but you also get probiotics by drinking water kefir. If you’re interested in checking it out, you can find out where to get water kefir grains here.
If you’re not interested in water kefir, you can also add sugar-free flavorings to your water. The reason I recommend sugar-free is for the same reason above: too much sugar can be dehydrating and damaging to your teeth.
You can find water add-ins at most grocery stores, most likely near the tea and coffee or sodas. Many of them have added sugar, so look for the sugar-free add-ins.
Spice it Up #6: Have More Fluid-Based Meals
These next suggestions don’t necessarily flavor your water, but they can help you get more fluids throughout the day. One way is to eat more fluid-based meals – soups, stews, and sauces.
If you have a thick soup or sauce, you can water it down a little to get more fluids with it. If you don’t want to use water, you can use low-sodium or sodium-free broth instead.
The reason I recommend low-sodium broth is the same as with sugar – too much salt is dehydrating. So, try to look for low-sodium broths at the store, or you can make your own.
Spice it Up #7: Eat Fresh Produce
Another source of fluids, that you may not realize, is fresh produce. Both fruits and vegetables have higher water content than packaged foods. Watermelon, especially, has a high amount of water in it (hence its name).
So, any fresh produce that you can include in your diet will not only give you much-needed nutrients but fluids as well.
Spice it Up #8: Filter Your Tap Water
If you are having trouble drinking water because you don’t care for the metallic taste of tap water or the sterile flavor of bottled water, then try filtering your tap water. You can find many different kinds of water filters that filter out anything from chlorine and fluoride to copper and mercury.
Sidenote: drinking tap water high in metals, especially chlorine, may harm your gut health. It is believed that since chlorine kills bacteria, then chlorine in drinking water kills the bacteria in your gut. High-quality human studies have yet to be done on this.
My family uses a Brita Filter
So, if you don’t like local water, try different filter systems to see if it improves the taste. This is an easy way to drink more water when you don’t like it (if it’s a taste thing).
Spice it Up #9: Mix Bottled Water with Filtered Water
If you don’t like the taste of your local water but don’t mind bottled water, then you can mix the two.
To do this, mix bottled water with a small amount of filtered tap. Add however much tap water you can handle with the bottled water. Slowly increase the amount of tap water each week until you no longer need the bottled water.
Or, if you like the taste of tap water with bottled water then you don’t have to wean off of bottled water. Weaning off bottled water is for those who want to get used to their local water, whether that’s to save money or time.
That’s all the suggestions I have for those of you who want to drink more water when you don’t like it!
Do We Really Need to Drink More Water When We Don’t Like It?
Thinking about pioneer days and Biblical times, I’m not convinced people drank 8 cups of water a day to stay healthy. Unlike today’s recycled and chemically processed water, the water they drank was fresh and from the ground. They didn’t have high exposures to chemicals and harmful metals like we do today.
This leads me to ask the question: can we filter tap water enough to get it close to nature’s water?
The challenge with filtering water is fully cleaning out the harmful things – bad bacteria, parasites, dangerous chemicals, unnecessary metals – without removing the elements in the water that are necessary for the body. Furthermore, it’s unclear whether or not city water can be filtered correctly, especially since a lot of chemicals are used to sterilize tap water. But, even if we end up removing the good things in tap water, it may be worth removing the harmful things in it.
Therefore, the best option for city people is to filter your tap water to, at least, remove the harmful things in the water. If you live in the country, well water maybe your best option. However, be sure you don’t live close to an industrial plant or a dumping site, or else you may have higher amounts of toxic chemicals or metals in your well water.
Back to how much water the body needs…
We not only have chemicals in our water, but we also have factors working against us – sugary diets, more sedentary lifestyles, air conditioning, access to the same foods all year long, man-made foods, etc.. Furthermore, I’m curious if our diet patterns affect how well the body absorbs, uses, and recycles the water we get. I have a theory that eating in a smaller eating window may help the body recycle water in the body better. (This is one of the many reasons why I incorporate intermittent fasting into my coaching.)
If you need help finding a sustainable diet and lifestyle that’s simple and gets to the root of health symptoms (without a restrictive diet), consider working with me. I’ve put together basic diet and lifestyle tenets that can help you get and keep good health. Healthy living is simple, really, when we know what to do.
Learn more about how I can help you with achieving good health that doesn’t get in the way of doing life here.
Now I want to hear from you… Do any of these options sound appealing to you? Or do you have another way to drink more water when you don’t like it? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!