You’ve probably heard it hundreds of times: Stay hydrated. Be sure to drink enough water. Bring your earth-friendly water bottle with you at all times. And on and on.
You know it’s good advice and you really try to follow it. At the same time, you may be saying to yourself, “Water is boring.” And you know soft drinks and cold-brew coffee are not the way to stay hydrated either. Single-serve bottles of infused water can be a solution, but they’re costly and not environmentally friendly.
Why good hydration is so important
Before we explore a great way to make staying hydrated fun, healthy, and tasty, let’s check into why water is critical.
In general, you need to consume about eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily for overall health. It’s especially important to stay well hydrated in hot and/or humid weather, when exercising or physically active, if you suffer from dry mouth, if you have a fever, or if you are experiencing diarrhea or vomiting.
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Here are a few benefits of drinking enough water.
- Better brain power. Good hydration is essential for good cognitive function. As little as a 2 percent loss of fluid can impact your mood, concentration, reaction time, and memory. The difference between having brain fog and clear cognition may be two or three more glasses of water per day.
- More energy. When you are dehydrated, your heart has to work harder to send oxygen throughout your body. Energy spent on these tasks robs it from other activities.
- Helps with weight. Drinking calorie-free water helps you feel full and satisfied and less likely to snack or overeat. In a study of 50 overweight women, the participants drank 500 mL of water three times daily before each meal. This water was in addition to their regular intake. After eight weeks, they showed a highly significant change in body weight and body mass.
- Digestive support. Water is essential for optimal digestion, regular bowel movements, avoiding constipation, and easing gas and bloating. It also helps break down soluble fiber.
- Regulates temperature. When your body doesn’t have enough water, it holds onto heat and you are less able to tolerate hot temperatures. Providing your body with water allows you to sweat and cool down.
- Less joint pain. The cartilage in your joints contains about 80 percent water, which keeps them well lubricated. When you don’t get enough water, you increase the friction in your joints and are more likely to experience pain.
- Fewer headaches. When you stay well hydrated, you help maintain a healthy distance between the brain and the skull, which may help keep head pain at bay.
- Heart healthy. Skimping on water consumption can result in an imbalance of electrolytes (e.g., sodium, potassium, calcium) and more stress on your heart function.
- Kidney and urinary tract help. Drinking adequate water helps dilute the concentration of minerals in the urinary tract and thus reduces the risk of developing kidney stones. Water consumption also assists in eliminating harmful bacteria from the bladder and thus can help prevent urinary tract infections.
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Fun, easy, delicious hydration: cold infusions
What if you could find a fun, easy, delicious, and inexpensive way to stay well-hydrated all day, every day? Would that make it more likely for you to drink more water?
We are talking about cold infusions. Cold infusions are made by adding cold water to botanicals in a glass, stainless steel, or ceramic container and allowing the water to infuse with flavors for a refreshing naturally flavored way to enjoy more water.
Make cold infusions a habit
If you want to drink more water but need a little incentive, this may be the answer: Bigelow Botanicals Cold Water Infusion. Choose from a wide variety of flavors and enjoy cold infusions wherever you go: keep a pitcher in the refrigerator at home, bring some in your eco-friendly water bottle when you’re driving, keep cold infusion bags at work in your desk or breakroom, and stash a few in your purse or briefcase so you’ll have them handy. Going camping? Pack cold-infusion bags and keep the container in your ice chest or cold stream. Going to a potluck or house party? Make a pitcher a few hours before the event and bring it along.
Whether you enjoy pineapple, blood orange, strawberry, acai, blueberry, mango, watermelon, peach, hibiscus, or more, the smooth mouth feel of these cold infusions can make drinking water a more pleasurable experience.
Bottom line
Most of us need to drink more water than we are right now. You can help make drinking water a pleasurable experience by incorporating cold infusions into your daily lifestyle. They are free of chemicals, packed with nutrients, and easy to prepare.
