Health Benefits of Infused Water (and How to Make Your Own)

Drinking water can benefit your weight loss journey and your overall health. Water aids digestion, can help you maintain a healthy metabolism, and can keep your body functioning properly.

However, drinking the recommended amount of water each day can be difficult, especially if you’re used to drinking soda, sports drinks, and flavored coffee drinks. If you want to sip on something flavorful and avoid the empty calories of sugary beverages, we recommend drinking infused water.  

Adding fruit, herbs, and even vegetables to your water can enhance its flavor and increase the likelihood that you drink enough throughout the day.

What Are the Health Benefits of Infused Water?

May help with weight loss:

Sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks, and energy drinks are the single largest source of calories and added sugar in the U.S. diet. Beyond weight gain, routinely drinking these sugary beverages can increase the likelihood of future health issues. 

If you’re looking to cut back on sugary drinks but find water too plain, drinking infused water could provide you with the flavor you crave while cutting down on added sugar in your diet.

Can help with portion control and reduce cravings:

Starting your meal with a glass of infused water can help with portion control. Having water in your stomach helps you feel full, which means you may be less likely to overeat.

Drinking water with added flavor could also help satisfy hunger cravings between meals, especially if you want to eat something sweet.

Prevents dehydration:

Drinking infused water can help you stay hydrated. By adding sweet or aromatic flavors to your water that enhance its taste, you may increase your water consumption. And the more water you drink, the better your body functions.

How to Infuse Water

Infusing water is a simple process. All you need is fresh produce, herbs or spices, and water!

1. Choose which fruit, vegetable, or herb to include. One ingredient will do, but combining more than one gives your infused water extra flavor.
2. Add ingredients to your carafe or pitcher.
3. Fill your carafe or pitcher with water. We recommend 4 cups of water for every ½ cup of produce, but you can make adjustments depending on how strong you want your flavor to be.
4. Use a muddler to mash the ingredients and release their flavors. Note, if you want more flavor but don’t want floating bits in your water, try cutting your fruits or vegetables into slices.
5. Store your infused water in the fridge for about two hours.

Quick tip: For extra flavor, add fruit ice cubes!

Popular Infused Water Combinations:

Apple + Cinnamon

Blackberries + Strawberries + Mint

Blueberries + Basil

Cucumber + Mint

Green Apple + Lemon + Cucumber + Mint

Lemon + Basil

Lemon + Cucumber + Mint + Ginger

Lemon + Lavender

Lemon + Lime + Orange

Lemon + Turmeric

Orange + Ginger

Pineapple + Kiwi + Mint

Pineapple + Mint

Raspberries + Mango

Raspberries + Rosemary

Strawberry or Watermelon + Lime + Mint

Sources

Information for this article was collected by the health and wellness experts at GOLO using the following sources:

Harvard.edu: Sugary drinks

Harvard.edu: How much water should you drink?

National Library of Medicine

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