Do you love drinking water? Some people may perceive it as a stupid question because plain water tastes bland and tasteless. Some people drink water just to meet the body's hydration needs, without actually feeling that they have an enjoyable drinking experience. As we know, our body consists of water with a proportion of 60% that flows throughout the body. One of the roles of water in the body is as a solvent for oxygen, food, and nutrients to flow throughout the body's cells. The fulfillment of the nutrition of the cells in the body will support the health of the body's organs.
Adequate water intake can maintain healthy skin and hair growth, maintain body temperature, and regulate blood pressure. Thus, a lack of bodily fluid will cause dizziness, weakness, and unconsciousness (lack of oxygen distribution to the brain carried by the blood). Therefore, people try to meet the body's hydration as much as possible. However, plain, tasteless water poses a particular challenge for some groups in meeting their body's fluid needs. So, they switch to drinks such as sparkling water, tea, and energy drinks that contain ions to increase stamina. Various research results in several articles show that other fluids, such as sparkling water and sports drinks, also contain sufficient fluid to meet the body's fluids. The question is, are there any implications of substituting water with some of these drinks?
Harmful Effect of Sparkling Water
Consumption of various packaged drinks such as sparkling water can be hydrating. Still, some additional content in it, such as sugar (sucrose and fructose), can affect blood sugar levels in the body. Sparkling water is also carbonated water, so in large quantities, it can interfere with the digestive system and harm the intestines. On the other hand, sports drinks contain 6-8% carbohydrates and several additive ingredients such as caffeine, taurine, guarana, and keratin, which, if consumed in excess, can cause various complications.
Health Effect of Sports Drink
Sports or isotonic drinks are designed to quickly replace fluid deficiency in people with strenuous activities such as athletes. Sports drinks are recommended for severely dehydrated people because the concentration and osmotic pressure in sports drinks are the same as fluids in the body. Some people consume sports drinks as a healthy soda version because of their unique taste and can quickly eliminate thirst. However, without adequate exercise (at least 30-60 minutes per day), it will affect the digestive system. Excess sugar and other additives cause the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Consumption of sparkling water and sports drinks as an alternative to hydration can actually lead to various serious diseases.
How to Spice Up Daily Water Intake?
Unlike the case with water, although it tends to be tasteless, water contains 5 important minerals that the body needs, such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and zinc But still, many people find it difficult to consume water regularly because it tastes bland and switches to various packaged drinks. Some alternatives that you can do to level up your water intake and of course, spice up your water experience is to make flavored water. Have you ever heard of flavored water trends before? If you think flavored water is meant for sparkling water with various flavors? The answer is wrong. This article will give tips to make your drinking experience more enjoyable.
In order to make the flavored water, you can use synthetic or natural flavorings. Products such as flavored water drops are quite popular in the market or are often referred to as water enhancers. This liquid is dripped into your water to give it a slight taste. In some products, water drops also contain dyes that change the water's color to be more colorful. However, please note that the ingredients in these flavored water drops are citric acid, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, B vitamins and electrolytes. Artificial sweeteners, in this case, tend not to affect blood sugar levels, such as the sucrose and fructose content in sports drinks and sparkling water. Artificial sugar is a synthetic material made with the lowest possible calories but still has a sweet taste. It creates a sweet impulse that stimulates the sweet taste on our tongue and our brain, but the sugar level on artificial sweeteners is not broken down. Instead, they pass through the digestive system and are not absorbed by the body. So it will not affect the increase in blood sugar or the risk of obesity.
Although water enhancers give your water a good taste, other ingredients such as caffeine and electrolytes are also unsuitable for daily consumption. Caffeine consumption for children can cause hyperactivity, stomach pain and sleep problems. That is when the natural flavoring takes place. Natural flavors are obtained from organic materials such as fruits and vegetables or what is often referred to as infused water. Here is how you can create your infused water
First, choose the fruit/vegetables you like.
Secondly, soak them in drinking water; you can leave the water immersed for 1 day (24 hours) so that the extracts from the fruits and vegetables can be dissolved.
The next day you can remove the fruits and veggies for your consumption or as an additional mixture of juices/smoothies. In the meantime, you can store the water in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For those who like some acidic taste, you can try tangerine, lemon, or lime as an ingredient for infused water. If you want freshness, add cucumber, mint leaves or rosemary. Lastly, for sweet lovers, you can add berries, pineapple, watermelon, peach or pear.
The disadvantage of infused water compared to flavored water drops is the inefficiency. It takes more time to be infused with the water. It is not suitable for those of you who like to travel, while the water enhancer is very compact and easy to carry. Despite the pros and cons of these two water flavors, you just have to find the balance between them. It is highly recommended if you have plenty of time to prepare the infused water. However, in case of an emergency, water enhancers can be your go-to solution to reduce the consumption of soda, sparkling water, or sports drinks. And that is how you can make your own flavored water to level up your daily water intake.