Water Enhancers 101: How to Drink More Water

· Nutrition

You already know how important it is to drink your water on a daily basis. But, for some people drinking plain water can be a bit boring. Sure, it's a lovely beverage when you're thirsty, but it can be a bit of a challenge when you have to reach the daily limit of eight glasses. What to do in cases like this? The answer is healthy water enhancers. These come in the form of powder or drops and all you have to do is add them to your water and create water with a sweet flavour of your favourite fruit.Why are these enhancers so great? First of all, they are abundant with artificial sweeteners, which means you aren't truly consuming sugars; the flavours are amazing and you will proide your body with electrolytes and vitamins. Some enhancers will boost you with energy since they contain some amount of caffeine.

What Are Water Enhancers?

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Flavoured water enhancers are products that are added to water to improve its palatability. They contain concentrated sweeteners, flavourings and dyes that come as a liquid or powder. The liquids can be squeezed by drop into your glass, while powders are better emptied into a bottle of water.Some of these enhancers only provide flavour, while others contain caffeine and energy, but also vitamins and minerals.

How do Water Enhancers Work?

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Once you add healthy water enhancers to your water, the artificial sweeteners will bind to your taste buds inside your mouth. Then they will send a message to your brain to identify the taste as sweet. Sugar molecules and artificial sweeteners both send the same message to the brain, however they aren't metabolized in your body the same way.The water enhancer sweeteners aren't broken down to glucose molecules, instead, they go through the digestive system without being absorbed. This is why the artificial sweeteners will not raise your blood sugar and won't provide your body with calories (or at least there will be a very low amount).

Why Use Water Enhancer?

Plain water can get boring and sometimes people prefer drinking water with a flavour. By adding a water enhancer you will make your daily hydration a bit more exciting. Many people choose to use enhancers to create a juice-like liquid (usually people who avoid drinking juices and sodas because of health reasons). They are easy to prepare (you just add them to your glass or bottle of water and that's it) and they are truly inexpensive. If you’re on a diet, or can’t consume sugar for health reasons, you will feel as if you're drinking a not-so-healthy beverage, when in fact you just drink water.

What are Common Water Flavour Enhancers?

One of the most common water enhancers is those low-calorie or no-calorie packets or squeeze bottles you can find in any grocery store. Their main purpose is to jazz up your water and give it some flavour (blueberry, fruit punch, etc.).  Water flavour enhancers have either low calorie or no calories, but the sweet flavour comes from the high amount of artificial sweeteners.  Some of the most common artificial sweeteners used in water flavour enhancers are saccharin, acesulfame potassium, aspartame and sucralose.  Some of the most popular flavours are berry, kiwi, lime, mango, tropical punch or raspberry and other fruit combinations.

Vitamins

As mentioned before, some enhancers contain vitamins, caffeine, electrolytes, and dyes. If you want to get your daily dose of vitamins you should choose water enhancer options that include them. Often the most common vitamin used in them is vitamin B. Vitamins B are involved in numerous bioprocesses in your body (related to your metabolism and production of red blood cells and hormones).If you aren't taking any supplements, then adding a water enhancer in your glass of water can provide you with some amounts of this vitamin. Usually, flavor drops for water include about 10% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin B. Even though this is a small amount, don't forget that you will get the rest through your regular diet (unless you're vegan, in that case, you should talk to your nutritionist about getting alternative ways of getting this vitamin).

Electrolytes

If you're dedicated to your workout regime (you exercise for a few hours per day) you will get sweaty (especially if it's a hot day); in that case, you can be sure that your body has lost a great number of electrolytes, especially chloride and sodium. Electrolytes are minerals that have an electrical charge. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride and phosphate are some of the most important electrolytes in our body. We get them through our drinks and food.They are crucial for many processes, including regulation of hydration levels, contracting muscles, transmitting nerve impulses and regulation of pH levels. In case the levels of electrolytes in your body are too low, then problems will arise; there can occur imbalances such as headaches, fatigue or irregular heartbeat. One way we lose electrolytes is through sweating, but also through dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting or not eating enough.Nu

Are Flavored Water Enhancers Safe?

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They are generally recognized as safe. Unless you have any health issue that stops you from taking certain ingredients present in these enhancers, then they are entirely safe. Make sure to talk to your doctor first in case you have diabetes or any other digestive health issue.