Detox Water

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time drinking enough water. Drinking plenty of water is a vital part or a healthy lifestyle. Many people, myself included, walk around partially dehydrated all the time. It can cause myriad healthy problems including headaches, dizziness, dry skin, bad breath, and brain fog. Someone please tell me if I have bad breath. The good news is that there is a simple solution! Drink more water. What could be easier?

For some people, asking them to drink water is like asking them to drink POND water. They gag and carry on like its poison. They say dumb things like "the only thing I like to drink is Pepsi." To them, I would like to say, its time to grow up! Being mature means making dietary decisions based on what is best for your body, not what is most pleasing to the palate. Sure, a milkshake from Chick-fil-A tastes better than water. So what. Drink the water.

That might sound mean... and I guess it is, but I do get tired of hearing the same lame-o excuses. (Even from me.) Sorry for being a Kranky Kristy. (I just made that up.) I'll sweeten up for the rest of the post.

I am going to share some tips for jazzing up your water, but first, let's just talk about the water. There are so many options for water. You can buy distilled water, spring water, tap water, filtered water, ionized water, alkaline water, water from Fiji, reverse osmosis water and probably a dozen more kinds of water. If you have access to good, clean spring water, drink that! If not, use filtered water. I was recently at a friend's house and she had a filter that looked like THIS sitting out on her kitchen counter. It filters the fluoride out of the water. If you haven't read about why you should remove the fluoride from your water, you can learn more about it HERE. 

I want to focus on ways to add a little variety to your water for those of us who don't drink enough. I spent some time researching Detox waters, and it turns out, that if you put any kind of fruit in it, you can call it detox water. Just drinking a lot of water is, in itself, a detox. It helps your body to flush out toxins. Without enough H20 coursing through your veins (and bladder) all the crud we take in is more likely to get stashed instead of excreted. 

So, without further ado, here are some ideas to help you kick it up a notch with your water. Some of them are cute enough you might even put an umbrella in them, like THESE my son requested a while back.

1. Lemon Water

One of the simplest things you can do is to squeeze half of a lemon into your glass of water. Lemon is quite effective at helping to flush out toxins. It is easy and inexpensive. 

2. Slim Down detox

There is no reason lemons should get all the glory! You can add other citrus fruits! Try taking a gallon of water, adding a grapefruit (open it up and squeeze it and then add the whole thing), a lemon, and some mint leaves. Let it sit for several hours or overnight, for the fruits to 'infuse'. Growing up we would put slices or lemon and oranges in a pitcher of water in the refrigerator. As the pitcher got empty, we just added more water. The fruit should stay fresh for several days up to a week. At that point you need to wash your pitcher and start over. 

3. Apple/Cinnamon water

Slice up your favorite apple and put it and a cinnamon stick in a pitcher of water. Again, for best results let it sit for several hours. Cinnamon has many wonderful medicinal properties in addition to its delicious taste. 

Y'all DO know that you need to wash these fruits REALLY well before you put them in your water to soak. I thought so... I just felt like maybe I needed to clarify just in case. You can soak your fruits and vegetables in the kitchen sink with a cup of vinegar added to water to clean them and remove any waxy buildup. 

4. Master Cleanse

You can't read a post about detox waters without coming across this one. It is sometimes called the lemonade diet and I am definitely going to try it as soon as I get some cayenne pepper. In a 12oz glass of water add two TBSP of fresh squeezed lemon juice, two TBSP of organic grade B maple syrup, 1/10th of a TSP (wouldn't that be a pinch?) of cayenne pepper and a dash of salt. 

Don't forget to eat the fruit afterwards! The fiber is good for you and there are still a lot of nutrients left in it. 

Other fruits you might consider are pineapple, watermelon, strawberries or raspberries. Also using fresh herbs is a good way to add some flavor. I had a mini-herb garden growing on the window sill at my kitchen sink, but sadly, they've all gotten quite puny in the last couple months. I've been reading Rosemary Gladstar's BOOK on medicinal herbs and am already planning on expanding my herb garden this next year. I have grand plans of drying them and making assorted concoctions, salves, tinctures, and poultices. If you stick around I am sure you will get to hear all about it. 

Oh, and happy new year! I pray 2015 is your best year yet! 

Kristy