4 Expert Ways to Take In More Water

By Kat Odell

As essential as we all know it is to drink plenty of water every day, it can be easy to forget, especially when you’re caught up in your busy day. But with a little foresight, and some simple hacks, kicking up your daily water intake becomes much easier.

Flavor your water
Remember your last spa visit, and that cooling cucumber-mint water you sipped post-treatment? It’s easier than you think to DIY that super-refreshing brew. Registered dietician-nutritionist Sammi Haber Brondo, author of The Essential Vegetable Cookbook, suggests “adding slices of fresh fruit, like lemon, or berries,” or herbs like mint “to spice your water up a little,” which will prompt you to sip more. Added bonus: Not only do these add-ins boost your water’s flavor, they also make it look prettier.

Start with sparkling
If you’re not used to reaching for plain water, it can seem like a big leap to get up to multiple glasses a day, especially if you’re accustomed to sipping soda. One way to start: Try a carbonated mineral water, suggests registered dietitian-nutritionist Maya Feller. Once you get used to it, you’ll start to crave more water, and over time you can replace the bubbles with plain water gradually. Another suggestion: “I personally love unsweetened coconut water,” Feller adds.

Boost your electrolytes
Throughout the day, you’re not just losing water, but also minerals like potassium and sodium. Upgrading your water with an electrolyte supplement, such as Liquid I.V., is an easy way to boost hydration without actually having to drink more H2O. Via a proprietary blend of potassium, mined salt, and non-gmo cane sugar, this great-tasting powder drink mix comes in convenient, single-serving packets and water is absorbed into the body two to three times faster than drinking plain agua.

Load up on produce
“Fruits such as grapefruit, watermelon, and cantaloupe, and vegetables such as zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumber, all have a very high water content, helping us keep hydrated while we eat,” says registered dietician Gal Cohen.

Hungry for more?

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• 10 Ways to Detox Daily (No Juice Fasts Required)

BIO: Kat Odell is a food and travel journalist, author of low-alcohol cocktail book Day Drinking as well as Unicorn Food, a plant-based cookbook hinged on medicinal ingredients. Her work has been published in Vogue, New York Times’ T magazine, Travel + Leisure, Bloomberg, and Conde Nast Traveler. Follow Kat on Instagram and Twitter.