We all know the detox water hype but does this hype match the science-backed benefits of this drink? Let’s separate the true from the fiction and take a more detailed look at this fruit-flavored water.
Staying hydrated is very important for our health but how much it impacts our well-being when we add some fruits, veggies and herbs to our plain water? Can these extra ingredients that are infused in the water help our body flush toxins, increase our energy levels and support our weight loss plans? We’re going to find out but first let’s see how to make this popular drink used in so many detox regimes.
Detox water can have a variety of flavors, depending on the selection of fruits and veggies you decide to infuse but the most popular combinations are: lemon and ginger, cucumber and mint, watermelon and mint, blackberry and orange, lemon and cayenne pepper, lemon and lime, apple and cinnamon or strawberry and basil.
To prepare these refreshing drinks you simply need to chop the ingredients and add them to your water. Sometimes crushing or brushing the herbs and the fruits can make the flavor more intense. Leave the detox water for about 12 hours in the fridge but make sure you remove the ingredients before they begin to decompose. Drink it as a healthy replacement for high-sugar drinks or fruit juices.
Health Claims About Detox Water
Depending on the ingredients you’ll use in your infusion, detox water supposed to help you balance your pH level, improve the digestive function, aid removal of toxins, increase your energy levels, detox your skin, boost your immune function and aid your weigh loss plans.
However, many of these benefits are attributed to plain water itself. So, do these extra ingredients enhance the health benefits of regular water or just improve its taste so you can make sure you drink your necessary daily intake?
Here is what research says about the real health benefits of detox water. Let’s see what’s valid and what’s not:
Helps With Weight Loss
Regular water can increase the metabolic rate up to 30%, burning more calories. Studies have shown that people who drank a half of liter of water before their meal as a part of a weight loss program, lost 40% more weight than the ones who didn’t. Water can reduce the appetite thus making you eat less during your meals. The same principle applies to detox water as well.
Improves Digestive Health
Hydration is very important for your digestive system because it can maintain regular bowel movements. Chronic dehydration leads to bloating, constipation, making you feel tired and sluggish. When you increase the water intake, be it plain or flavoured, you help foods pass smoothly through your intestines, preventing digestive issues to appear.
Improves Mood and Energy Levels
Dehydration can significantly reduce concentration span, energy levels and decrease your mood. It can also cause headaches so if you want to feel happier and calmer, make sure you drink enough water with or without fruits and veggies.
Boosts Immune Function
Even if fruits and veggies are packed with vitamins that should enhance your immunity function, you can’t get enough of these nutrients from an infusion so unless you are not consuming Vitamin C packed fruits and veggies on a daily basis, it is unlikely that detox water will have a meaningful effect on your immune system.
But you can try adding in your diet an immune-boosting supplement like Green Elixir instead. Each scoop contains 29 fresh garden fruits and veggies in the exact amounts your body needs on a daily basis. Not mention, this green drink tastes amazing.
Myths About Detox Water
One of the health benefits of detox water that is not completely supported by science is that it can facilitate the elimination of toxins from your body. Used in lots of cleansing diets, detox water can help your kidneys in some way but will not cleanse your body of waste.
Your body has its own well-designed detox pathways and it can only be helped with a supplement like Inner Harmony made from natural detoxifiers and probiotics that enhance the body’s natural cleansing process while supporting your digestive system and gut health.
Myth 2: It Balances Your pH
“Alkalizing” foods like the ones in Green Elixir can bring your body to balance and promote a better health. However, research did not support the idea that fruit-infused water can provide your body enough nutrients to alter the pH of your blood.
Myth 3: It Improves Your Complexion
Although detox itself can help your body flush toxins, cleansing your skin in the same time, detox water can’t improve its general appearance too much. It can only enhance its hydration levels but that’s it. There is not enough scientific evidence to support detox water’s efficiency in cleansing your skin from toxins and impurities.
In conclusion, although a healthy drink with several benefits, detox water cannot speed up metabolism or enhance your body’s detox pathways. At least no more than plain water does. So, if you find it hard to increase your daily intake of water, you can make plain water less boring by adding your favorite fruits, veggies and herbs. But you would probably get most of the benefits above from regular water as well. The good part is that detox water tastes good without having sugar or other unhealthy ingredients juices or sodas contain, so chop up some fruits and veggies and enjoy a glass of this refreshing drink!
