Recently there has been a movement towards drinking infused waters. However, this is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. But other than a different flavour profile, what are the benefits of drinking infused water? And they can help you to lose weight?
Let’s start with the basics……
Water is arguably one of the most important components of the human diet. Without proper hydration there can be serious health effects. Let’s look at the benefits of water.
- Helps prevent urinary tract infections
- Reduces the number of headaches one may get
- Decreases the likelihood of constipation
- Reduce the risk of dizziness and confusion which can lead to falls
- Help prevent kidney stones, pressure ulcers, skin conditions and general poor health
- Increased concentration
Good hydration is important for all age groups however those particularly at risk of dehydration are babies, infants, old people, people with long-term health conditions and athletes.
Symptoms of dehydration are pain when urinating, dry mouth, lips or eyes, thirst, dizziness, headaches, tiredness and lack of concentration. If dehydration is left untreated the symptoms can get worse and you should seek immediate medical attention.
To understand more about the importance of choosing the correct drinks to rehydrate your body read this article here.
Does drinking water help weight loss?
- Drinking water naturally suppresses hunger pangs. Your body will send signals to your brain that you are full and don’t need to eat any more.
- Water also takes up room in the stomach leading to a feeling of fullness. Drinking around 500 mL of water before a meal reduces food intake by around 22%.
- Some research has shown that when you consume cold water, your body must use energy to increase the water temperature to around body temperature. This increases the bodies resting energy expenditure and therefore number of calories burnt.
- Water is used in many reactions in the body. One of them being metabolising (using) stored fat and carbohydrates.
- Water is also essential to achieve a successful workout. It can reduce the risk of cramps, dehydration, and fatigue. The better your exercise the more calories you burn and therefore the more weight you lose.
What are the health benefits of consuming waters with different infusions?
Lemon water
- Lemons themselves are a very good source of vitamin C. As the powerful antioxidants, they also contain very little fat, carbohydrate and sugars. They contain trace amounts of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, folate and some B vitamins.
- These nutrients have positive health benefits such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer. They also may reduce inflammation therefore reducing the negative effects of arthritis and autoimmune diseases.
- In some research on the consumption of lemon it has been shown to improve heart health. The high vitamin C content also improves, wound healing and helps to increase iron absorption.
- However, most of these affects have been produced when much larger amounts of lemon juice than you would find in lemon water were consumed. Therefore, it is unlikely that consuming solely lemon water would produce these health benefits.
- On the other hand, some research into drinking lemon water has shown a potential link in reducing the formation of kidney stones. Lemon water contains large amounts of citrate and, citrate prevents kidney stones from forming by stopping calcium binding with other components. Combined with this, a lack of water is also a common cause of kidney stones. Therefore, drinking water will help prevent kidney stones and adding lemon juice (therefore increasing the citrate content) will only help further.
- Let’s bust a few myths. Consuming lemon water will not help weight loss purely due to the lemon juice, however the positive effects of drinking enough water will help weight loss. Lemon water will not help fight cancer, cleanse, detoxify or alkalise the body.
- Finally, a warning that the acid in lemons can damage tooth enamel overtime. This can increase the likelihood of cavities. As with sugary drinks, drinking an acidic drink through a straw can help protect the teeth. Do not brush your teeth straight after drinking lemon water as this can cause damage.
Methi/ fenugreek seed water
- It has been suggested that consuming Methi seeds may be beneficial for reducing enlarged prostate, improving athletic performance, reducing heartburn, lowering levels of ‘bad cholesterol’, improving infertility, reducing scientific symptoms of Parkinson’s disease plus many more. However, none of these have enough evidence to support them at this moment in time.
- However, there is some evidence to support that consumption of methi/fenugreek seeds might help lower blood sugar levels in those with diabetes or prediabetes.
- A study showed that powdered fenugreek seeds mixed with hot water have been shown to aid in the control of type 2 diabetes.
- Another study showed that 10 g/d of powdered whole fenugreek seeds improved glucose metabolism, serum lipid profile and adiponectin levels which again may be useful in the control of diabetes risk factors.
- More studies will need to be completed to substantiate these claims. However, if you notice an improvement in your health, and it is safe to do so, then continue enjoying methi water (Seek medical advice if you have any health issues or are on medication).
Cucumber water
- Cucumbers have many health benefits such as hydration, high vitamin K levels which help blood clotting and support bone health, calcium which again supports bone health and vitamin C which helps improve calcium absorption.
- Cucumber also contains potassium, magnesium and fibre. Cucurbitacin’s in cucumber may prevent atherosclerosis and blood glucose from spiking by regulating insulin release. Cucumbers also contain antioxidants which can reduce the risk of inflammation.
- However, all these benefits require around one cup or more of raw cucumber with the skin left on. So, depending on how much cucumber you put in your water and whether you eat it afterwards or not will influence the health benefits you can obtain.
- Cucumber is similar to lemon water in the way that although the ingredient you’re adding to the water has many health benefits, more research needs to be completed in whether these benefits can be achieved through adding them to drinking water.
- However, as we know water is healthy and if you were to eat the cucumber afterwards you would increase your chance of achieving these health benefits.
Conclusion
To conclude, drinking water is very important! It has many health benefits and can help you lose weight. By choosing infused water over high calorie, sugar and fat filled alternatives you are going to experience more health benefits and increased weight loss. Research has also shown some potential positive health benefits to consuming lemon juice, cucumber and methi seeds. However, there needs to be further investigation into the quantity of these compounds in the water and the quantities that need to be consumed in order to achieve maximum health benefits.
Studies discussed-
Immediate pre-meal water ingestion decreases voluntary food intake in lean young males
Robert A Corney, Caroline Sunderland, Lewis J James
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25893719/
Effect of fenugreek seeds on blood glucose and lipid profiles in type 2 diabetic patients
Nazila Kassaian, Leila Azadbakht, Badrolmolook Forghani, Masud Amini
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19839001/
