Health Benefits of Infused Waters
Hello, friends! I receive a lot of questions about the health benefits of infused waters, especially the nutritional value of each recipe. The truth is that the main health benefit of infused waters is HYDRATION. While you do gain some nutrition from each infused fruit, you do not ingest the same fiber, nutrients, and vitamins as you would when blending fruits/veggies and drinking them. In addition, measuring the exact nutritional density of infused waters is also difficult because of how long, at what temperature, and in what amount of water you infuse your ingredients.
That being said, please don’t dismiss infused waters simply because they are not vitamin powerhouses. Hydration is absolutely critical to healthy functioning of your body and brain! Drinking ample water on a daily basis helps to:
- Transport nutrients and oxygen
- Protect your organs and keeps them functioning optimally
- Keep your skin looking young and soft (yay!)
- Regulate body temperature (important for staying warm during winter)
- Counter dehydration from coffee, alcohol, medications, and exercise
- Lubricate joints
- Energize muscles
- Keep your bowel movements regular
- Make you to feel full (and lose weight)
- Think more clearly
What makes infused waters so great is that you are supplying your body with pure water that has been slightly flavored by fresh fruits and herbs, both of which naturally contain water! Infused waters are superior to “vitamin waters” that are made with artificial coloring and chemical vitamins and, of course, far superior to diet sodas that are loaded with caramel coloring and aspartame. Infused waters are also great for those of us who get bored of plain water, which sounds spoiled to say, but does happen if you are committed to drinking a lot of water every day.
If you are concerned about getting a full spectrum of vitamins in your daily diet, I highly recommend starting your day off with a green smoothie. Today’s powerful blenders make it very easy to make a smoothie on the go. I personally start every morning with a green smoothie made in my BlendTec using coconut water, kale, fresh ground flax seeds, avocado, spinach, and…whatever green veggies I have in my fridge. Green smoothies truly make you feel radiant.
Throughout the day, I’ll sip on my infused waters, knowing that I am supplying my body with an optimal water source on top of a nutrient-dense diet. These are the best two gifts you can give your body: adequate water intake and a daily vitamin load from natural, fresh plant sources.
Cheers to your good health and hydration!
Angela Sanchez June 20, 2014 at 5:40 pm
I have recently begun making my own infusions. I am having fun and feeling good. I am hesitating to get a pitcher. I think it would be hard to clean. I like that ball better.
What do you think?
Amy Pogue July 1, 2014 at 2:05 pm
Hi, Angela. There are benefits to both devices. I really love my Prodyne pitcher because its “core” can hold a lot of fruit and allows me to make bigger batches of infused water. You’d be surprised at how easy pitchers are to clean. Just like a water bottle, pitchers are not subjected to sticky foods, so they barely need more than a good rinse.
If an infusion ball works for you, though, stick with it! The goal is for infused waters to be easy to make so that you can incorporate drinking more water into your life. Hope that helps. Have a great day! Amy
Norann binti Shaffie February 2, 2015 at 11:47 pm
I would like to know , what kind of water do you use for the infuse water, Can I use boiling water.
Amy Pogue February 8, 2015 at 3:38 pm
Boiling water is not a great idea because it destroys all of the fragile nutrients in fruits and vegetables. However, if you are in a hurry, you can use hot, but not boiling water, to pour over your infusion. Let the infusion rest on the counter for five minutes then immediately transfer it to the fridge. You will not receive the same nutrient boost as a cold water infusion, buy hey, you are still getting hydrated and enjoying drinking water instead of soda!
Mikolaj November 2, 2015 at 1:40 pm
true
Rohit Agarwal February 10, 2015 at 12:05 pm
Is there any particular recipe for infused water or I can mix any fruit or vegetable whatever I want for maximum benefits ??
David March 3, 2015 at 10:29 pm
i enjoy my water at room temperature. it’s it necessary to refrigerate my infused water to maintain freshness? what’s the shelf life at room temperature?
Amy Pogue March 8, 2015 at 11:02 am
Hi, David. Infused waters should be fine at room temperature for 12 hours (including infusion time). Over 12 hours, you should refrigerate the water to prevent bacteria from forming. Think of your waters in the same way as fresh fruit: you would not eat a cut orange out that had been left on the counter all day.
Erik April 2, 2015 at 8:30 am
Do you use the fruits in your smoothies after having used them to infuse your water?
Mohammad April 5, 2015 at 10:31 pm
I have 2 questions as I’m a newbie and tried the lemon & orange combination Today. Can I use the fruits more than. Once for a refill? Do they fruits need to be thrown away after use? Thanks
Jess August 7, 2015 at 1:51 pm
I’ve found that whether or not the ingredients can be used for a refill varies. Strawberries and peaches I’ve been able to get one refill, citrus I can usually get two refills. Melon, especially watermelon, tends to be single use. Herbs I’ve found I can general get two refills from but I have to mash the herbs a bit to release flavors for the last one. The fruit to water ratio and length of infusion may increase or decrease the number of uses you get from the ingredients. In addition, the quality of the fruit will influence how many uses you can get out of it. Bland, underripe fruit will provide less flavor to the infusions.
Whether or not you can re-use the fruit depends on a few other things, for instance whether or not you’ve kept the water refrigerated. For safety reasons you wouldn’t want to refill fruit from water that has been left out all day. Even refrigerated, I personally wouldn’t re-use fruit that’s sat in water for more than 5 to 7 days (although I’ve never actually had fruit sit in water that long, it’s always been finished in a day at most). Also, if you filter your tap water before using the fruit it picks up the flavors better and, depending on the ingredients, you can sometimes get an extra refill. If you use milder flavored ingredients with stronger flavored ingredients (i.e. strawberries with black pepper, peaches with mint) it may throw of the flavor if you re-use them so you may need to add extra of the milder flavor.
As for using the fruit after infusion, you would want to just eat it, the flavor has been leached out and the texture breaks down. So long as you’ve kept your water refrigerated you can throw the fruit in a smoothie with ingredients that haven’t already been used for infusions and it adds bulk and fiber to it. Most of the time I just end up throwing it out though. But you generally use a relatively small amount of fruit and herbs to flavor the water so it’s not a huge waste.
Hopefully that helps.
Jess August 7, 2015 at 1:56 pm
Wouldn’t want to just eat it the used fruit. Sorry about that.
Karen April 17, 2015 at 10:42 am
Hi I would like know which recipes for the infused water are best for people with high blood pressure?
ajibola August 3, 2015 at 11:23 pm
hi, what fruit is good to infuse for type 1 diabetes
Lan Tra September 30, 2015 at 12:48 am
Hi Amy, thanks for the post, I learn something from it.
Jackie October 21, 2015 at 7:33 pm
I have really enjoyed making and drinking infused water. I have tried different recipes, that I can say, is really tasty. My question was answered, about reusing some of the fruits. Thanks for sharing!
Virginia November 10, 2015 at 8:06 am
i have not done infusions yet, but it sounds amazing. I will be trying it soon and will most likely do it everyday while at work. glad I found out about this.
fruit infused water bottles November 14, 2016 at 5:11 am
awesome post
infused water are really good for body and taste buds
i love to drink them
Ms Curious June 6, 2017 at 3:04 am
How can the infused water be preserved for longer than a few days?
What vegetables can be used in the infusions?
Renia December 10, 2017 at 4:15 pm
I have been drinking infused water only for 8 days and would like to know how to keep my bowel movements regular. It seems difficult without some type of assistance like prunes, etc.
Anisha Goyal June 14, 2018 at 2:03 am
I also recently started to jogging and make diet plan for lose my body fat After consulting my trainer, he suggest me for use cycling and taking more water for to reduce weight and belly fat. thanks for sharing this article. This would really help me.
Jonathan Hansen September 2, 2020 at 10:52 am
It’s cool that you point out that drinking infused water is much healthier for you than diet soda. I’m trying to change my lifestyle to be healthier, so I’m thinking about switching from diet soda to flavored nutrient water. I’m going to search for a good business that can sell me some bottles of flavor-infused nutrient water.