Detox Water

If I'm not drinking alcohol, fizzy drinks or any kind of caffeine, I will most likely be drinking detox water... it is a great alternative to caffeine, as the natural sugars and water will make you feel more awake! Now, detox water for me is not all about losing weight quickly like some people, I purely drink it because I like it... it just happens that there are added health bonuses! Today I am going to talk about a few of these health benefits and why you should try detox water :) 

Now obviously judging by the word 'detox', it's all about getting rid of any excess waste in the body. Most detox waters are to encourage the body to 'purge' itself (get rid of any unwanted waste), therefore stimulating the liver, kidneys and colons to do their 'jobs' efficiently. It is important to cleanse the colon especially, as that is where the toxins will exit the body.

Another benefit of detox water is it boosts your energy! If you're a caffeine lover like myself, then you rely on coffee and tea to 'keep you going', however you might not be too keen on the negative impacts of excessive caffeine intake. This is why you should try detox water as an alternative. By cutting out the sugar, caffeine and saturated fats, and replacing them with fresh fruit and vegetables, you will naturally boost your energy, as well as getting that hydration that your body desperately needs! 

Whenever I'm feeling a bit dehydrated, whether that's after a night out drinking way too much alcohol (don't make the mistakes I do haha) or just in general, I ALWAYS turn to detox water. I have tried just drinking 'plain' still water all day but I tend to get bored of the taste very quickly, therefore detox water (naturally flavoured water) is a brilliant alternative! What I tend to do is fill a jug or large glass of citrus fruits (you can use any fruit/veg you want), with some ice and obviously water, and I just drink from that throughout the day and top up the water when I want more. I've found that I tend to drink more when it's detox water for some reason. I think it's because the flavour is getting stronger and stronger the longer you leave it, so it creates the effect of having a completely 'new' flavoured drink!  

Detox water also helps with weight loss. As I said before, this is not the main reason as to why I drink it, but it helps some people with their weight loss. Citrus fruits especially are very rich in the antioxidant delimonene, which is in the peel of the fruits and it helps to stimulate the liver enzymes to help flush toxins from the body. This flushing of the body will give you what your body needs to boost your metabolism, therefore making it easier for you to lose weight.

As well as weight loss it also improves your immune system. When you detox your body, you 'free up' your organs to function the way they should, therefore this helps to give your immune system a boost, since you'll be able to absorb nutrients better. You will also absorb the nutrients from the fruits in the water, e.g. Vitamin C. 

I'm not going to fully list all the benefits because that would take me years, but here are some of the other benefits to drinking detox water:

• Clearer skin
• Better breath
• Clearer thinking
• Healthier hair
• Lighter feeling
• Anti-ageing benefits
• Improved sense of wellbeing

(More information can be found here)

Some of my personal favourite recipes are; 

Strawberry and Lime:

Strawberries have a lot of anti-oxidants and limes are great for anti-ageing.

Lemon, Lime and Orange

Lemon balances your pH levels and oranges give you vitamin C.

Are you drinking a lot of alcohol this Summer and dehydrating your body, or wanting that bikini body?! Then maybe you should try detox water! :) 

I hope you liked this post! 

Let me know in the comments if you've tried detox water and what your favourite flavours are; and also, let me know if you would like anymore health related posts, or maybe even some recipe posts!