Water is definitely the best fluid to provide hydration, but many people have a hard time drinking water as they may find it boring or don’t like the taste. I recently came across this article (click the link) that talks about some fun drinks that may help us increase our fluid intake this summer.

Below are some of the beverage ideas from the article:

• Infused water: create your own infused water by taking a pitcher of ice cold water and adding sliced fruits, vegetables or herbs like oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, cucumbers, mint, pears or mangoes. This adds flavor to your water without adding a lot of calories or sugar.
• Simple juice spritzer: for a refreshing, low-calorie beverage add a shot glass full (1 1/2 oz) of your favorite fruit juice like orange, grapefruit or pomegranate to 8 oz of sparkling water.
• Try a variety of iced teas: There are lots of herbal teas that have fun, different flavors. Use these to make a variety of refreshing iced teas. Be careful about adding sugars or sweeteners, though. If you can drink it without added sweeteners, this is the best way to go. If you need a bit of sweetness, you could use a touch of honey or add a natural non-calorie sweetener like Stevia or Truvia. I would avoid using artificial sweeteners.
• Low-calorie watermelon lemonade: You can cut the calories of lemonade in half by making watermelon lemonade. Just puree 4 cups of cubed, seedless watermelon with the juice from 3 lemons and pour it over ice. Apart from the natural sugar that is in the fruit, there are no added sugars in this drink.

For more information about beverages in general, check out this past blog post that Emily wrote.

Hope you enjoy your summer and stay hydrated!

Rachel Andrew MPH, RD, CD