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Healthy Drinks Other Than Water That You Can Have Every Day

Water is a perfect way to quench your thirst, but sometimes you might want to add variety to your daily beverage choice. There are other drinks that are good for you besides water. Read this article and uncover some healthy alternatives to keep you hydrated.
The first wealth is health.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
a girl drinks one of her healthy drinks
We hear the adage 'eat healthy' more often than 'drink healthy', even though we probably do the latter more often daily.

For most of us, to drink healthy means 'drink a lot of water', but is that really enough?

Drinking the recommended daily amount of water is a good start. But if you want to maximize your daily nutrition, drinking other types of healthy beverages can be a total game-changer for healthy living habits.

Why is it important to stay hydrated?

Hydration plays a large part in our health and survival. It isn't an exaggeration to say you can die of thirst; in fact, this process doesn't take long! Even a day without water can severely impact your ability to move and think clearly. Given that the body is half to three-quarters water, it's no wonder our bodies rely heavily on water to function. Thus, when it comes to hydration, ensuring that we can maintain the proper equilibrium of our water needs is of the utmost importance, rather than just drinking as much water as we can in a day. Overhydration is an actual medical condition, after all, and it can be as fatal as dehydration.

Can other healthy drinks replace water?

When we talk about hydration, our mind usually immediately goes to drinking water. This is despite the fact that more than 20% of our water needs come not from what we drink, but from what we eat. Foods with high water content include strawberries, pears, cucumbers, spinach, and avocados.

You can make some healthy drinks from these foods. And yes, you can definitely use them to replace some of your daily drinking water needs. In fact, the more you consume foods with high water content, the less thirsty you'll feel.
a man after a run with a towel on his shoulders and thinking about healthy drinks

Healthy drinks to make at home

What are some healthy drinks, other than water, that you can make at home? Well, there are many, and most of them are very easy to make. Here is a list of healthy drinks to make at home:

Caffeine-free tea

Can tea replace water? Conventional wisdom says that the only type of hydration that counts is water, and healthy drinks other than water just make you more thirsty. Tea and coffee are often singled out for this because of their caffeine content. However, recent research has proven otherwise. It was found that even caffeinated tea is equally as hydrating as normal water.

Then what about caffeine-free tea? Why choose this out of the many choices for healthy drinks if caffeinated ones are good enough? Well, we think that caffeine-free tea will be more beneficial for you since it won't keep you up at night if you consume it often. Also, it won't flush out as many minerals. Some caffeine-free teas also have other beneficial effects, such as chamomile tea which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Smoothies

Why eat fruit and veggies if you can make healthy drinks out of them? Smoothies are great healthy drinks to make daily — and you can combine all sorts of fruit and veggies to boost your health. And it's certainly more interesting than eating the same fruit every day. If you're not lactose-intolerant, adding milk or yogurt or even ice-cream would still help fulfill your daily water intake requirement since these foods also have high water content.
a woman after a run with a bottle with one of her healthy drinks inside

Green juices

Do green leafy vegetables make more nutritious healthy drinks? Yes, they do! Green leafy vegetables have more vitamin K than all other vegetables and fruits. They also contain other vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, phosphorus, and folate (vitamin B9). But, wait — are they good enough to replace water? Well, you can combine them with your usual water intake for an extra health boost.

Matcha

Matcha is a type of Japanese green tea. It has been touted for beneficial effects such as mood regulation and better cognitive performance. However, to get these effects consistently, you may have to consume a substantial amount (at least 300 mg) of matcha every day. You can also incorporate matcha into all sorts of healthy drinks.
a woman making green juice as one of the most popular healthy drinks

Healthy bottled drinks to buy at the supermarket

So, you've already gone through the list of healthy drinks you can make at home. But what if you're on the go and want to find some healthy beverages? Some supposedly healthy beverages you may find in the store are probably not as healthy as advertised, but it isn't impossible to find healthy drinks to buy. Here are some healthy bottled drinks you can buy:

Veggie juice

As previously discussed, vegetables make one of the healthiest drinks possible. However, buying veggie juices that are full of nutrition is not as easy as making them at home.

To determine whether the healthy bottled drinks you see in the supermarket are actually healthy, check the labels. If they contain a lot of sugar, don't buy them. Also, you should try to find healthy drinks that are 100% juice whenever possible, since they have fewer additives and other miscellaneous ingredients that do not provide beneficial effects for your body.

Fruit juice

Other options for healthy drinks that you can always find in a supermarket are fruit juices. Choosing the right fruit juices is just like veggie juices; it requires a discerning eye. Although some juice may be advertised as 100% fruit juice, you should pay more attention to what is on the food label. If it's not 100% or is high in added sugar, it is better to leave it behind.

Raw coconut water

Is coconut water hydrating? Yes, it is. It is equally as hydrating as normal water. It's also one of the healthiest drinks available since it contains a lot of good minerals such as sodium, potassium, and phosphorus. Finding coconut water in a supermarket may not be hard, but finding one that does not have a lot of additives can be. Sugar is often added to coconut water, so be sure to pay attention to the list of ingredients when looking for healthy drinks with raw coconut water.
a girl in a hat choosing healthy drinks in a supermarket

Alkaline and electrolyte water

Alkaline water is a type of water that has a high pH and often contains additional alkaline minerals. Electrolyte water is water that contains electrolytes, which are minerals such as sodium, potassium, and possibly others that help the muscles and nerves function properly, especially under conditions of excessive sweating or dehydration. Both products are commonly used by athletes and are often advertised as even healthier than normal water. Though some research indicates that alkaline water can be more beneficial for people suffering from certain health conditions, it doesn't mean that alkaline water is better than normal water for everyone. The same applies to electrolyte water. However, both types of water can be used as a temporary replacement for normal water, since both are equally hydrating.

Kombucha

Kombucha is a type of fermented tea. As we've mentioned before, tea can easily be used as a replacement for water. Fermentation increases the probiotic content, and thus kombucha can be one of the healthiest drinks available in a supermarket. However, this depends on whether or not sugar is added. Because unsweetened tea tends to be bitter and fermentation processes tend to have a sour taste, commercial kombucha is especially susceptible to having high sugar content. Your best bet to finding healthy kombucha drinks would be to read the labels and find the ones with the lowest carbohydrates or sugar content.

There is more to healthy drinks than just water! This list of healthy drinks can help kick off your journey to finding the right alternative healthy beverages for you.
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