If you want to stay hydrated but can’t stand the taste of plain water, here are 17 easy ideas for How to Make Water Taste Better from a dietitian.

Jump to:
- Hydration for Health
- 1. Make Flavored Ice Cubes
- 2. Drink Your Water Hot
- 3. Try Fruit-Infused Water
- 4. Add Cucumber Slices to Your Water
- 5. Lemon or Lime Juice
- 6. Add Fresh Herbs
- 7. Add a Splash of Fruit Juice
- 8. Spice it Up
- 9. Use Fresh Ginger Root
- 10. Have a Cup of Tea
- 11. Opt for Sparkling Water
- 12. Use Water Flavorings or Water Enhancers
- 13. Get Fun Water Glasses
- 14. Get a Water Tumbler for On-the-Go
- 15. Install a Water Filtration System
- 16. Use a Water Filter Pitcher
- 17. Use a LARQ Water Bottle.
- How Much Water Do I Need to Drink?
- In Conclusion
- Looking for More Nutrition Education?
- Check Out These Nourishing Dietitian Approved Recipes!
- 💬 Comments
Hydration for Health
No doubt you’ve heard about the important role water and hydrating plays in supporting your health. Our bodies are 50-70% water, and our kidneys use water to get rid of wastes and toxins.
There are many benefits of drinking water! Proper hydration helps with digestion and can prevent constipation, lubricates joints, and is important for body temperature regulation. Plus, adequate daily water intake can help with weight loss, skin health, energy levels, and prevention of kidney stones!
Even mild dehydration can leave you with headaches or feeling lightheaded and irritable. And many people mistake thirst for hunger, causing them to eat excessive calories when a glass of water would've done the trick.
The best way to hydrate is with water, but what do you do if you can’t stand the taste of water? With so many alternative beverages at the grocery store, it can be hard to find a flavorful drink that doesn't add empty calories and extra sugar like a soda beverage does.
Fortunately, there are many different ways to make water taste better without added sugars or artificial sweeteners so you can avoid getting dehydrated! Instead of opting for energy drinks or sugary drinks like sodas and juices, try altering the flavor of your water using some of these ideas.
Without further ado, here are 17 ways to make your water taste better that will have your taste buds jumping for joy!
1. Make Flavored Ice Cubes
Cut up some of your favorite fresh fruits and vegetables like strawberries, pineapples, or cucumbers. Then add them to ice cube trays with water and freeze. Or take it a step further and blend up some of your favorite fresh fruit with a little water and make ice cubes from the blend by pouring the mixture into your ice cube tray and freezing. Add the ice cubes to your glass for cold water with a hint of fruit flavor! This is a fun way to give a strawberry, pineapple, or raspberry flavor to water.
2. Drink Your Water Hot
Cold water isn’t the only way to drink it. If you're a fan of hot drinks like tea, then hot water can be a great option, especially in the winter months. One of the delicious ways to make hot water taste better is by adding a squeeze of lemon, a bit of honey, and a cinnamon stick.
3. Try Fruit-Infused Water
Citrus fruits, watermelon, or berries work great for infusing water. You can get a large water infuser like this 2 quart glass water pitcher or grab a single serve infuser like this Brimma fruit infuser water bottle.
If you don’t want to invest in a diffuser, simply add your favorite fruit to a pitcher of water and place it in the fridge for a few hours to soak in the flavors.
4. Add Cucumber Slices to Your Water
For a spa-like ambiance, slice up a cucumber or some celery and add it to your water to give it a clean taste.
5. Lemon or Lime Juice
Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice or lime juice. This is an inexpensive and easy way to improve the taste of your water within seconds.
6. Add Fresh Herbs
Fresh mint leaves or fresh basil can give water a little flavor and a refreshing taste. Be sure to tear up or chop the leaves to release the flavor before adding them to your water!
7. Add a Splash of Fruit Juice
Use 100 percent fruit juice like orange juice or coconut-water and add a splash to your water or make ice cubes out of it.
This helps add just a hint of flavor to make great-tasting water with way less sugar than juice has by itself.
8. Spice it Up
Sip on water with added spices like ginger or cayenne if you like it spicy. I especially like mixing turmeric, cayenne, and ginger powder into water with lemon juice.
9. Use Fresh Ginger Root
Infuse plain old water with slices of fresh ginger root. Add a lemon wedge for a refreshing drink to help you drink plenty of water and stay properly hydrated!
10. Have a Cup of Tea
Add decaffeinated tea bags to your water. Tea has health benefits and comes in various flavors. Go for decaf since caffeinated beverages are diuretic and can lead to fluid loss.
11. Opt for Sparkling Water
Are you a fan of fizzy drinks? If so, go for sparkling water or carbonated water made with natural flavors! Look for brands without added sugar or additives that are zero or very low-calorie and sweetened with natural ingredients. Some of my favorites that I can find here in Austin are Waterloo and Rambler. I also love La Croix’s Limoncello flavor. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon to your sparkling H2O to amp up the flavor even more.
12. Use Water Flavorings or Water Enhancers
Grab a water flavoring without sugar. Some examples are True Lemon or ones that contain electrolytes that you could drink once a day like Nuun tablets, LMNT packets, or Ultima Electrolyte Drink Mix. These contain minerals like sodium and potassium but have less sugar than a sports drink which is great for after exercise.
Sports drinks that contain sugar are good for after intense workouts with lot of sweating when you need to replenish glucose. But if you are only doing mild physical activity, just be sure to stay well-hydrated by drinking enough water!
13. Get Fun Water Glasses
Sometimes glassware makes a big difference! Get some cute water glasses like these vintage ribbed drinking glasses and make drinking water a more enjoyable experience. As a bonus, you can serve cocktails or mocktails like this Sparkling Apple Cider Mocktail out of these glasses, too!
Read more about the difference between a cocktail and mocktail.
14. Get a Water Tumbler for On-the-Go
Grab an insulated water tumbler in your favorite color. This is a good way to ensure you have cold water when you feel thirsty, and will also save on plastic bottles. Some of the popular ones right now are Stanley or Owala.
15. Install a Water Filtration System
Some people don’t mind bottled water, but notice that tap water has an unpleasant odor, bad taste, or metallic taste. If you don’t like the taste of your tap water, install a water filtration system in your fridge or attach water filter to your kitchen sink to get rid of the chlorine smell and unpleasant flavor that some tap water has.
16. Use a Water Filter Pitcher
Another simple and great way to make water taste better is to invest in a water pitcher. Filtering heavy metals gets rid of the chemical taste and unpleasant smell some people notice from their tap water.
Some popular water filter pitchers are Brita Everyday Water Filter Pitcher (BPA-free) or the PUR Pitcher Water Filter (BPA-Free).
17. Use a LARQ Water Bottle.
New on the market and from Shark Tank, LARQ water bottles are self cleaning water bottles that purify water on-the-go with the press of a button. So if you are worried about bacteria in a reusable water bottle and want a high-end option that helps you drink enough water, this is perfect for you!
How Much Water Do I Need to Drink?
When it comes to the amount of water you need, you've probably heard the recommendation to drink eight 8 ounce cups of water a day. But when answering the question of how much water a day to drink, it depends on several factors including:
- Your weight
- Activity levels
- How much you’ve sweat that day
- Your age and gender
- Where you live
- Your health status
The general recommendation from the U.S National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is that an adequate daily fluid intake is to consume about 91 ounces (11.5 cups) per day for women and 125 ounces (15.5 cups) per day for men.
Notice this is fluid intake, not just plain water. So it includes fluids from your morning caffeine if you drink coffee or tea, and other beverages you drink throughout the day. It also includes fluid you get from your food which is recommended to be ~20% of your fluid for the day.
In general, let your thirst guide you since hydration requirements are based on numerous factors. If you are thirsty, drink water!
As with all things, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and you can drink too much water. If you’re going to the bathroom more than 10 times a day, you might be drinking too many glasses of water and consider cutting back on your fluids. Too much water can cause hyponatremia, swelling in your cells (including your brain cells) and also dilute your electrolytes.
In Conclusion
Healthy hydration is important for good health. If you don't like the taste of tap water, there are plenty of ways to add flavor and make water taste better!
I love using natural ingredients like fruits, cucumbers, and herbs to add flavor to my water. The best part is that many of these added ingredients don't just add flavor - they add extra nutrition, too! For example, lemon juice contains vitamin C for immunity, ginger can help with gut health, and fresh mint contains antioxidants that are important to overall health.
So whether you are infusing it with your favorite fruit, serving it out of a fun glass, or drinking it hot, give some of these ideas a try and stay hydrated!
I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new! I would love to hear from you if so. Please leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram....I LOVE knowing there’s people out there reading my articles. 🙂 IG: @mallorythedietitian.
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References: Healthline, Molecules, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Current Pharmacological Design, Frontiers in Nutrition, Medical News Today, Journal of Gastroenterology, International Journal of Neuroscience, Clinica Chemica Acta, Mayo Clinic, National Academies
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