I recently went to a medical conference that served water that was spiced with lemons, cucumbers and mint. I was reaching for a glass every opportunity I had. The “water cocktail” was delightfully tasteful, refreshing and invigorating. I became curious. I had to research what it was about this lemon-cucumber-mint combination that made it so appealing. I already knew about the benefits of drinking lemon water; read a previous blog post on “The Benefits of Lemon Water” here. But ,what was it about cucumber and mint?
Benefits of Mint
- Adds taste without added sugar.
- Helps with digestion. It calms your stomach.
Benefits of Cucumbers
- It helps to rehydrate. Cucumbers are mostly water, thus acts as a natural diuretic. Natural diuretics ease bloating and decrease water retention. Also, diuretics help to release toxins from the body.
- Cucumbers contains vitamins A, B and C. These vitamins give you energy and support your immune system.
The benefits of cucumbers are far more numerous than listed above, but for the purpose of this article, I wanted to highlight the benefit of what makes this drink particularly invigorating and energizing. Water is essential for life. Most of us don’t get enough of it. We often mistake thirst for hunger. When you eat instead of drinking water, you are consuming unnecessary calories. We know that excess calories equals weight gain. Infusing water with herbs and fruits is likely to get you to drink more of it. Also, you can eliminate juices and sodas. Juices and sodas are high in calories. They contain high amounts of sugar, artificial sweeteners and other additives; all of which will expand your waistline. Drinking more water keeps you feeling full and curbs your appetite, thus helping you to lose weight. Read more about the benefits of drinking water here.
Below is a quick and easy recipe to follow to get you started on making your own Lemon-Cucumber-Mint “Water Cocktail.” Whenever possible always opt for organic produce.
Ingredients:
10 cups of filtered water
1 large cucumber
2 lemons
10 mint
Directions: Throughly wash the lemons and cucumbers. Rinse the mint leaves. Thinly slice the lemons and cucumbers. In a large pitcher add all ingredients together and let steep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours. Enjoy this cocktail as often as you like!
