There is a product I can buy at my grocery store called Hint. It is bottled water with a “hint” of fruit flavor. No sugar, no artificial sweetener, all natural. I love it – – except it’s a little pricy to drink on a daily basis. When it goes on sale I stock up.
I decided to search for a way to make my own hint water at home. I could make pineapple with a little bit of frozen pineapple juice concentrate. Lemon and lime are, of course, easy. But it was hard to get much variety.
I have a client who likes to talk about health related issues while we work on her genealogy. She introduced me to another product called Bai. It is also a flavored water – much stronger than hint – and sweetened with erythritol and stevia. It comes in a lot of flavors, and I can buy it in bulk at Sam’s Wholesale.
One day I tried putting just a splash of Bai into a glass of water. I don’t measure – I’m thinking I use about two Tablespoons, maybe three. It is perfect. Just a hint of flavor makes the water so much more enjoyable.
I got my Honorable Husband hooked on it. He fills a glass about three quarters full of water and tops it off with Bai. We are both getting away from the idea that drinks should be really strong and really sweet. If you open our refrigerator door at any time, you will find a couple of half full bottles of Bai. If you go into our utility, you will find four to five cases of Bai in assorted flavors.
There are actually three “hints” in this blog. #1 is you can make your own flavored water!
On Dr. D’s recommendation, I am now taking acetyl L-carnitine for improving my cholesterol. I have taken a capsule that combines acetyl L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid for many years. They say it is good for memory and brain function. I wanted to add more L-carnitine by itself. My health food store did not have any powder, but did have a liquid. The instructions said to add one teaspoon to a glass of water before exercise for fat burning or one teaspoon after exercise for recovery. It was raspberry flavored and slightly sweet. I assumed that was what L-carnitine tasted like.
I ordered a canister of powder and when it came in I put the recommended dose in a glass of water. On the way to exercise, I took a big gulp. Ugggggg. It was awful. I spit it back in the glass. (Then I noticed that the liquid had raspberry flavoring and stevia added). What was I going to do with a big canister of something that tasted terrible?
I added a splash of Bai to my glass and took a cautions taste. The hint of fruit and sweetness overpowered the terrible taste of the acetyl L-carnitine. I’m not saying I don’t notice it at all, but it is certainly drinkable…and I’m slowly acquiring a taste for it.
So hint #2 is if you must take something that tastes bad, a hint of fruit and sweetness can make it more than tolerable…it can make it pretty good.
My client who likes to talk about health things has been trying to lose weight and has really made excellent progress. After I began to drink 12 plus cups of water a day, I began to lose weight. That wasn’t my goal…I wanted to build muscle and lose fat… I need to step up the muscle building, but I am certainly pleased to see the fat diminishing.
I told her about my experience with water. She was intrigued and went on line to see if I was right. She sent me a you-tube link about the advantages of drinking more water. I don’t know anything about the website. I’m not recommending anything but this one video. I like it because in a simple graphic way it affirms what I wrote in my dehydration blog.
So here is hint #3. Watch this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiZy1MZr9OM
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