Far too many people, especially seniors, don’t drink enough water on a daily basis for a variety of reasons. They either don’t like the taste of plain water, they don’t feel dehydrated (even when they actually are), or they never formed the habit to drink a certain amount of water everyday. The truth is, not drinking enough water can be seriously harmful to the health of seniors. As people age, their kidneys aren’t able to process fluids the way they used to and drinking water is instrumental to efficiently and effectively processing bodily waste. Dehydration can lead to a series of health problems that can easily be avoided simply by drinking water. One of the best ways to get seniors to drink more water is by making them a delicious infused or detox water recipe that incorporates their favourite fruits and vegetables.
Avoid Dehydration with These Infused Water Combinations
Here is a list of delicious, nutritious, refreshing, and easy-to-prepare detox water recipes for seniors to enjoy and keep cool this summer!
- Rosemary Grapefruit Water: All you need is half a grapefruit (sliced in two), a few sprigs of rosemary, crushed ice, and cold water. Place the grapefruit, rosemary, crushed ice into a container of your choice and then pour the cold water over it. Let it sit for about 6-8 hours in the fridge before consuming.
- Strawberry Lemon Basil Water: Mix cubed ice, four to six sliced strawberries to your liking, half of a lemon (thinly sliced), and gently squeezed basil (this helps to release its natural flavours and nutrients) into a large pitcher. It also helps to squeeze some of the lemon juice into the mixture. Then add cold water on top and let it rest in the fridge for a few hours.
- Watermelon Mint Water: Slice the watermelon into cubes (this makes them easier to snack on afterwards!) and place them into a pitcher mixed with scrunched mint leaves and ice. Once again, just pour cold water over the mixture and let it infuse in the fridge for about 6-8 hours or more.
- Blueberry Orange Water: Slice up two full mandarin oranges into wedges and place them into a pitcher with 15-20 blueberries, and ice. In order to strengthen the flavours of the fruit, gently squeeze them before adding them to the mixture and then pour about six cups of water over them and leave the infused water in the fridge overnight.
Benefits of Drinking Infused Water
Generally speaking, the longer you let the water infuse the natural flavours and nutrients of the fruits or vegetables, the more beneficial each concoction is to your health and the health of your elderly loved one. Drinking infused water has multiple health benefits and it’s an excellent way to provide better summer care for seniors who don’t like to drink a lot of water. You can use pretty much any mixture of fruits and vegetables to make infused water. If your elderly loved one has an affinity for certain fruits or vegetables, try to incorporate them as much as possible into your recipes to encourage them to drink more detox water.
Trust the Caregivers at Home Care Assistance
Home Care Assistance – Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph provides high-quality in-home assistance and care for elderly people. Reliable senior care can sometimes be hard to come by in places like Waterloo and we understand all of the hardships families often endure trying to tend to their elderly loved ones. We’ve helped countless families find highly trained and experienced part-time or full-time caregivers to look after their loved ones in need. To find out how we can help you, please contact us at (519) 954-2111.