Although water is important for all capabilities of the physique, slurping the correct quantity of fluid ounces per day could really feel like a full-time job; however the penalties of under-hydrating are immense. Registered dietitian Callie Exas, MPH, MS, RDN, advises that as little as a 2% loss in hydration can negatively influence cognition, reminiscence, temper, and response time. And if dehydration persists, it could actually improve the danger for warmth sicknesses like warmth cramps, warmth exhaustion, and warmth stroke.
The very best water flavorings could make consuming fluids extra fulfilling, particularly for many who tire of consuming plain water however nonetheless need to keep correctly hydrated. To search out the highest water flavorings, we examined dozens of choices, paying shut consideration to taste, texture, aftertaste, odor, and worth. We additionally tapped dietitians to assist us consider every possibility’s ingredient checklist and solely selected ones which might be really good to your physique.
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Mixes nicely
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No aftertaste
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Reasonably priced
Key Specs
Energy: 20 energy | Sweetener Kind: Stevia leaf extract | Sugar per Serving: 0 grams | Natural: No | Non-GMO: No | Type: Liquid | Our General Score: 5/5
Who It is For
Greatest for many who need an inexpensive, easy increase to their water routine that provides electrolytes, mixes effortlessly, and doesn’t break the financial institution.
Why We Love It
If you would like a water flavoring that leaves no hint when blended, provides you further electrolytes, and provides essentially the most bang to your buck, look no additional than Clear Principle Water Booster. As newbies to the water flavoring sport, we have been blown away by this booster that mixes with ease, leaving no clumps or unevenness (not like the tablets and powders we’d used up to now). In reality, we discovered that we didn’t even should stir it to ensure that the liquid to be utterly dispersed in our water.
We have been additionally impressed with the style. There was no aftertaste in any respect, and the flavour was remarkably true to its promise—we tried watermelon-berry, and that’s precisely what it smelled and tasted like. The truth that this water booster contains all-important electrolytes and is moderately priced makes Clear Principle Water Booster our best choice for finest water flavorings, and we’d fortunately advocate it.
Potential Flaws
- The plastic bottle packaging is engaging and practical however possible gained’t be correctly recycled, elevating environmental considerations.
- Whereas this water enhancer accommodates electrolytes, the precise quantity isn’t clear.
Most Beneficial Perception
“I am extra accustomed to tablets, which regularly clump and depart residue—in distinction, this liquid format blended cleanly and immediately, making it an excellent different I’d think about using often.” —Ray Y., Verywell Match product tester
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Troublesome to measure
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Slight residue
Key Specs
Energy: 5 energy | Sweetener Kind: monkfruit extract, erythritol | Sugar per Serving: 1 gram sugar alcohol | Natural: No | Non-GMO: No | Type: Liquid | Our General Score: 4.5/5
Who It is For
Greatest for individuals trying so as to add taste with out sugar or a hefty price ticket.
Why We Love It
If you happen to’re on the lookout for an inexpensive flavoring so as to add to your water, Lakanto Sugar Free Water Enhancers is perhaps for you. True to its identify, there’s no added sugar on this combine, and the liquid method mixes simply with water, leaving no clumps or grit behind.
Our experiences with water flavorings up to now left us on the lookout for ease of use in relation to including taste, and this pre-mixed liquid match the invoice—one teaspoon, stirred nicely, was sufficient to supply a nice and lightweight fruity taste that made it simpler for us to extend our hydration and general liquid consumption. The ultimate consequence after mixing this flavoring was a easy drink with no seen separation. And for the worth tag, this product can’t be beat.
Potential Flaws
- It was onerous to find out the really helpful 1 teaspoon serving with no measuring spoon.
- Whereas this was simply blended into water, we did discover a slight residue left behind within the glass.
Most Beneficial Perception
“The ultimate drink was easy, and there was no seen separation whereas consuming. It blended very simply into the water with only a little bit of stirring and didn’t depart any clumps or grit, which made it nice to drink.” —Amy Ok., Verywell Match product tester
Key Specs
Energy: 0 energy | Sweetener Kind: Stevia | Sugar per Serving: 0 grams | Natural: No | Non-GMO: No | Type: Drops | Our General Score: 4.9/5
Who It is For
Greatest for including taste with out energy or sugar, so that you don’t should compromise on style or well being.
Why We Love It
Seeking to substitute your soda or juice with one thing simply as flavorful however sugar-free? Look no additional than Pure Innovations. Not solely have been we followers of the sturdy watermelon taste, however this water booster additionally delivers electrolytes and Vitamin C, so that you get a punch of well being alongside your punch of taste.
In comparison with the electrolyte tablets we usually use, this water flavoring mixes immediately with no stirring required, and no clumps, grit, or residue left behind. We additionally beloved that the dropper included with the bottle (and a glass bottle at that, which is recyclable) made it tremendous simple to measure how a lot we have been including to our water. In reality, whereas the corporate recommends one to 2 dropperfuls of liquid, we discovered that one was loads, which made this little bottle go a great distance—particularly essential contemplating it’s on the pricier facet.
Potential Flaws
- Testers did discover a faux watermelon aftertaste (described to be like watermelon-flavored bubble gum), nevertheless it dissipated rapidly.
- When it comes to price, this product is on the greater finish of the spectrum in comparison with others.
Most Beneficial Perception
“This product blended immediately—no shaking, no stirring, no clumps, no grit, no residue; the drink was constantly easy.” —Ray Y., Verywell Match product tester
Key Specs
Energy: 5 energy | Sweetener Kind: Stevia leaf extract | Sugar per Serving: 0 grams | Natural: No | Non-GMO: No | Type: Cubes | Our General Score: 4.6/5
Who It is For
Greatest for these trying so as to add electrolytes to their day by day water consumption to spice up vitality and efficiency.
Why We Love It
If you happen to’re an energetic, on-the-go sort one that must consistently replenish your electrolytes, Waterdrop Microdrink is for you. This taste increase comes within the type of dissolving cubes, that are individually wrapped, making them handy for somebody on the transfer who’s on the lookout for a grab-and-go answer to including taste to their water. Throw a dice or two in your gymnasium bag and don’t suppose twice.
These cubes fizz in nonetheless or glowing water with no mixing or stirring required—simply drop it, depart it, and revel in it. We notably favored the scent of this water flavoring, which smelled fruity and really candy; nevertheless, the precise style was surprisingly salty (reminding us of its electrolytes). However regardless of this surprising distinction, we didn’t discover the style disagreeable in any respect. And with many cubes to a field, this product is certain to final you some time.
Potential Flaws
- Takes as much as 10 minutes to dissolve absolutely, and as soon as dissolved, the dice leaves behind some gritty sediment.
- Whereas not a complete dealbreaker, it was shocking that the flavour of the drink (which was barely salty) didn’t match its candy aroma.
Most Beneficial Perception
“The cubes are tiny and are every individually wrapped. It makes it handy to seize and go, and the packaging makes it sanitary. Plus, the scent is powerful sufficient to lure you in to hydrate extra.” —Amy Ok., Verywell Match product tester
Bonus Favorites
Whereas we didn’t personally take a look at the next water flavorings, they’re all dietitian-recommended and comprise related substances to our prime, examined picks. If you happen to’re nonetheless available on the market for a water flavoring after reviewing our prime suggestions, you may’t go improper with these choices.
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Faint taste
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Arduous to dose
Key Specs
Energy: 0 energy | Sweetener Kind: Stevia Leaf Extract | Sugar per Serving: 0 grams | Natural: No | Non-GMO: No | Type: Liquid
Who It is For
Greatest for people who need to jazz up their water with no energy and vibrant colours.
Why We Love It
These tiny squeeze bottles add vibrant colours to your water, making hydration extra fulfilling. Plus, we love that the simply mixable colours might be achieved with out using any meals dyes and with zero energy and sugar per serving. These water flavorings are available in quite a lot of flavors, together with Strawberry Watermelon, Lemonade, and Blue + Blackberry.
In response to buyer opinions, the flavour is a bit faint, making it tempting to extend the dose. Nevertheless, we admire that the flavors nonetheless style as marketed and are made with actual fruit and vegetable juices and no synthetic substances. Some flavors additionally comprise further substances for added advantages, like potassium and vitamin C.
Potential Flaws
- The flavour within the really helpful dose is a bit faint.
- It may be tough to precisely measure out the prompt serving dimension.
Key Specs
Energy: 15 energy | Sweetener Kind: Maltodextrin, sucralose | Sugar per Serving: 0 grams | Natural: No | Non-GMO: Sure | Type: Powder
Who It is For
Greatest for vitality drink lovers who need the style with out the caffeine.
Why We Love It
Common vitality drink model Celsius has developed a hydrating water flavoring with out the caffeine of its unique drinks. This low-calorie, zero-sugar, and dye-free powder additionally accommodates 210 milligrams of sodium and 700 milligrams of potassium, which is akin to the standard electrolyte content material in conventional sports activities drinks, however with out the added stimulants.
The flavour is outstanding, bordering on sturdy, and truly tastes like what’s marketed. Flavors embody Blue Razz, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Watermelon, Fruit Bunch, and Arctic Cherry.
Potential Flaws
- The sodium content material could also be too excessive for some.
- The product additionally accommodates reasonable doses of B nutritional vitamins, which could make you exceed your day by day dose should you’re already taking a vitamin B complement.
Water Flavorings We Additionally Examined
We examined eight water flavorings and enhancers, however solely a small group made it to our last checklist of suggestions. The next merchandise earned some honorable mentions; nevertheless, they in the end didn’t meet our rigorous testing necessities.
- Buoy Power Drops combine immediately and cleanly with out residue or synthetic aftertaste, making them ultimate for many who dislike candy or synthetic components. Nevertheless, this product lacks clear dosing pointers and is dear for the worth it supplies except you could have very particular wants.
- Cirkul’s Starter Equipment is a handy all-in-one system that requires no mixing or stirring and provides user-controlled taste power. Nevertheless, our testers discovered it to be overly candy, with a lingering chemical aftertaste, and an environmentally wasteful design.
- Gatorade Propel Powder is a budget-friendly, acquainted, and trusted model, however the Propel powder fell brief because of its gritty texture, overly candy synthetic taste, and noticeable residue, which made the drink unappealing.
- Magna Magnesium Powered Electrolytes present a conventional electrolyte taste expertise with added magnesium and a powerful hydration focus. Nevertheless it requires a number of stirring, leaves a light residue within the bottle, and has an intense taste which may be too sturdy for some.
What We’ve Up to date
- Since publishing our preliminary checklist of the very best water flavorings, we examined eight choices ourselves, following our rigorous testing pointers and dietitian suggestions.
- We spoke to a fourth dietitian, Eliza Savage, MS, RD, CDN, who supplied steering on dietary high quality and ingredient integrity of the merchandise we advocate.
- We reworked our superlatives based mostly on reader curiosity, including new classes like finest natural, finest packets, and finest zero-calorie.
What to Search for When Looking for Water Flavorings
- Sorts of Water Flavorings: Water flavorings are available in powdered, pill, or liquid type. If you happen to desire so as to add flavoring to your water on the go, you might need to take into account the easy-to-carry, single-serving merchandise, that are usually discovered as powders and typically drops. There are additionally pre-bottled or canned flavored water choices that don’t require mixing.
- Electrolytes: Electrolytes assist to keep up sufficient fluid steadiness within the physique. For many wholesome people, consuming a balanced eating regimen and consuming sufficient water is enough to replenish electrolytes, however you might want extra water and electrolytes whenever you’re exercising, unwell, or touring. In these instances, choosing a water flavoring with added electrolytes might be helpful, as an electrolyte imbalance can lead to a number of hostile results on the physique.
- Caffeine: There’s typically a priority about caffeine having a powerful diuretic impact, however honestly, reasonable caffeine consumption (as much as 400 milligrams a day) has been discovered to solely have a minor, short-term impact. Selecting a water flavoring with caffeine is a private desire, so take into account how caffeine makes you’re feeling. Some discover caffeine provides them a useful, added vitality increase, whereas others can really feel jittery and expertise gastrointestinal discomfort, relying on the person and the dosage.
- Sweeteners and Flavorings: It could be onerous to drink sufficient water in case you are used to consuming soda or juice, which tastes quite a bit sweeter. Nevertheless, lots of our picks present loads of taste whereas leaving out extra sugar. Non-nutritive sweeteners like sugar alcohols, monk fruit, and stevia—deemed secure when utilized in moderation—are different methods to offer sweetness, however not everybody tolerates them nicely.
How We Examined the Water Flavorings
After narrowing down dozens of water flavorings to eight dietitian-approved choices, we examined each following a constant rubric and paying shut consideration to aroma, style, and texture, together with the substances checklist. When evaluating for every criterion, we deal with these key components:
- Texture: Water must be a easy expertise. We examined every product to see how simply the water flavoring was included into the combo and left it to settle to guage for clumping, separation, and residue. Water flavorings that acquired a excessive texture rating seamlessly blended in with our H2O.
- Aftertaste: Various sweeteners, flavorings, and different widespread substances can all contribute to a lingering aftertaste. After tasting every water flavoring, we evaluated whether or not any synthetic taste notes have been current and, in that case, famous how lengthy they took to dissipate.
- Odor and Style: Odor impacts style! When tasting every water flavoring, we famous whether or not the odor and style aligned with its marketed taste. Flavorings that acquired excessive scores for odor and style gained’t depart you anticipating one factor and getting one other.
- Worth: We appeared on the whole worth and crunched the numbers on price per serving to reveal prices and share the very best worth water flavorings.
- Substances Record: We consulted with dietitians to guage the ingredient lists of every water flavoring we examined. We prioritized choices with pure or no sweeteners and with out meals dyes. We additionally favored choices with 20 or fewer energy per serving.
Our Specialists
The next consultants supplied perception into how water flavorings may help preserve you hydrated and provided steering on substances to contemplate when selecting which of them so as to add to your water.
- Callie Exas, MPH, MS, RDN, a New York–based mostly registered dietitian and girls’s well being specialist who runs Callie Exas Diet & Wellness.
- Alena Kharlamenko, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian who focuses on well being and vitamin analysis and complement testing.
- Anne Cook dinner Carroll, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian who works with sufferers to fulfill their well being objectives, together with athletes seeking to enhance their efficiency.
- Eliza Savage, MS, RD, CDN, a New York–based mostly registered dietitian and revealed writer who holds a Grasp’s in Scientific Diet from New York College.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Is it okay to drink flavored water each day?
Plain water ought to nonetheless make up the vast majority of your day by day water consumption, however including some doses of taste alongside the way in which is a good way to stay to your hydration routine. Strive alternating between plain and flavored every time you refill your water bottle.
What’s the healthiest flavoring so as to add to water?
If you wish to add some taste to your water with the only ingredient checklist, take into account including recent fruit, greens, or herbs. Melon, berries, citrus, cucumber, or recent mint are only a few of the methods you may infuse water with taste that is freed from components and energy. If you wish to go for a store-bought water flavoring, Clear Principle Water Booster is our best choice.
Are you able to drink flavored water when you’ve got diabetes?
Being well-hydrated is an missed facet of diabetes administration. Water could be very useful for general blood sugar steadiness. When utilizing a flavoring, go for merchandise that use pure, sugar-free fruit flavorings or comprise different sweeteners which might be proven to have little to no glycemic influence, reminiscent of stevia, monk fruit, or sugar alcohols (allulose or erythritol, for instance).
Does flavored water hydrate you?
Sure, the bottom of flavored water continues to be water, so the science of hydration theoretically works the identical whether or not you’re consuming plain faucet water otherwise you’ve determined to begin consuming water with added taste. For sure teams of individuals, reminiscent of endurance athletes or individuals who discover that they sweat closely, consuming flavored water with added carbohydrates and electrolytes, like sodium and potassium, could additional enhance hydration.
Why Belief Verywell Match
Dana Angelo White, MS, RD, ATC, is a Verywell Match author, registered dietitian nutritionist, licensed athletic coach, vitamin and health advisor, and writer of 9 cookbooks. Dana is the sports activities dietitian and medical professor of Athletic Coaching and Sports activities Drugs at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut.
Dana has been working towards as a dual-credentialed clinician for over 15 years, working with adolescent, collegiate, {and professional} athletes. For this text, Dana hands-on examined a number of water flavors and evaluated their ingredient lists.
Further reporting contributed by Casey Seiden
Casey Seiden, MS, RD, CDCES, is a Verywell Match author, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and Licensed Diabetes Care and Training Specialist. She focuses on pre- and postnatal well being for girls, with a selected deal with blood sugar and diabetes administration. Moreover, Casey is the dietitian at Maternal Fetal Drugs Associates in Manhattan and the proprietor of the net non-public follow Casey Seiden Diet.
For this text, Casey reviewed insights from our consultants and the Verywell Match testing workforce to find out the very best sorts of water flavorings and what to keep away from. Every flavoring was assessed based mostly on substances like electrolytes, components, and synthetic flavors or sweeteners. She prioritized choices that embody easy substances with out pointless components.


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