Why You Should Ditch Sugary Drinks And drink Water Instead

This is an underwritten post written by me in partnership with Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water. All opinions are mine.

When I was in my early teens and preoccupied with my weight, I decided to drop all sweet beverages and drink only water in an effort to cut calories.

I didn’t know it then, (and by the way, I don’t recommend being weight obsessed!), but that was one of the best decisions I made during my tumultuous teen years.

Why? Partly because not realizing that coffee wouldn’t add to my (imaginary) weight problem, I ditched it and never got hooked on caffeine, but more importantly, because I’ve always had less than ideal tooth enamel, and quitting the constant flow of sugar-sweetened drinks over my poor teeth increased their integrity dramatically.

I eventually discovered that I needed to not only quit eating and drinking so much sugar, but that I needed to intentionally take in extra minerals to help keep my body healthy.

At first, I tried mineral drops and pills, which were gross, and really hard to make a habit out of.

Then I heard about mineral water. I thought that the term “Mineral water” was just what you called bottled water, but it turns out, there’s a huge difference!

Natural mineral water is one of the most strictly regulated food and drink products in the world, and requires an internationally recognized official seal of authenticity. That’s really official and important sounding, but what it means is that Mineral water must be extracted and bottled in its original, pure form directly at the location of the underground spring, and that only waters with at least 250 mg of mineral content per liter may be classified as mineral water.

Why is it important to mineralize your body? It’s a well-known fact to goat owners that the mineral content in our soils are becoming more and more depleted. This means that the food our goats eat contains less and less natural minerals, and we find ourselves supplementing more and more with minerals.

The same is true of humans – except we’re not really content to lick up minerals from a barrel in the corner of the pasture!

One of the most natural ways we can get more minerals is by drinking mineral-rich water!

Why You Should Ditch Sugary Drinks And drink Water Instead

1. To allow your taste buds to readjust. I’ve known too many children who didn’t like the taste of water – they thought it was boring! If this is you or your kids, it may be that your taste buds have become desensitized to sweetness. You need to quit sweet drinks cold turkey, allow your taste buds to readjust, and then, experience food and drinks full of flavor you didn’t even know they had!
2. To relieve your digestive system of the pressure to breakdown sugars. We all value our digestive health – it’s what keeps us alive! A balanced diet helps keep your digestive system happy, and too often, sugary drinks throw off that balance.
3. To cut calories. While I don’t recommend being weight obsessed, as I said above, you may have a legitimate desire to lose weight, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Something I’ve read, and that I wholeheartedly believe after watching several of my friends struggle with it, is that drinks are the downfall of many an aspiring dieter. The problem is, it’s hard for us to count liquid toward our calories, or register it as food at all, so we end up sabotaging ourselves by eating more.
4. To get a handle on oral health. I know that not everyone is like me, but switching from soda and sweet tea to mineral water is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my oral health, and I’ve recently gotten my kids hooked on sparkling mineral water too, because I feel like a properly mineralized body is a huge key to a healthy life.

One interesting thing I’ve learned about mineral water is that they don’t all taste the same! In hindsight, I guess that makes sense – different mineral compositions cause different flavors. My favorite sparkling mineral water by far has been Gerolsteiner, for its balance of minerals that give it a  clean, neutral taste.

Do you want to get started drinking mineral water? Here’s how!

Take the  5 day Sparkling Detox Challenge, where you’ll be challenged to replace your sweetened and caffeinated beverages with Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for five days.

Go to Gerolsteiner’s website and sign up for a chance to win a case of Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water (There will be 300 winners!). Make sure you do this before August 28th, when the giveaway ends!

Join the Sparkling Detox Facebook group to get more tips and support for your sparkling mineral water challenge, and share your experiences on Instagram – be sure to tag @Gerolsteiner-USA and use hashtag #SparklingDetox to connect with other detoxers!

My kids have been absolutely loving our case of Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water. Since we’ve been working on our new house out at the farm, I’ve been keeping several bottles in the refrigerator to grab as we head out the door to put up more ceiling and paint more walls (it seems like all we’ve been doing lately!) The kids really enjoy the natural carbonation of the water, and I love that they’re getting their minerals with no pill shoving!

Thanks you Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water for underwriting this post! While this is sponsored content, all opinions are my own.