By Emma Lisa From Eat Nourish Glow 

At nearly 50, my most precious beauty secret is a tall, chilled glass of infused water.

Often overlooked, water is a vital nutrient, and essential for your overall well-being. It helps to naturally regulate your body temperature, lubricate the joints, flush out waste and toxins, maintain body weight, cognitive function and, can even balance your mood. And of course, it's necessary for beautiful, glowing skin.

 Many people struggle to drink plain water, so I suggest infusing the recommended 3 litres a day with vitamin-rich fruits, veggies and herbs. This is a fabulous way to hydrate, plump up the skin and get a daily drip feed of essential vitamins and minerals.

What Goes In Infused Water?

It is really as simple as adding fresh, wholesome ingredients like organic fruit, veggies and homegrown herbs to your water bottle or a pitcher of water that you steep for awhile. As the fruit, vegetables and herbs steep in the water, the natural compounds leach out into the water and create a "vitamin water" you can consume for the health benefits.

Why is infused water so healthy?

Keeping hydrated is essential for good health, but I mentioned, for many, drinking plain water can be boring, or downright hard. By infusing water the subtle flavours of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies, which make water more palable and easier to consume large amounts (2-3 litres)

Healthy Variations

The basic recipe for infused water is water and fruit, vegetables and/or herbs. You can also try it with other low calorie liquids such as coconut water, mineral water or homemade, carbonated water. Just pair it with any of the following infusions:

• Fresh fruits: fruit of all kinds provide essential phytonutrients. Adding in a good variety to your water can help fill in the gaps from your diet while boosting your nutrient levels and hydrating the body and your skin. So easy right?

• Fresh vegetables: like celery, cucumber, watercress, and bok choy are already very hydrating. But when you add them to your water bottle they naturally leach out their vitamins and goodness. Veggies like cucumbers also contain skin boosting plant compounds like silica, which can give you that youthful glow.

• Fresh herbs: provide subtle flavour to your water bottle but also a wide range of beauty food minerals and essential nutrients. Experiment with different variations of herbs from pungent options like basil, peppermint, thyme, lavender and rosemary to more subtle like borage, lemon balm, germanium, and chamomile.

• Chia seeds: are an excellent source of anti-ageing antioxidants, as well as omega3 fatty acids which can help slow ageing, and reduce the look and appearance of acne scars, and any discolouration. Simply add a teaspoon or two of chia seeds to your water bottle or pitcher.

Making Your Own Infused Water