Hate drinking plain water? Me too. But now at lunch and dinner I fill a tall cool glass of water and take a drink between every bite. I end up filling the glass 2-3x per meal. Slows my eating and fills me up faster, so I eat less. Drinking more water and loving it, because combined with food, it all tastes great.

Except, that is, for breakfast. I drink coffee or hot chocolate to start the day.

To whet my whistle between meals, I mix a packet of Meijer Hydration in a 38oz daily hydration-sized water bottle with filtered water and ice. Because other than meals or after a hot outdoor work or workout day, I still hate drinking plain water, and the right drink mix makes it taste great. Along those glasses of straight water at lunch and dinner, I may be better hydrated now than I’ve ever been in my life.

What about the sodium?

When I posted about this in the Apple Watch Fitness group, someone asked me about drink mix sodium content and blood pressure. Let’s drill down on that.

Each packet of drink mixes like Meijer and Liquid IV contains about 500mg of sodium to help with hydration and electrolyte balance. They say 500mg is only 20-21% of “Recommended Daily Value,” but when it comes to guidelines developed by or with the help of the consumer products industry, I believe we all should, pardon the pun, take them with a grain of salt. Those guidelines are designed, yes, with consumer safety in mind, but also, like any other product, to maximize consumption (and thus sales and revenue).

Bottom line: I use a maximum of one packet per day.

Observation: I almost can’t believe these companies recommend “mixing a packet in 16 ounces of water,” because the flavor is plenty strong in the 38oz bottle and I think it would run me over mixed in only 16 ounces of water. Again, though, I believe it may be about encouraging overconsumption.

What’s ‘missing’: Artificial sweeteners

For me, the problem with most low sodium drink mixes, and “low sodium” products in general, is that they almost invariably contain artificial sweeteners that I don’t want. The Meijer mixes I’m using, and the ones by Liquid IV I was using before, contain sodium, but what they do not contain are artificial sweeteners. Both brands now also have sugar free mixes that do use artificial sweeteners, most prominently a White Peach flavored mix. Not interested.

Drinks: Got it. But what about eats?

In our house we haven’t eaten meat (or drank soda, except for the occasional ginger ale) since 2016. We eat mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. I work pomegranate, the seeds or the juice, into my diet most days, because WebMD and other health experts report it is beneficial in several important ways. Same with tomatoes or tomato sauce, to soak up the Lycopene. Started eating “an apple a day” years ago and almost never miss a day. In today’s world, or at least in our modern consumer economies, we are so apple-blessed compared to when I was a kid. In those bygone days our ‘choice’ was most often those Red so-called Delicious apples or, somewhat better, Golden Delicious. I know I wasn’t the only one clamoring for something better, because today we can readily choose from what to me are truly delicious golden-red varieties like Gala, Honey Crisp, and Cosmic Crisp, and I revel in all of them.

Since we don’t eat meat we take a vitamin B12 supplement daily. I’ve never salted or peppered things at the table in my life; either I like the taste of the food or I don’t.

I am living proof that you can be a vegetarian and still be, um, well-fed. I weigh (way) more than I should, and I’m working on that. To share some good news and answer the Q raised in the fitness group, my blood pressure readings with my doctor are consistently 100-110 over 65-70.

On the horizon: True Lemon (and Orange, and Lime)

Life is a journey, and mine may include True Lemon drink mixes someday.

They contain no sodium and almost no sugar. They do contain Stevia, which the company claims is not an artificial sweetener, but to me, any sweetener that is not natural sugar is artificial. I do like the flavors I see and love that the company works with two groups helping, as it says, to make the world a better place: Feeding America and Girls on the Run.

I’m not a doctor. I don’t even play one on TV

Nothing in this post is intended as medical advice. Before embarking on any nutrition or fitness program, consult a medical professional.

Unlike many “helpful health posts,” I also am not selling anything. If you want to explore the wonders of drink mixes or anything else you see here, go to Meijer, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, or wherever you shop. Or don’t.

That said, if anything I’ve shared here helps you, I’m glad.