When Water Isn’t Enough Anymore
I don’t know why, but I’m still amazed by the food trends that continue to dominate social media. Scroll long enough and you’ll find endless advice that is often oversimplified, and sometimes misguided packaged as “wellness.” I find it both fascinating and exhausting.
In my family, we love water. Hydration has never been a hard sell. I joke that when I gave birth to my kids, they came out holding bottles of Poland Spring. So when I recently read about the “loaded water” trend taking over social media, I was genuinely surprised.
If you haven’t seen it yet, loaded water typically involves adding fruits, vegetables, herbs, powders, syrups, or supplements to water to “enhance” its health benefits. The claims are big: improved digestion, boosted metabolism, reduced inflammation, increased energy, even weight loss. It’s water, upgraded and optimized.
On the surface, it sounds harmless. Drinking water is a good thing. Adding flavor can make it more enjoyable. But as with many wellness trends, the concern isn’t the behavior itself, it’s the messaging underneath it.
Somehow, plain water isn’t enough anymore. It needs to do more. It needs to fix something. And often, that “something” is framed as a problem with our bodies. We’re subtly told that unless our water is infused or supplemented, we’re not hydrating “correctly.”
This is where I pause.
There’s nothing wrong with adding lemon, cucumber, mint, berries, or bubbles to your water if you enjoy it. Taste matters. Pleasure matters. But when hydration becomes another area where we feel pressure to get wellness “right,” it can pull us away from listening to ourselves.
Food trends often promise control in a world that feels unpredictable. They suggest that if we just follow the right formula, drink this, avoid that, we’ll finally figure it out. But bodies don’t work that way.
Your body is already communicating with you. Thirst is a signal. Enjoyment is a signal. Satisfaction is a signal. You don’t need to earn the right to drink water.
If loaded water helps you hydrate because you genuinely like it, that’s worth noticing. If it leaves you feeling anxious or convinced that plain water isn’t enough, that’s worth noticing too.
Trends will come and go. The invitation is to meet them with curiosity rather than urgency. To ask, Does this support me? instead of Am I doing this right?
Sometimes, a cold glass of plain water is exactly what your body is asking for. And that can be enough.
If you’d like support in creating a gentler, more sustainable relationship with food or your body, I’d love to help. You can reach me at Rachel@livehealthynyc.com.