Water is the source of life on this planet. Without water, we would not exist. It is in every living cell and organism. We cannot function without water... in fact, the human body is 75% water (optimally).
So why, then, do so many of us find it difficult to believe that we need to be drinking enough water each and every day?
Now, with that said, our drinking water is also not necessarily perfect – did you know that the US Environmental Protection Agency has identified over 700 pollutants that regularly appear in drinking water (both from municipal water sources in additiona to water taken from wells or springs). The scary part is this – the EPA only monitors a select few organic and inorganic chemicals that could potentially be in your water!!
Where shoud I get my water?
There are a number of ways to get clean water, but your best bet is a good quality filtration system. If you choose to filter only the water that you drink, you should be sure to store your water in a ceramic or glass container to avoid contamination (as you have all likely heard, plastic is not the ideal way to store your water). Consider getting a filter for your shower as well – because bathing in the stuff is much the same as drinking it (your skin is your largest organ).
How much water should I drink?
Often people rely on the 8-10 rule, which is 8-10 glasses (8oz each) but folks that are drinking this much water are probably shooting a bit low. A good formula to use is this – take your current body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. Drink that much water in ounces in a day (32 ounces equals one litre). For example – if you weigh 160lbs, you should be drinking 80 ounces of water a day, or around 2.5 litres per day. Of course, if you exercise frequently or spend a lot of time in the heat be sure to up this number accordingly.
What about milk, juice, pop and coffee?
While made up of water, these things are not quite the same – we were designed to drink water, nothing else. Pop is full of sugar, and diet pop is full of nasty chemicals... none of which you need. Fruit juice is highly processed fruit and is also surprisingly full of sugar. You are much better off eating the fruit than trying to get your nutritents from the juice. Milk – well, it’s a long story, but suffice it to say – humans are the only animals on the earth that drink breast milk past the point of weaning – never mind drinking the milk of ANOTHER ANIMAL.
You will notice that a great many people are sensitive to dairy, and this is not by chance – we were never meant to consume the stuff!! I know that the marketing has told you something entirely different, but you can do the math if you think about it. Dairy is not good – and I will address this further in another article. As for coffee – I don’t like to be the bearer of bad news, but the caffeine isn’t that great for us (it is an addictive drug, after all) and is best avoided. It is worth noting that the effects of caffeine do not end at stimulation – it is also a diuretic, which does not help with our “hydration problem”. If you are a big coffee drinker, try to reduce your consumption – you will feel a lot better in the end.
Summary
Water equals life and subsequently health on this planet, so drink your share of clean pure water. If you can, invest in a high quality water filter – and skip the bottled water - it isn’t good for the environment and isn’t that great for you (most of it is just filtered tap water, and it’s been sitting in a plastic bottle for far too long).
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