Sparkling clean water for life.

Why Do We Need Water?

Almost everyone knows that you should drink eight glasses of water a day. But is it really necessary?

"Absolutely," says Cleveland Clinic nutritionist Andrea Dunn. "Almost every cell in your body needs water to function properly. Many of the patients I see don’t drink enough water. They aren’t dehydrated, but they aren’t drinking as much water as they should -- especially considering how much your body needs."

The human body, is made up of between 55 and 75 percent water. Lean people have more water in their bodies because muscle holds more water than fat. Your body is in need of constant water replenishment.

Why Your Body Needs Water

Ways the body looses water:

• Your lungs expel between two and four cups of water each day through normal breathing - even more on a cold day.
• If your feet sweat, there goes another cup of water.
• If you make half a dozen trips to the bathroom during the day, that's six cups of water.
• If you perspire, you expel about two cups of water. This doesn’t include exercise-induced perspiration!

A person would have to lose 10 percent of her body weight in fluids to be considered dehydrated, but as little as two percent can affect athletic performance, cause tiredness and dull critical thinking abilities.

Adequate water consumption lessen the chance of:

• kidney stones
• keep joints lubricated
• prevent and lessen the severity of colds and flu
• help prevent constipation

People that drink eight to 10 cups of water each day report that they generally feel better.

How do you know if you are drinking enough water?

Look at your urine. If it’s clear or pale yellow, you’re doing a good job of staying hydrated. But if it’s intense yellow or gold, you probably need to drink more water.

So what do you do if you don't like water?

Many people prefer soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks, coffee and other drinks. All these drinks can help quench your body’s thirst for fluids, but they typically contain 100 calories or more per serving.

The best alternatives to water are:

• diluted fruit juices
• non-fat or skim milk
• diet soft drinks

While bottled waters are very popular, tap water works just as well and is more economical. It's also safe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates tap water and requires that it be analyzed for chemicals and bacteria. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates bottled water, doesn't require that it be analyzed for these substances. In addition to water and other drinks, many foods are also good sources of water. Juicy fruits like oranges, grapefruit, grapes, watermelon and apples can help keep you healthy and hydrated. They also contain important nutrients like vitamins, fiber and flaviniods. Carrots, tomatoes, tuna, yogurt, cottage cheese, soups, rice and pasta also contain plenty of water.

The key is to think and drink small amounts frequently. The easiest way to stay ahead of your water needs is to drink a half-a-cup of water (four ounces) each hour you’re awake. When you get in the car, take along something to drink. When you sit down to watch TV, have something to drink. When you go to a meeting, take along something to drink.

Our recommendation

• Buy sipper bottles. Keep them very clean. It is safe to wash most on the top rack of the dishwasher.
• Filter your own water. It costs just pennies a day. The filtration system will pay for itself if you're currently buying bottled water. If you're looking to filter drinking water only, consider filtration picture. If you'd like to cook pasta, steam vegetables, make coffee and teas with filtered water, consider an at the faucet filtration system.

We filter at the sink with an undercounter unit and love the ease and cost savings. We love being able to put a pot under the spigot and fill up with filtered water for pasta, potatoes and rice. It's also nice to rinse salad greens and produce with filtered water. Our coffee maker recommends filtered water, so it's nice there too. Delicate herbal teas taste much better without the harsh taste of chlorine in the background.

On a side note, we wonder how much damage we do to our beautiful country burning gasoline shipping filtered water and filling the land fill with plastic bottles.

Delicious Water, Healthy Water