Why Water?

Why not?  I know that water isn't the most exciting, flavorful, or fizzy beverage for which to quench our thirst, but it is, without a doubt, THE best. 

It's what our bodies are made up of, besides a little carbon and nitrogen here and there.  It may be hard to imagine that more than 70% of our bodies are H2O since we aren't just rippling and floating our way through life, but water is needed in more functions than you might think.  It's what our skin needs to stay pliable and taught.  It's what our cells need to stay inflated and functional.  It's what our lungs and air passages need to stay open and mucousy.  There are plenty of other functions to list, but the list would get way too long for entertainment purposes.

So, since we have so much water in us, we probably don't need to add anymore right?  Wrong.  We lose a lot of our water through everyday activities from breathing to sweating to using the restroom to evaporation.  I recently read a medical article stating that the amount of water that we "need" is far less than what we thought.  I believe that they suggested that we only need 8 ounces of water per day to survive.  But we're not just here to survive are we?  We are here to thrive.  And in order to thrive and allow your cells and skin and lungs and all other parts of your body to function at their highest capacity, you need way more water than only 8 ounces per day.  So, in order to keep pace with all of the water that we lose during the day, you should be drinking at least 64 ounces per day (that's about 8 glasses of water).  And that's just water, not any of that other stuff.

But pop and juice and beer and milk are mostly water right?  They are.  But they also have plenty of other fillers in them.  Most other drinks have sweeteners in them whether they are synthetic like high fructose corn syrup (that's a whole other topic) to the lactose found in milk.  The problem is, most of that other stuff found in "tasty" drinks, including sweeteners, can have the opposite effect of water.  Caffeine, alcohol, and sugar can make you dump water.  Plus, you are still adding all of that unnecessary stuff to you body.  So, just stick to the water to get your 64 ounces.

The best way to make sure you get enough water during the day is to keep water right in front of you.  That way you will be reminded every time you see your glass or Nalgene or stainless steel bottle.  In fact, you probably got a little thirsty just reading this.  So if you haven't already, get a reusable water bottle and bring it with you to work, school, outings, wherever.  Just make sure you try to get that 64 ounces.  Your body deserves it.