How healthy is drinking water?

[mcnerd]

If you are considering bottled water as the 'absolutely pure clean water' standard, you may want to do some more research since many of those waters are dirtier than tap water.

I use tap water with a Brita Water Filter (pitcher). The filter I prefer because 70% of the tap water comes from a well and has a high mineral content which the filters helps reduce.

 

[chlop]

I always make sure that I drink high quality water. People should drink 2 liters of water daily!

 

[chefkathleen]

it doesn't even have to be "high quality." Any water is better than no water.

 

[mcnerd]

It doesn't even have to be plain water, but can be any liquid that will hydrate the body. Not that I recommend drinking sodas, coffee or alcoholic beverages as replacements for water, they do fulfill the body's requirement.

The fluid from food and its accompanying metabolic action alone can account for as much as 6 glasses of water! Water is the best fluid - no argument there, but don't get caught up in the absurdity of forcing down extra glasses of water if you have a coffee.


And don't get hung up on a specific number of glasses of water a day. One's body size and physical activity also contribute to the needs for more or less hydration. Relax. Eat, drink and be merry and the body will take care of you.

 

[Claire]

I filter our water, but haven't done that everywhere we've lived. I drink a lot of water, and my husband has taken to as well since his bout with gout. Most of all, everyone has to remember that every body is different, and our water sources vary incredibly from state to state and country to country. If you drink bottled water in large amounts and exclusively, look up the source. I once checked a bottle of water and the label said it came from the Miami aquifer (I'd picked it up at a park in Orlando). Did a bit of research, and in fact the water was pretty much the same stuff you could get from a tap a few hours south of where I bought it. I think for most people (speaking from experience of friends and family), drinking more water and fluids in general, and substituting water for soda pop, coffee, even juice, is a good choice. Yes, too much can be bad for you, but it takes one heck of a lot, and probably an underlying health problem to begin with.

 

[chefkathleen]

You just know when you look at the back of some bottles of water that there's some guy tee heeing with a garden hose from his back yard filling that bottle for you to buy

 

[Claire]

Chefkathleen, I remember my husband's physician telling about a trip he chaperoned of young people going to China. He meticulously made sure none of his charges drank anything but sealed, bottled water. Not so much as an ice cube. Then, when they all had bad diahrea, one morning he looked out his hotel room window and watched while a Chinese man filled used, brand-name water bottles from a community water spigot, took out a gadget and capped and sealed them.

 

[chefkathleen]

OMG! That is soo funny! Although, at the time I'm sure that it wasn't funny at all with everyone fighting for the bathroom.
Anytime we travel outside the US we always take bottled water with us for just that reason. And if you can't take enough water there's always wine! LOL

 

[ribs and steak]

I remember when my parents were overseas with their singing group my dad & sister were the only ones who didn't have problems since they drank soda, i'm sure they questioned the water there as well, as bottled.

 

[blissful]

I drink 8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day. A bit of coffee, no soda, minimal teas or other drinks.

I have a story though. Everyone roll their eyes at this one.

I just got the job at where I work. I had to go get a drug test, so I did. When the results came back, the administrator in another dept told me that my creatinine levels were too HIGH, and I should retest and get more water in me and try to get the creatinine level down.

So, not seeing the test, and trusting her, I drank even more water so the urine test would be in the normal range.

Well, on that test my creatinine levels were definately lower still outside normal, so I didn't pass.

What she didn't understand was I Failed the first one from drinking so much water and my level was too LOW, not too HIGH, and I made it worse on the second one from drinking MORE water! (< > whatever!)

During the process I had freaked out that I might be sick or something as this didn't make sense! I was wondering if my kidneys were failing or something! When we figured out the problem (the administrator gave me the wrong information because she didn't know how to read < > signs) my boss to be called the company doctor and told him what happened.

I was hired. lol not so funny.

 

[ribs and steak]

Drug testing is one thing but i dont understand what the creatinine levels had to do with getting hired.

 

[blissful]

Drug testing is one thing but i dont understand what the creatinine levels had to do with getting hired.

I think creatinine is the indicator of metabolizing protein. If the level is high, from say a high protein diet, it means there is not a lot of water and urine is very concentrated. If the level is low, then there are few indicators of protein breaking down......so the person may have diluted their urine with water (though I didn't). So basically, the test measures creatinine and indicates whether the urine sample is within the norms for urine.

 

[chefkathleen]

That makes no sense to me for a drug test for a job. It's excreted in the urine as a metabolic waste. So why would you not be worthy of hire?
And if they used the excuse of "watered down urine" then they needed to order a "clean" test.
Personally, I'd have been PO'd

 

[luvs]

i say drinking water is very healthy. pop & juice make me thirstier, & aren't as refreshing, though i love both.
i usually drink a pop for breakfast, then re-load my botttle several times at the water machine.

 

[jenniferlee]

far as one, drink plenty of water will be smooth digestion, the body weight down slowly with a healthy way, makes you full, makes skin look more fresh and much more.​

 

[luckofthedraw]

I've become an expert on water. Unfortunately, that's due to ongoing health problems.

Here are some good guidelines to follow:

1) Test your water's pH. Our tap water is 6.0, which is acidic/BAD. You want your water to be as close to your blood's pH as possible. Your blood has to maintain a 7.4 pH, or it starts leaching from your bones, etc to get to that 7.4 number. If your water is not close to 7.4, you might want to consider drinking bottled water, but test it, or ask the supplier first. No sense in drinking bottled tap water.

2) Reverse osmosis systems are good, but they remove all the minerals, etc out of your water, so will actually make your water MORE acidic. One reverse osmosis system engineer told me that reverse osmosis water can be as acidic as 4.0. So if you have an RO system, make sure you add the proper alkaline minerals back in.

3) You "should" drink half your body weight in water every day. In other words, if you weigh 160lbs, you should try to drink 4 20-ounce glasses of water per day; if you weigh 120lbs, you only need to drink 3 20-ounce glasses of water per day.

4) Avoid drinking large amounts of water with meals. A lot of diets advocate that you drink a large glass of water before a meal. However, water dilutes the stomach's hydrochloric acid, and drinking water right before a meal reduces your body's ability to digest your food. Digesting your food properly is very important. Failure to do so causes all kinds of problems, and leads to chronic illnesses.

Hope that helps someone.

 

[Scotch]

When you recommend drinking half your body weight in water every day, you apparently mean half as many OUNCES of water as your weight in pounds. That is, for example, if you weigh 160 pounds, drink 80 fluid ounces (10 cups) of water per day, not 80 pounds of water, which would be more than 11 gallons (water weighs slightly more than 7 pounds per gallon). Big difference!

I point this out because there is such a thing as "water poisoning," also known as water intoxication or hyper-hydration, which can be deadly. CLICK ME

That said, I agree that drinking sufficient water is one of the best things most people can do for their health. However, I was not aware of the pH issue -- thanks for that.

 

[luckofthedraw]

Yes, thanks for that clarification. As the examples would indicate, that is in ounces of water; not pounds.

 

[Scotch]

I Googled my local water company, went to their website, and found the most recent (2008) water quality report. The report includes an incredible amount of information about what's in our water, everything from minerals to the level of radioactivity. It shows that the pH of our water is somewhere between 7.3 and 8.4, although the exact figure is not available since the water we receive is a mix of local ground water (pH = 7.3) and purchased surface water (8.0 - 8.4, average 8.2), and the mix apparently varies throughout the year.

If you're interested in what's in your water, check and see if your local water company provides similar information.

 

[alexk]

Mayby more safe then bottled water

If you have the time alton brown did a 2 part series on water in the US. He gives a good breakdown as to why its safe, and how our water system can possibly let baddies through.