LiveLongAgeWell

In the U.S. these days, there’s a sense of going back to some basics, so the next two posts are about the most basic health food imaginable. These are extracts from my upcoming book: How To Drop Dead Dancing In Your 90s: Live Long Age Well. Today…background information, next post…specific water hints!

We’ve all probably heard that it’s good to drink eight glasses of water a day. That sounds like a lot and it’s inconvenient to keep count, so an easier and better way to know if you are drinking enough is to just look at the color of your urine, and if it’s light-colored—like straw or lemonade—you are probably OK, and if it’s darker than that, you need to drink more water.

Our body, mostly water, is like a very complex and demanding factory, and to work well we need adequate water to keep the big machine running smoothly. If we are dehydrated we won’t feel great or have our normal energy, and also we won’t look as good as we should. As an example, if you have ever experienced a hangover, and you look in the mirror in the morning, you might be shocked at how badly you look.  Much of that is because you are just dried out, and once you start drinking lots of water you will start to look and feel better.

Water is our body’s preferred lubricant, and the water we drink is quickly absorbed and our marvelous body converts it to whatever we need.  It is the building block of all of our cells. It transports our nutrients and waste products, and is critical for keeping our temperature regulated. When well hydrated, we are less likely to suffer from urinary tract infections, kidney stones, constipation, and even bad breath, because thinner well-hydrated saliva will help keep our mouth fresh. And it’s the water content in many fruits that fills us up and helps keep our weight under control.

So it’s unfortunate but important that we need to be concerned about the quality of our water at home. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulates tap water, but many cities have occasional contamination problems, and even if your city monitors the unwanted chemicals within published limits of acceptability, there is concern that the EPA standards for certain substances, like arsenic, are too loose. Plus the EPA tests for only a minority of the thousands of noxious substances that can seep into our water systems and increase the chance for certain cancers and miscarriages. The infrastructure of some municipal water systems can be over 100 years old, and even if the water your city pumps out is fine, who knows what happens as it churns through your pipes and out your kitchen faucet. If you live in an older tall apartment building, possibly with lead pipes, you can picture the situation, and it’s not appetizing. The best solution—unless you are very confident of your home’s water—is to use a filter for the water you drink, cook with, and feed your pets.

It would be great if bottled water solved the issue of contamination, but it doesn’t. Surprisingly, the government standards for bottled water are not as strict as for tap water, so buying bottled water gives no guarantees at all. Further, between 25-40% of all bottled water sold in this country is not from any “natural” source at all; it is actually processed city tap water. It is more likely from Detroit than the mountains, and the nice picture on your bottle means nothing; you really need to study the fine print on the label to see if you can figure it out.

Not that bottled water is necessarily bad; it’s just that you can’t assume it’s necessarily safe. Some bottled waters will give you a nice dose of minerals such as magnesium, which is a good thing for your heart and blood pressure, but you can also get these important minerals from a well-rounded diet. Fluoride in water decreases dental cavities, especially for children, and you need to investigate to see if your bottled water contains it.