Our bodies are made up of 2/3 water. Water is used throughout our bodies as a solvent and an essential part of many metabolic processes. Without proper hydration, our bodies are not able to break down fats, proteins and sugars properly to be used as fuel for energy production.

Our bodies require between 1 to 7 liters of water per day, depending on the level of activity, temperature, humidity and what drugs we might be on. Warmer days with drier humidity require us to drink more water to stay hydrated. If our kidneys are functioning properly water is regulated properly within the body and is excreted, via urine and feces, through sweating and by exhaling water vapor in the breath.

Every time I go to the grocery store the “water aisle” seems to get bigger and bigger. There are many different types of bottle water and it wise to know what type of water you are drinking. Below you will find a list of the most common types of bottled water and what it means for the liquid inside.

- Club soda – tap water that has been filter, carbonated and flavored with bicarbonates, citrates, phosphates and other types of mineral salts.
- Distilled water – purified by evaporation, which removes minerals. The vapors are then recondensed into its liquid form.
- Drinking water – can be drawn from any approved source including municipal tap water, springs, rivers, reservoirs or wells. It is then filtered and disinfected and the mineral content may be adjusted.
- Mineral water – contains at least 500mg of minerals per liter. Minerals cannot be added to this water.
- Purified water – has been sterilized and filtered to remove its natural minerals. This process may be done via reverse osmosis or deionization.
- Seltzer – usually tap water that is filtered and carbonated. Artificial flavors are added to some; however it contains no minerals or salt.
- Sparkling water – contains dissolved carbon dioxide gas to make it bubble.
- Spring water – must be collected at the spring or through a bore hole tapping the underground formation finding the spring, with a mineral content that is natural.

I recommend that a healthy person drinks half their body weight in ounces of water a day. Thus, if you weigh 160lbs, you would need to drink 80 ounces of water a day. If you are not use to drinking this much water, you will notice that your body will require you to urinate more often until your body adjusts to the new amount. The best way I have found to make sure you drink the amount of water you need is to use rubber bands. Find your favorite cup, mug or container, figure out how many times you need to fill it so that you reach your goal of water. Then add that number of rubber bands to the container. Every time you refill the container you can take one rubber band off. By the end of the day your container should have no rubber bands on it because you have drank the amount of water you need to for that day. Make sure the next morning you put the rubber bands back on the container and start all over again.

Enjoy drinking water. If you get tired of the taste add in a splash of a juice or a bit of tea to give the water a little more flavor so you can drink all you need to.

Anita M. Larrow, ND