For water to be considered drinking water it must be consumable by humans with out causing illness; not all fresh water is suitable for drinking. In some places where stagnant water lies in warm muggy places, water can develop many pathogens and harmful micro organisms; to make these types of water drinkable, they must first be treated with chlorine tablets or iodine. Drinking water comes in many forms in America and some other countries; but in many other countries, clean drinking water sources are a serious problem.  It is essential for all life on earth to have clean water; humans in particular need to drink at least 64 fluid ounces per day for the best health.

Drinking Water in America

In America the citizens are lucky to have generally good quality water that comes straight from the tap; there can be some contaminates in some areas, but in general Americans enjoy an abundance of clean drinking water. Many other countries have a severe shortage safe clean water to drink, as such people die of diseases that people in America aren’t as concerned about. The main areas of concerned in America’s drinking water from the tap are contaminates from either old pipes or improper cleaning processes; unwilling to take the risk, many Americans also purchase purifying water filtration systems or bottled drinking water.

Polluted Drinking Water

Many countries including America have polluted drinking water; this pollution comes from large companies, individual’s litter and trash, fossil fuels, and many other forms.  Pollution is the leading cause of water contamination in many countries, and most of contaminates that people are familiar with are lead, arsenic, and mercury are some; these are dangerous at every small levels. The leading causes of illness among people however are in pathogens and microscopic organisms; most human’s reactions to these are mild and result only in “stomach flu” like symptoms.  Pollution is a human created and solvable problem, better drinking water for all is essential.

Water and Health

Most people know that drinking water is healthy, and most even know at least  8 glasses a day are what the body needs for the best health; what most people don’t know are the reasons why their bodies need so much water everyday. Our bodies are over 70% water; our bodies use water for every function of life, blood, tears, saliva, skin, organs, and every other part of the body. Our bodies also use water for most functions; eating, crying, sweating, urinating, breathing, and even more. Humans are dependant on water as is every other living organism on the planet. 

Humans and Drinking Water

Humans have a responsibility to the planet to provide fresh clean water to everything, humans are not the only life on the planet, but they are the only life able to consciously remedy the problem. Human kind pollutes, uses, and modifies the planet, and some individuals care enough to fix what others have broken.  It is the human responsibility to clean the planet as a whole for the good of every living thing; humans can help clean the water using the basic principals of recycling. 

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More than 1,300 water quality experts from throughout North America and beyond will explore the latest technology and practices for keeping drinking water safe at the American Water Works Association’s Water Quality Technology ConferenceSM & Exposition …

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As I sit here drinking my eleventh cup of tea of the day, I just heard some health expert on the TV talking about the importance of drinking water and exercise. In fact, they actually said, and I quote, “We should really drink around eight to ten glasses of water per day to replace the fluids we lose daily through perspiration, excretion, and other bodily functions”. They then went onto say that teas, coffees, and sugary soft drinks are no replacement for the daily recommend intake of fluids, as many of these flavored beverages have caffeine in them and caffeine actually dehydrates and not rehydrate our bodies.

Of course, there’s nothing new in the above facts, as drinking lots of water and exercise are perhaps the most commonly-known basic health tips going, but if we all know this, then why is half the country walking around overweight and in a state of constant dehydration?

Well, a lot could be to do with our addiction to caffeine based drinks which actually prompt the body to lose water rather than retain it, but my guess is that most of us find drinking water so darn boring! I mean, who the heck wants to drink water when they’re not thirsty? Especially when we have all these wonderfully flavored hot and cold drinks to choose from. But here lies the problem. Many of us have sugar and caffeine in our drinks, we dehydrate when we should by hydrating, and we don’t exercise enough. On the face of it, there could be no simpler health tip than to drink water and exercise. We don’t need any fancy diets or complex health plans, just move more, and drink a lot of water.

In fact, if we cut through all the hype, water and exercise are perhaps 2 of the main components we need (notice I said ‘need’ and not ‘want’), in our everyday life. Anyway, I’ve decided to do what I did a couple of years ago, which is to keep a simple little chart handy and get into a regime. There’s something gratifying about ticking off the items on a list that keeps one away from procrastinating and slipping into bad habits.

I used to do 3 power walks a day, keep a simple food diary, and eat only things on my list at the designated times. At the end of each day, I’d look at the list with a little pride as all the things I was supposed to do, I did, with nothing more, and nothing less. I’m going to start a new list for water intake, exercise, and diet. It’s crazy when you think about it, because to be honest, I have never felt better both physically and mentally when I’m taking care of my health, which makes me wonder why so many of us so often chose to slip back into old unhealthy eating patterns, stop exercising, and return to drinking all the wrong stuff. And for what? So we can feel fat, miserable, and ugly again!

Another important reason for monitoring water intake is that we quite often don’t even know when we’re dehydrated. We shouldn’t only drink water when we’re thirsty, because at this stage we’ve already become dehydrated to a degree. One of the early signs of dehydration is the color of your pee. The more yellow it is, the more dehydrated you are becoming. I’ve had piddle the color of mustard before and still not drank because I didn’t feel thirsty. So that’s it, I’m about to re-embark on a regime of health eating, water and exercise. I love simplicity so will be mindful of that old acronym KISS - which stands for Keep It Simple Stupid!

I’ll be wring a future piece about how the water and exercise has helped me to become fitter and healthier and whether drinking lots of water has helped to wean me off the quantities of unhealthy beverages that I’ve become so accustomed to. Stay tuned.

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