Water is an amazing substance vital to life.  It not only makes up about 70% of our body’s weight, but is essential for optimal health of our organs, circulatory system, muscles and skin.  If your goal is to achieve optimal health, then water needs to play a significant role, here are some tips on how drinking water can help you achieve optimal health.

How Much Water Should You Drink Each Day
Generally speaking, for an average sized adult (150 lbs), you should drink about 8 – 8ounce glasses of water each day. However, this is a very general number and doesn’t take into consideration if you exercise, if you are exposed to a hot and humid environment, if you fly on a plane, if you drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages, etc. 

If you exercise or live in a hot arid or hot humid climate in which you sweat a lot, you should definitely drink more (about one 8 ounce glass for every 20 minutes of exercise).  For those that drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages, a good rule of thumb is that for every alcoholic drink or caffeinated beverage, you should balance it out with an extra glass of water (8 oz.).  It should be noted that water not only can come from drinking beverages, but about 20% of most people’s food intake is water as well. 

The Best Beverages to Drink for Optimal Health
Walk into any supermarket and you will see perhaps 50 different types of beverages available, however if you are looking for the healthiest beverage of them all- you don’t have to look further than plain, old water.  Water whether filtered, mineralized or carbonated should be your first choice.  Most other drinks such as sodas and even sports drinks include unneeded sugars or sweeteners.  It should be noted that caffeinated beverages are not always the healthiest choice.  Many highly caffeinated beverages act as a diuretic- potentially dehydrating an individual.  While flavored drinks and caffeinated beverages aren’t unhealthy per se, they are best drank in moderation- more as a treat rather than as a resource for achieving optimal health.

The Many Benefits of Drinking Water
Once you start drinking lots of water you should immediately notice immediate benefits, especially if you were consuming much less than your daily requirements.  First off, drinking water helps with digestion.  Instead of feeling bloated (due to all the salt-sodium) in your body you now should now feel much leaner due to the fact that the more water one drinks, the better the body flushes out excess salt, waste and other possibly harmful toxins.

Another immediate benefit of drinking water will be visible via your skin.  Healthy skin is quite easy to see, it is usually very shiny and elastic- it doesn’t sag.  As your body circulates water to all your tissues, muscles and organs, essential vitamins and minerals are also circulated throughout your body enhancing the look and feel of your skin.  In addition, when you drink your recommended intake of water each day, your vital organs are able to work optimally, helping your body work efficiently and fend off possible disease.