Unfortunately these days, the marketing of thousands of commercial alternatives to water, which often contain harmful substances such as artificial sweetener aspartame and harmful additives, have taken people away from lovely plain water.

Water is the best health drink and is the best thirst-quencher.

So in what ways can water consumption be good for you?

Drink For Your Intestines

Constipation can result if you do not take enough water or fluids. This problem is compounded in those who are very old or very young. Water regulation takes place in the colon and if there is not enough water in your body, the colon will take it from the waste material, leaving your stool to be hard.

Having a sufficient amount of water intake will prevent such problems. If you eat foods that are high in fibre, then you should have some water along with that meal, as water will be needed by the fibre for it to pass through the colon effectively.

Drink For Your brain

Dehydration leads to impairments in brain function and can lead you to lack concentration and focus. You will notice this in hot weather when you lose water through sweat or after heavy exercise. Give your water and it will lead to a healthier, effective brain.

Drink to Beat the Fever and the cold

The fever causes you to lose water through sweat and this causes dehydration of the brain as well as the body. When you have a cold, a lot of water is lost from your nose and breathing apparatus causing them to feel dry.

By drinking sufficient water the mucous membranes in these areas remain moist leading to the inflammation healing quicker.

You may notice that you have a blocked nose. This is because dehydration caused by lack of water interferes with oscillation caused by the hair filaments in the nose, not allowing the mucus to move along and flush the germs out. Thus, the mucus will collect in the nose and sinuses and attract more bacteria.

By keeping the mucus membranes moist you prevent these blockages and in turn prevent them from getting stuck in the lower air passage. Once it reaches their (taking any bacteria along with it), it is difficult to cough it out. Water is one of the best remedies for colds.

How Much water?

Adults need around 8 glasses of water (between 1/2 to 3/4 ounces per pound of body weight), though this can vary based on the a number of factors including exercise and illness.

Infants need twice that amount which they get in the form of milk.

How can you get into the habit of drinking water?

One way is to drink two glasses of water when you wake up in the morning. Delay your breakfast to about three-quarters to an hour later. Drink another glass or two an hour before going to sleep. And the rest you can spread out through the day. If you have a diet consisting of lots of vegetables and fruit, you will be getting a lot of water that way too and would not really need to have water along with your meals.

You should avoid caffeine containing drinks. You should avoid so called "fruit drinks" which are nothing but sugar (corn-syrup) and water, with a tiny bit of fruit flavour and additives. If you drink juice try to get 100% pressed juices that have no additives or preservatives. Or better still get your own juicer and have fresh juice.

The message here is: Get away from those horrible "fruit juices" and get back to lovely old plain water if you want to improve your health. Eating whole fruit is best, if not make your own fresh juice, and if not buy only 100% pure (pressed) juice. Don't settle for the junk that is less than this.