Cleanse and replenish your body with water!

The clear liquid form of the Hydrogen-Oxygen compound which makes up between 55% and 75% of your body (depending if you are male or female). Without adequate water, each major biochemical and metabolic process the body must perform to make you work to its full potential suffers.

Do you wait until you feel thirsty to grab something to drink? If you answered yes, I bet you might be one of the countless people who do not know that if you're waiting until you're thirsty to drink, you are already dehydrated! Are you constipated? Do your joints sometimes feel like they might just crack in half? Suffer from headaches or acne? You may not be drinking enough water.

A person looses around eight to twelve cups of water every day, even if they are inactive. They may even loose more than that if they find themselves excessively sweating - from playing sports or working out, or even just being out in the hot summer sun. Think you're putting liquid back into your body when you chug that glass of juice or soda? Do you like stopping by your local trendy cafe to get one of those yummy iced coffee drinks? Well, just know that every time you sip one of those super caffeinated beverages or even a fruit juice, your body is not benefiting the same way that it would if it was being given pure, old-fashioned water.

Drinking colas only dehydrate you more, thanks to their caffeinated content. Same goes for those iced mocha lattes you may like to suck down around 4pm to help beat that afternoon dip that many of us feel. Even drinking non caffeinated drinks come at a price. Tropical Juice drinks containing less then 5% real fruit, but are made up of mainly liquid sugar is not helping you in any way.

The simple sugars found in these "fruit" drinks often lack the B-complex vitamins, calcium, and magnesium the body needs to help digest it, the way a real piece of fruit would. Simple sugars are NO GOOD. It can spike your insulin levels, help you to gain weight when consumed excessively, and even promote arthritis, because those simple sugars are not coupled with minerals. Without those minerals the body has no choice but to take those precious things from its own bones!! Kind of gruesome when you think about it! Your body is actually forced to eat parts of itself. On a side note if you really must drink juice either squeeze by hand or make sure it is 100% pure fruit juice and even then you should go easy! Remember, fruit juice, even when it's 100% fruit juice, usually contains around 100 calories if not a little more, per 8 fluid ounces.

Taking into consideration that most bottles or glasses we buy or have at home hold 16 -20 fluid ounces, you are taking in about 200 liquid calories every time you help yourself to some OJ. Just four tall glasses of juice can equal 800 calories. Wouldn't you prefer to eat those 800 calories, than sip them?

Drink water. It's calorie free and can help you loose weight because it helps your body digestion process. It helps to move along the waste in your body so it does not stay lodged in your colon, taking up room, making you sick and constipated, and packing on extra pounds!

Drinking water helps to keep your organs functioning correctly and aids in lubricating your joints. It flushes out the daily toxins that your body consumes through the food you eat, the medication you may take, and just encounter in day-to-day life.

Many believe water has no taste, but in reality it does. It's taste is just very subtle, especially when compared to soda or alcholic drinks. Try adding a slice of lemon or lime to your water if you really are looking for a stronger flavor. Try different brands of water. Some companies add extra minerals or vitamins to the water, while some take their waters from particular regions in the world, with the freshest H2O. Shop around; try it all. Buy a water filter! Drink herbal teas! Use just a little honey or agave nectar. They're so many ways to put some water into your life. The important thing is that you include it.

If you're working out, you need to have more than those famous '8 glasses' a day. Not sure how much you should be drinking? As a rule of thumb, try to go for 1 cup every hour. Sound hard to do? Not really. Use one of those 24oz bottles, and make sure you're refilling it at a minimum of once, every three hours! Staying hydrated will do wonders for your mood. You will feel less tired and have fewer headaches. Your skin will look better and even your breath will smell sweeter. So what are you waiting for? Go to your water fountain. Buy a gallon pronto! Head to your faucet! Have some water!

>> The Benefits of Water on the Body