(NAPSI)—Are you looking for a simple way to lead a healthier life? Skip the fad diets and trendy health fixes and focus on drinking enough water every day. Several health organizations recommend drinking eight 8-ounce glasses a day to help your body run more efficiently.

When you consider that your blood is 92 percent water and your brain and muscles are 75 percent water, it only makes sense that you need to stay hydrated. Here are some reasons why drinking water will have you feeling and looking better, while also making you healthier.

• Nature’s energy drink. It’s easy to down an energy drink or pop some vitamins when you’re feeling sluggish. However, water balances your electrolytes, controls your blood pressure, cleans the toxins from your kidneys and gives you more energy by helping your blood maintain a healthy volume. Proper hydration also regulates your body temperature and can help prevent heat stroke or hypothermia.

• Improve your moves with water. If you ache more than usual after a workout, you may need to up your water intake. Water acts as a natural shock absorber for your organs and helps lubricate your joints. Proper hydration also improves concentration and reaction time and helps you burn more calories during a workout.

• Natural boost for dieters. It’s common to mistake thirst for hunger pangs and to combat thirst with food instead of water. Before grabbing a snack or an extra helping, try drinking water between meals or a half hour before meals. An extra glass of water will keep your cravings in check while also helping to reduce fat deposits in your body.

• Beauty is more than skin deep. If your skin is feeling dry and moisturizers aren’t doing the trick, consider drinking more water. Water filters through your other organs first, reaching the skin last. So if your other organs aren’t hydrated enough, your skin will pay the price. Your skin repays hydration by being smoother, softer, more supple and healthier.

• Improving water in your home. If you skip drinking water at home because you dislike the taste, try a water filter for high-quality drinking water. When looking for filtration products such as water softeners, water filtration systems and water purification systems, you may want to consult water treatment experts such as Culligan, a company that has a long history of providing whole-house water treatment and softener solutions for the home. Culligan has dealerships nationwide, and each dealer is a local expert in his or her area because water varies across cities and regions.

Though water quality varies across the nation, expert opinions do not. Several health organizations—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Cancer Society, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association and the Water Quality Association—have all agreed for many years that eight 8-ounce glasses a day are optimal for your health.

For more information, visit www.culligan.com.

 

On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate (NAPSI)