Bottled Water Report Card 2016

I just spent the day testing every bottled water brand that I could find here in Central Florida. I tested each one for Total Dissolved Solids, pH level and taste. Obviously the taste portion is entirely a matter of opinion, but the other results are very accurate.

Anyways, here’s the rundown of the test. I used an electronic TDS meter, which I know was properly calibrated because the distilled water I tested came back at exactly 0. I purchased two separate pH meters as well, I used 6.86 and 4.01 calibration solutions to make sure both of them were properly calibrated. The final average pH is just the average between the two meters, even though they were always incredibly close to each other.

In addition to the digital pH test meters I purchased, I also purchased 4 different brands of pH test strips. I found out very quickly that all 4 of the ones I ordered were very inaccurate. The results were subjective and all over the place. I threw them all away and did not include any data collected with them in this report.

The bottled waters I tested were all found at the local Wal-Mart, local Walgreens or local gas stations. I did not test any sparkling waters or flavored waters. Finally I included water from the Drinkable Air Atmospheric Water Generator that we have in the office. I also included Sprite, which was originally supposed to be a joke, but the results were a little shocking.

Before we get started let’s discuss TDS levels and what it means for your health. TDS stands for total dissolved solids. This refers to any minerals, salts, metals, cations or anions dissolved in the water sample. It will also include minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and more. It may also include small organic matter. So what does all that mean? Well sadly the TDS meter isn’t going to tell us all that much about the water unless there is a huge anomaly where the reading is really high or really low. I’m of the opinion that anything in the 50 to 150 range is ideal because you can’t improve the pH and provide your body with micro-nutrients and minerals without some level of TDS.

So let’s talk about pH for a second, pH stands for “Potential of Hydrogen” and has been found to be a good indicator of health vs sickness. If something has a pH value less than 7.0 it is considered acidic and if it has a pH value higher than 7.0 it is considered alkaline. The lower you go, the more acidic it is, the lowest on the scale is usually battery acid. The higher you go (up to 14) the more alkaline you get, this will include things like lye and ammonia. You never want to be too extreme one way or the other, but most experts agree that you want to keep your body between neutral (7) and slightly alkaline (7.4). If you manage to achieve this state of alkaline balance, you will probably feel happy and full of vitality. Typically people with acidic pH levels (pH under 7.0) are sickly, stressed out and show premature aging. 

So what’s the best pH level for your water? Well this is where it gets interesting… It really depends on the other factors in your life, primarily your diet. So if you eat a traditional Western, fried food, junk food, soda, etc… Then you should really change your diet first, but if you refuse to do that, you might need to start drinking high alkaline water (9+) just to keep yourself in balance. Don’t get me wrong though, drinking high alkaline water does not give you a license to go binge on unhealthy food. It just might help balance you out for a short period until you can correct your diet. If you already eat relatively healthy, you should be drinking water in the 7.5 to 8.0 range to achieve balance.

Lastly let’s briefly talk about the difference in types of water. Bottled water is typically going to be considered either distilled, spring, artesian or purified. Distilled water is water that is created from boiling the water and condensing the vapor. This type of water has zero contaminants, but it is also very acidic and does not contain any minerals or nutrients. Spring water is from an underground source and may or may not have been purified. Artesian water is similar to spring water, except it came from an aquifer, which means it has been trapped under a layer of rock. Purified water is scary because it could have come from literally anywhere, including tap water, but it has been “purified” using any number of methods. “Purified” water will typically not contain any of the minerals or nutrients found in spring and artesian water. 

Okay now that I’ve laid the groundwork, let’s get into the results!

Brand: Sprite (Yes, I know this is not water…)
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Sugary Soda
TDS: 156
pH: 3.3 (Extremely Acidic)
Taste: No thanks.
Notes: I included Sprite as a reference to show how insanely acidic soda is. I’ve heard they are all this bad, but I’ve only tested Sprite. I can’t even imagine what drinking soda every day will do to your body.
Drinking Water Grade: F-

Brand: Great Value (Wal-Mart Brand)
Available at: Wal-Mart
Type: Distilled
TDS: 0
pH: 5.59 (Acidic)
Taste: To me distilled water tastes very flat and just plain bad.
Notes: Distilled water may be useful for certain cleanses, but it is not recommended for long term drinking. I only included this as a benchmark.
Drinking Water Grade: F

Brand: deLish Iceland Pure
Available at: Walgreens
Type: Spring
TDS: 42
pH: 9.01 (Extremely Alkaline)
Taste: It has an excessive mineral taste.
Notes: This is inexpensive water that claims right on the bottle that it has a pH of 8.88, my tests showed that it was actually a little higher than that at 9.01 average. The relatively low TDS reading makes me question how this water is made and how they are getting such a high pH level. I might drink this water in a pinch, but I wouldn’t drink it regularly. Drinking a water this high in pH would put you at risk for over alkalizing yourself, remember you want to be neutral or SLIGHTLY alkaline.
Drinking Water Grade: B-

Brand: Dasani
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Purified
TDS: 24
pH: 6.275 (Acidic)
Taste: To me it tastes like my local tap water.
Notes: Dasani is Coca-Cola’s signature bottled water. Like everything Coca-Cola, it is mass produced and not at all focused on the health of the consumer.
Drinking Water Grade: F

Brand: Aquafina
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Purified
TDS: 1
pH: 5.98 (Very Acidic)
Taste: Like distilled water.
Notes: I’ve got to hand it to Pepsi, they really purified this water, TDS of 1 is pretty impressive, however that doesn’t mean it has any nutritional value whatsoever, and it’s also very acidic. Unless you like acidic distilled water, you should avoid this at all costs.
Drinking Water Grade: F

Brand: Fiji
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Artesian
TDS: 144
pH: 7.325 (Neutral-Alkaline)
Taste: Smooth
Notes: Fiji states on their website that the pH of their water is 7.7, so I am a little concerned about that discrepancy. Maybe they are harvesting water from different aquifers? Even with the discrepancy in pH, I really do like Fiji water. It has a smooth taste, good alkalinity and I believe that the high TDS rating is due to the mineral rich volcanic rock enclosing the aquifer.
Drinking Water Grade: B+

Brand: Nestle Pure Life
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Purified
TDS: 56
pH: 6.915 (Neutral-Acidic)
Taste: This was honestly the worst tasting water of the day, I’d rather drink straight from a garden hose.
Notes: They claim this water is enhanced with minerals for taste, which explains the relatively high TDS rating for a “purified” water, but I’d like to know what those “tasty minerals” are because this water is nasty.
Drinking Water Grade: F

Brand: Voss
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Artesian
TDS: 32
pH: 6.3 (Acidic)
Taste: This water is slightly sweet, but I could also tell that it was very acidic just from the taste.
Notes: This was the only bottled water tested that came in glass. That may have favorably impacted the taste a bit, but it is still very acidic, which leads me to believe this is more of a rain waiter than an artesian water. Most people that are used to acidic water do enjoy the taste of Voss. It’s not for me.
Drinking Water Grade: D-

Brand: Evian
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Spring
TDS: 294
pH: 7.285 (Neutral-Alkaline)
Taste: This water has a “thin” and dirty taste.
Notes: 294 TDS reading and only a 7.3 pH?! Something is not right here. I am really starting to wonder what “organic matter” I just consumed.
Our Grade: D-

Brand: Zephyrhills
Available at: This is Nestle’s regional spring water for Florida and surrounding states.
Type: Spring
TDS: 193
pH: 7.68 (Alkaline)
Taste: Like spring water should taste.
Notes: First of all, full disclosure here, I used to subscribe to Zephyrhills delivery service to my home. I enjoy the taste and it’s my go-to bottled water here in Florida. It has the second best pH level I tested today (the best was Drinkable Air). However I was pretty disappointed at the high TDS rating. At least in this case I can assume that the high TDS rating contributes to the high alkalinity.
Our Grade: A-

Brand: Smartwater
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Distilled
TDS: 25
pH: 7.115 (Neutral-Alkaline)
Taste: This water tastes like electrolytes to me.
Notes: Smartwater is basically just distilled water with added minerals and electrolytes to buff the pH and improve the taste. I’m not a big fan of drinking distilled water regularly and the barely neutral pH levels is not appealing to me either.
Our Grade: C-

Brand: Resource Water (Nestle)
Available at: Everywhere
Type: Spring
TDS: 130
pH: 6.81 (Neutral-Acidic)
Taste: Thin and acidic
Notes: This is supposed to be a “high end water” but this water is acidic and it has a high TDS reading. They claim it contains natural electrolytes but that doesn’t outweigh the negatives.
Our Grade: F

Brand: Drinkable Air (With Upgraded Filter)
Available at: My office… and anywhere with average humidity over 30% can utilize this new technology to make about 7 gallons of pure atmospheric drinking water per day.
Type: Atmospheric
TDS: 57
pH: 8.01 (Perfect Alkaline)
Taste: Crisp and fresh
Notes: Full disclosure, Drinkable Air is now an advertiser with Entirely Water, but even if they weren’t I would still promote this water. This is not science fiction, when I first heard about it, I had to have one. Just plug it in to the wall and it will start producing water right away. The water is pulled directly from filtered humidity in the air, so it starts off at 99.9% pure water. Then it is passed through a mineral filter to buff the pH to a perfect 7.9 to 8.0 (although the standard filter is only about 7.4). With Drinkable Air, the pH is buffed using only the very best pure minerals and your water isn’t full of dirt and other contaminants found in spring water. I might go as far as to say that this is the perfect drinking water, and it’s essentially unlimited as well.
Our Grade: A+


BONUS: For emergency situations I highly recommend Life Straw.

Is The California Drought The Worst in 1200 Years?

For the past few years, California has been going through a record drought.  Every year there is hopes that the drought will end with a particularly wet season, only to have hopes dashed by increased drought statewide.  The California drought has a lot of people worried.  First, roughly 25% of the total food in the United States comes from California.  In addition, the amount of moisture being taken from ground water reserves has caused some areas of California to entirely require water from outside their area.  With a great deal of water going towards maintaining agriculture, rivers, streams, and lakes are at record lows threatening native species that depend on the waters for survival. 

All of this only begins to scratch the surface of the problems that California is currently faced with thanks to this drought.  With one in eight US residents living in California, what effects California will affect everyone else.  So, is the current California drought the worst seen in 1200 years?  Lets take a look at what research exists and get to the bottom of just how bad this drought really is.

How Do We Know The Drought Is Bad?

From 2012 to the present time, California has been going through a severe drought.  When comparing California now to records of rainfall dating back a century, the most recent drought can be considered severe.  While droughts are rare, they do happen.  This begs the question of how unusual this event is?  Simply put, it is quite unusual.  According to a letter published in the Geophysical Research Letters, there are several ways to measure the overall effects of this drought when compared to past events.  Two particularly important ways that this can be measured are through moisture rates in the soil as well as tree ring chronologies that can be carefully studied to see when droughts like this have occurred in the past.

Two Techniques For Measuring The Severity Of The Drought

When carefully examining the amount of moisture in the soil, viewing past records of soil moisture reveals a common trend in California.  In particular, having periods of time where the average rate of precipitation matches what has been seen now is not uncommon.  Two or even three-year droughts have happened in the past.  However, with the 3^rd year having so little soil moisture, this particular drought has not been seen for at least millennia.  Every additional year of continued drought will make it that much more rare.  While measuring the accumulated moisture deficits provide an excellent way to look at this problem, it does not reveal the entire picture.  For that, the examination of tree rings is required. 

So what can tree rings tell us?  Well, as it turns out, the yearly growth of trees are reflected in the atmospheric conditions that they are exposed to during that time, including moisture and rainfall.  With this in mind, we can look at a cross section of a very old tree to see if rainfall has ever led to a pattern of growth where the growth rings are very close together.  When examining the effects of rainfall on tree ring growth now, we see that there have been times in the past where similar growth patterns have been found.  While this drought is extreme, it is not outside the general range of natural variability found in sampling.

Where Does That Leave Us?

Simply put, the drought that California is experiencing right now is extremely rare and quite severe to the economy and lifestyle of California residents.  In addition to putting in danger crop yields, the price of food may rise nationwide as a result of this continued drought.  As it continues, the state may be forced to take even more dramatic action in response to the severe water shortage currently affecting the state.  While not the worst in 1200 years by itself, what makes it significantly worse then anything since is that it is paired with record high temperatures.

Is There An End In Sight To The California Drought?

As a society, US residents and California citizens are exceptionally good at holding out.  The question that we end up asking however is whether or not there is an end to this drought some time in the future.  With California coming off a particularly moist century, rainfall is predicted to be less then what was assumed normal in the years to come.  In addition, given how rare this drought is, it is hard to tell whether or not it is going to end any time soon.  What available research exists is split on the issue, leaving the average citizen to hope for the best as the government takes steps to plan for the worst.  Until then we are left to wait and see.

Is Bottled Water Really Better?

Every day, you waste money.  We all do.  Even if we try our best to save every penny, we inadvertently end up accidentally wasting something, costing us both in the short and long-term.  Oddly enough, one of the greatest things people waste and not even realize it is water.  Every year, Americans purchase 8.45 billion gallons of bottled water.  That’s right, 8 followed by 9 zeros.  But bottled water is safer right?  Well, as a growing amount of research is showing, bottled water is probably not safer then tap water.

What Does All Water Provide?

Bottled water has to be safer, right?  Lets take a moment to consider the benefits of water in general.  When you drink the recommended amount of water, you promote healthy skin, making you breath smell better, help regulate your body temperature, help your body in flushing out toxins, help you lose weight, help with hangovers, help with headaches, and help you feel less fatigued.  All these benefits come from any water you drink, and bottled water does not provide any additional benefits.  In addition, neither does tap water.  Knowing that tap water and bottled water are not better or worse then each other can save you a lot of money.  Any claims made by bottled water companies that are not included above may either be speculative or down right wrong.

What Really Happens With Bottled Water

Municipal water sources are carefully regulated and have to adhere to very strict standards.  The standards for bottled water companies are far less stringent.  Generally speaking, the claims you see on a bottle, including the idealized picture showing where the water is coming from, can probably not be trusted.  In truth, nearly half of the bottled water (including 48.7%) comes from municipal water sources.  For half the people who purchase water, the water they are getting is no different then tap. 

Using municipal water sources, bottling companies that produce bottled water can do a great deal of harm to the surrounding community, including helping to create droughts and raising water prices.  In short, these companies are profiting from water that would otherwise be available to you, local farmers, and other local businesses that provide real and tangible resources to local people. 

There is also the sheer amount of fossil fuels used by the bottling industry.  Consider for a moment to the amount of plastic created with water bottles.  Even when the majority of this plastic is properly recycled (which it is not) the end result is a significant amount of trash that ends up finding its ways into nature and the oceans.  In addition, what people most enjoy about bottled water is that it is typically cold and portable.  Both of these qualities can be easily created at home with a minor amount of planning and a fridge.  Instead of purchasing something that ultimately adds more trash to the planet, why not just drink your own water instead?

The Nail In The Coffin

Sometimes, the bottled water you are drinking is even worse then the tap water you otherwise have.  A recent study covering more then 10 bottling companies found 38 contaminants not allowed in tap water.  Simply put, there is no guarantee that bottled water is better, or even as good as tap water.

Where Does That Leave Us?

The best water on the planet is typically found in atmospheric water generators because it is made from water sucked out of the air around you and then filtered to ensure no contaminants remain. They aren't cheap though, they typically run about $4,000.

How Much Water Should I Drink?

Considered one of the biggest concerns of the next century, access to fresh water will play a crucial role in not only how we see the world around us, but in how foreign and local politics take shape.  Already, the severe drought in California, (which has not been seen for more then 1200 years) speaks to our changing climate and how important water really is in everyday life.

Generally speaking, Americans drink far less then the recommended amount of water per day. With so many beneficial affects, drinking more water can dramatically improve how you feel, your energy level, and your overall health.  However, the question soon becomes, how much water should I drink daily?  Lets take a moment to answer this question by looking at the recommended amounts for the population, and then breaking that up based on independent factors.  But first, why should we care about drinking water?

Why Bother Drinking Water?

Simply put, we need water to survive.  In adults, roughly 60% of our bodies are composed of water.  In addition to that, the most important organs in our body (brain and heart) are 73% water.  As a final thing to consider, our lungs, which are responsible for our breathing, are nearly 83% water.  So, we need water to survive.

In addition to being the major ingredient in what makes people work, water can also provide a range of benefits when we drink the right amount.  For example, did you know that drinking the right amount of water promotes healthier skin?  Along with helping to make your breath smell better, water can aid in the regulation of your body temperature and blood pressure, helping you feel less lethargic and fatigued over the course of the day.    There is also the benefit in that drinking the right amount of water can help to flush out toxins from your system, causing you to lose weight, have less severe headaches, and less intense hangovers.  No matter how you look at it, reaching your daily recommended water needs gives your body the boost it needs.

General Recommended Guidelines For Adults

So, how much water should you drink?  Generally speaking, it is recommended that you drink at least two liters of water per day for adults.  In particular, women should at least drink two liters of water per day, and men should drink around 13 cups, or 3 liters of water per day.  Along with making you feel more full over the course of the day, drinking the recommended amount of water provides a 0 calorie way to stay healthy and hydrated.

Things To Consider When measuring Your Water Consumption Rates

Using the above as a base, there are many factors that can influence how much water you need to consume in order to stay healthy and hydrated.  Lets take a look at them now.

1.  Your Level Of Activity

How active are you during the day?  How much of that time is spent outside where you are exposed to the sun or may otherwise sweat?  For all the exercise you do, you will have to drink water to make up for the loss of water through sweat, through your body working, and through loss through your skin.  It is recommended that you drink an extra two cups of water when doing short exercise, and significantly more if you find yourself being far more active during the day.  As the level of activity increases, you will also have to consider consuming electrolytes as well to ensure that you do not go into hypernatremia.  Simply put, it will help to replace the sodium in your body and keep you energized as you exercise.  As a final consideration, you should keep drinking water after you exercise, as this will help to replenish your body when it is in a deficit.

2.  The Environment

Depending on the environment you are in, you may need to drink more water as well, even if you do little to no exercise.  Hot and humid weather in particular can make many people sweat, requiring more water as a result.  Also, the warm dry heat associated with indoor heating during winter can also dry out the skin, requiring more water to make up for the escaping moisture from your body.  Direct exposure to the sun can also increase the rate that you lose moisture, resulting in a greater need to drink and a greater overall thirst.  A final thing to consider is your altitude.  If you happen to live in the mountains or more then 8,000 feet high, then you are naturally going to breath more due to there being less oxygen.  This environment can trigger an increased need to pee, leaving you to with diminished fluid reserves and the need to drink more.

Can You Drink Distilled Water?

If the drought in California has taught us anything, it is how precious water can be.  Going on its third year of record drought with no clear end in sight, California is struggling to find the water it needs for its population as well as the incredible agriculture industry that thrives there.  With more and more innovation coming about because of the need for water, people are trying all different ways to get the water they need.

This has led to an interesting question that an increasing number of people are asking.  Can people drink distilled water and be ok?  With speculation all over the place, lets take a moment to get to the bottom of what benefits water provides for people, why we need to drink water, and how distilled verses normal water may or may not make a difference.

Why Drinking Water Is Important

Roughly 60% of our bodies are made up of water with our heart and brain both being comprised of 73% water.  We cannot live without it, and when people become dehydrated, the entire body begins to shut down.  Along with keeping us up and active, water provides a range of secondary benefits that we only begin to notice when we drink less then recommended amount.  Some of these benefits include healthier skin, better smelling breath, regulated body temperature, less fatigue, quicker recovery from headaches, less intense migraines, and easier to handle hangovers.  When you add how water helps our bodies flush out toxins as well, it is easy to see the benefits provided by water.  So then, does distilled water provide the same degree of benefits?

A Closer Look At What Distilled Water Is

Distilled water is a kind of water where the majority if not all of the impurities are removed.  This leaves nothing but pure H2O.  Called distilled water, the process for creating this water often involves boiling the water and then taking the steam that comes from the boiling process and condensing it in a container.  What is in the container will be nearly if not perfectly pure.  Distilling water has been around for a very long time.  It was used throughout sea navigation as a way of turning salt water into something drinkable on the boat.  During World War II, versions of the distillation process were used on navy boats to provide a constant source of fresh water for the crew.  The biggest thing to remember about distilled water is that it removes many of the minerals that exist in water.

Uses

Distilled water is essential for many different kinds of research that requires water to be as pure as possible.  The process for distilling water is still the best way to purify it completely, resulting in its continued use today.  In addition to its role in research and science, distilled water is often used in the preparation of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as in some recipes.  These are uses where the mineral content that we normally take for granted will work against the overall dish.  In all of these condition, distilled water is consumed as a part of something greater, instead of it being completely on its own.

So, Can We Drink Distilled Water?

The short answer is yes, but you shouldn’t make a habit out of it.  As mentioned before, distilled water is demineralized.  What these minerals in water do is to help decrease the overall acidity of the water to something we are accustomed to drinking.  Humans evolved drinking this mineral rich water, and changing to ‘pure’ water exposes our bodies to a higher level of acidity.  Why might this be bad?  Well, in a healthy body, the pH value of your blood should be somewhere between 7.3 and 7.4.  Ranging from 0 to 14, anything from 7 down is acidic while anything 7.1 and up is basic.  By drinking distilled water, we take our 7.3 to 7.4 range and lower it towards the acidic side.  Drinking distilled water repeatedly will cause your blood to become increasingly acidic.

Is this bad?  Well, from what research has been done on the subject, there has been a tentative correlation drawn between acidic blood and some of the worst degenerative diseases out there as well as premature aging.  Acid waste that results from having too much acid in the body will cause severe damage over time.  As the general acidity of blood can result from diet and lifestyle choices as well as overall stress levels drinking only distilled water will increase the amount of risk you put yourself in.

Where Does This Leave Us?

While drinking distilled water will not cure you, clinical and scientific studies do not suggest doing it.  Fantastic in a pinch, continued consumption of distilled water can result in higher acidity levels, acid waste, and potential health concerns.

The Benefits Of Drinking Water

Comprised of two hydrogen and oxygen, water is simply amazing.  It consists of a series of properties rarely seen in other molecules or substances naturally created on this and other planets.  For people, water serves a wide range of benefits that cannot be provided by other benefits.  In a society where people drink significantly less water then the 2-liters recommended per day, it is important to remember the benefits that water can provide.  With that in mind, lets review some of the most important benefits that come when you drink the recommended amount of water.

1.  Promotes Healthy Skin

In a beauty and youth obsessed culture, one of the most powerful reasons why people should drink water is that it is the best way to promote healthy skin.  Instead of spending hundreds of dollars monthly on deluxe skin care products, consider spending that money instead on an liter container.  Fill it up twice a day, get your daily amount of water every day, and you will notice changes over the following weeks.  Water is responsible for helping to replenish the skin tissue, add elasticity to your skin, and provide the necessary amount of moisture for it to appear naturally healthy.  Along with helping to prevent lines, scars, wrinkles, and other things that occur with aging, water is your secret weapon to looking fantastic into old age.

2.  Issues With Bad Breath?

Surprisingly enough, bad breath can be a result of a lack of water consumption.  The water you drink helps to keep your mouth moist, which in turn helps to prevent drying out and odors to form.  Also, there is the benefit of it washing away bacteria and other things that would otherwise cause bad breath if left in your mouth. 

3.  Healthy Body Temperature

A no brainer, water helps to regulate your internal body temperature.  Simply doing exercise outside on a hot day can make it incredibly apparent how useful and satisfying water can be.  With a well regulated body temperature, you will be able to exercise longer and be able to enjoy the outdoors for more time before becoming overwhelmed by the heat.

4.  Helps Your Body Flush Out Toxins

There is nothing to not love about this.  Water helps your body purify itself.  Granted, while too much water can be toxic, consuming the recommended amount can dramatically improve your health.  Drinking the right amount of water can help your body flush out toxins through sweat and urine, leaving you cleaner as a result.  With less toxins in your system, your kidneys will naturally be more healthy as a result, dramatically reducing the chances of getting a range of illnesses in the future as a result.  There is also another important thing you should never forget.  Drinking the recommended amount of water helps to stop kidney stones from forming.  If you have never had a kidney stone form before, then you are very luck.  They are incredibly painful and the best thing that can ever happen is that you do not get them by drinking the recommended amount of water.

5.  Will Help You Lose Weight

Water isn’t magical.  Instead, it provides a range of useful, helpful benefits that people rarely consider.  The benefits water provides for weight loss is a common example.  Simply put, drinking water can help to reduce your appetite, leading to you eating less as a result.  In addition, thirst can sometimes be confused for hunger, leading people to eating far more then they should.  When combined wit the health effects directly provided by water, drinking water can lead to weight loss, a healthier body, and better skin.  With all of these things provided by a single calorie free liquid, it is easy to see how people can consider it magical.

6.  Hangover?  Headache?  Migraine?

Solving all of these things can cost a lot of money if you buy into ‘miracle’ cures that state that they will quickly work.  While some of these may work, they cost a lot more water then the alternative.  Again, by simply drinking water as you drink alcohol, and drinking water the following morning, you can dramatically reduce the symptoms associated with a hangover.  In addition to a hangover, headaches and migraines can sometimes occur when you are not drinking enough water.  Take the time to rehydrate and you might be surprised by how much the conditions subside over time.

7.  Help Reduce The Symptoms Of Fatigue

The less water you have in your body, the lower your overall blood volume will be.  The end result is that it will be far more likely that you will feel fatigued and tired as a result.  Drinking the necessary amount of water can make it easier for your boy to function, providing less stress, less fatigue, and a greater degree of energy to be spent on other aspects of your day.

4 Ways To Save Water Amidst The California Drought

At this very moment, California is going through a drought that some argue hasn’t happened for more then 1200 years.  Going into their third solid year of record low rainfall, there are few signs that exist that this drought is going to let up any time soon.  As this is happening, the 38.8 million people, or 1 in 8 of every American struggles to find ways to conserve.

Banding together to conserve as much water as possible, many California residents are also beginning to face harsh fines for using more water then they are allowed.  With the sheer number of fines now going out due to over-usage, Californians are looking for new and improved ways to save water.  With that in mind, lets review 4 key areas in your home where a bit of creativity and green-tech can save you big.

1.  The Shower

On average Americans are among the most prolific group of shower users in the world.  Generally speaking, the average American might shower once a day, using up a great deal of water as a result.  Now, I’m not saying that we should give up showering or our generally high level of cleanliness.  Rather, with a few creative ideas, we can dramatically improve the amount of water we save.

The first thing to consider is the total time you end up spending in the shower.  There is nothing better then a hot shower, and it is far too easy to lose track of time.  Using a time, try for the 3-minute military shower.  Get in, get your business done, and get out once the timer is done.  In this way, you can bring the average 10-minute shower down to 3-minutes, saving you 7 minutes in your morning or evening routine!  Also, consider getting a green showerhead.  Specifically designed to save on the amount of water you are using, green shower heads will minimize the water used saving you even more.  As most people really enjoy warm showers, consider getting a bucket and putting it below the shower/bath nozzle.  Turn the shower on, and let it warm up.  Once it is warm, remove the bucket and take your shower as normal.  Once done, you will have a bucket of water that you can use for everything from brushing your teeth to drinking or making ice cubes.

2.  The Toilet

The toilet is another place where a lot of water can be wasted.  If you haven’t already, replace your toilet if it is more then 20 years old.  In the past few decades, toilets have become significantly less wasteful, saving a great deal of water as a result.  Also, consider getting a low flow toilet or other green toilet that shaves off a gallon or two every flush.  Finally, you may want to consider the ‘only flush with #2 rule.  With this mindset, only ever flush the toilet if you have to poop.  As urine is sterile, it does not hurt to leave it for an extended period of time until #2 calls.  Keep the toilet seat down, improve your toilet, and only flush when you need to.

3.  Dish Washing

Consider the following question carefully.  What uses more water, using a dishwasher or hand washing dishes?  The average dishwasher consumes roughly 6 gallons of water when used.  A green dishwasher dramatically improves on this with an average of 2 gallons of water cycle.  Now, hand-washing dishes can change dramatically based on your method and the number of dishes out there.  Also, the faucet head for your sink can help to improve the overall efficiency of your dishwasher.

While what ultimately saves the most amount of water will depend on the situation, here is a general rule you can follow.  If you have a lot of dishes, and you have a water efficient dish washer, then you should fill it to capacity and give it a wash.  If you have only a few dishes or are very good at efficiently washing dishes, then you should consider hand washing.

4.  Team Up When Doing Laundry

For washing cloths with a washing machine, the two golden rules apply very well.  First, make sure you only wash full loads and second make sure your washing machine is a newer model if you can.  With that being said, what you should strongly consider is teaming up with roommates or family to do like-loads together.  For example, as most people have delicates, it can save a lot of water if all delicates are washed together.  The same is true for whites, colors, and any other special load.  Communicate with the people in your house and together you can work to save water in what would otherwise be one of the greatest uses of water in your home.