Which is the Best Water to drink?

When you talk about the eating and drinking habits of people, you will notice a surprising, sad but true practice. People take extreme care about the water they drink. They look for the best drinking water.

But very few are bothered about what they eat – quality and quantity. What I mean by quality is – not whether you eat your pizza or fried chicken from international brands. We are concerned about the nutrition value and the harm or good it causes to your body.

Mineral water

Which is a good practice – drinking softened water or mineral water? Do you use water filter or water purifier? Many important questions related water for body health:

• Which is the best water to drink?
•  Why is drinking cold water or hot water not good?
• When to drink water?
• Is drinking water with meals a bad practice?
• Swallowing food is difficult at times. Why?
• Some people don’t feel thirst. Why?

This page gives you answers to many frequently asked questions related to – drinking water for health.

Candle water filter

Which is the best water to drink?
 
Theoretically, best drinking water is - boiled and cooled water, as it kills virus and bacteria present in water. Bottled mineral water or water from water purifiers is also good as it is free of disease causing germs. You get some essential salts by drinking softened water.

The problem with all the well treated water is - if you drink a certain type of water for a long time, even the best drinking water, your body gets used to that water. You are forced to continue the same and any other water can make you sick.

When you drink well treated water for a long time, the defense mechanism of your body slowly decreases. Reason? It doesn’t have any work - it need not fight external virus or bacteria. It becomes lazy and gets deactivated. In due course, your body will lose all the resistance power.

Pureit water filter

As long as you manage to drink the same type of water, you are ok. For you, it is the best water to drink. Any water change, you will be in trouble. Animals don’t drink mineral water. Neither do they have water purifiers. They drink water from dirty ponds, rivers or where ever they find it. Still they don’t get cholera or typhoid. Their body’s resistance power is so strong.

Avoid drinking water stored in a plastic vessel. Good quality stainless steel vessel is ok, copper vessel is better; mud pot is the best to store water.

UV water purifier

Drinking cold water
 
Water can be absorbed in the stomach and intestines only when its temperature is same as that of the stomach or intestines. Cold water delays water absorption.

When you drink very cold water, its chilling effect deactivates the protection capacity of tonsils in killing bacteria. Cold water also have chilling effect on the stomach lining and makes the 2nd stage protection ineffective.

Drinking cold water or cold beverage makes saliva glands contract and they won’t produce sufficient saliva.

During summer, go for cool water from mud pot or bring fridge water from cold to cool before drinking.

RO water purifier

Drinking hot water
 
If you have cold, the best water to drink is hot water - you should not drink but take very small sips. Sipping removes heat by the time water crosses your throat. Otherwise, avoid drinking or eating very hot or very cold stuff - let it be water or any other beverage or food.

Drinking warm water is good, especially for people with

• Burning sensation in the stomach
•  Ulcers
• Isnophilia
• Cold
• Cough
•  Asthma

 When to drink water, when not to drink

Even if you go for the best drinking water, it will affect negatively if you drink at the wrong time.

• Avoid drinking water during food except in emergency.
• After food, give a gap of minimum two hours before drinking water.
• After water, give a gap of minimum ½ hour before having food.

Drinking water with meals is a bad practice
 
We often see 4 incorrect ways people drink water:

1. Drink water almost with every mouthful of food. – to push food down the line into the stomach. Reason? Food doesn’t go down smoothly without pushing it with water.
2. Drink 1 or 2 glasses of 2. water before food.
3. Drink 1 or 2 glasses after food.
4. Drink ½ glass now and then during food.

When you drink water during food, it dilutes digestive juices, making the digestive process slow. Food will stay longer in the stomach, resulting in fermentation and release of excessive gas.

Drinking water during food causes another problem: Digestive juices contain hydrochloric acid. One of the functions of this acid is, it kills bacteria present in food. If you drink water during food, this acid gets diluted and become less effective in killing bacteria.

If you drink water during meals, you become breathless and uncomfortable because of the extra weight of water in the stomach. Thus, even the best drinking water taken at the wrong time will cause harm.



Why is swallowing difficult?
 
By chewing, food mixes with saliva and becomes a paste. Food in this form makes swallowing easy. But, when you eat in a hurry, you don’t chew food properly. It makes swallowing difficult and you need water to push it down. Here, the most important thing to remember is, if your body is starved of water, it won’t produce sufficient amount of saliva, making swallowing of food difficult. The solution is – drink sufficient water at the right time.

Why don’t I feel thirsty?
 
Many people like to drink water only when they are thirsty. The first time when you were thirsty, you were too busy to reach for water or you preferred some other drink. When this happens repeatedly, you get accustomed for dehydration and you will never know that you are dehydrated.

So, don’t wait until you are thirsty. it is the last symptom of dehydration your body shows. Drink sufficient water - your best drinking water.

Drinking water and weight loss
 
Drinking water to lose weight - The last symptom of dehydration is thirst. Can you differentiate between hunger and thirst? Many people can’t. When thirsty, they mistake it for hunger and eat food, let it be snacks or some high calorie food. These extra calories - by eating food instead of drinking water – get converted into fat and stored in the body.

Even when they identify it as thirst, instead of going for the water bottle, they go for cold soft drink, ice cream, beer or some packaged fruit juice. Such foods contain huge amount of empty calories that get deposited as fat in your body, resulting in weight gain.

If you drink sufficient water as and when required, no dehydration and no thirsty feeling. It is less likely that you go for sugar filled beverages. Your food intake also reduces to some extent, resulting in weight loss.

Tip: Respond to the urge to pass urine as soon as possible.
Only man is capable of controlling urine - and get into problems like kidney infection and failure. Animals don’t have such control. They drink as much water as their body needs and pass urine as the urge comes. They don’t get kidney failures.

Passing urine is not a nuisance. It is essential for body health. Get hold of the best water to drink, drink sufficient water and pass urine as and when the urge comes.