What is the best liquid choice for hydration? Inexpensive and zero calorie water is vital for good health, and there is no substitute for it. High calorie, sugary soda contains no nutrition. Beware, too, of some fruit juices that may be high in sugar, and vegetable juices that may be high in sodium. Avoid caffeinated beverages, as they only serve to dehydrate.
Sports drinks provide minerals that help restore depleted electrolytes to the drinker’s body. It is important to keep electrolytes in the correct homeostasis balance because they are what cells (especially nerve, heart, and muscle) use to maintain voltages across their cell membranes and to carry electrical impulses (nerve impulses, muscle contractions) across themselves and to other cells. The important thing here is to make sure when choosing these drinks that they are low in sugar and not too high in calories.
If water is our top choice of hydrating liquid, it is important for us to know the quality of our own Huntley well water, especially well 7. The most recent Annual Drinking Water Quality Report and its accompanying 2011 Regulated Contaminants Detected Report for the period of January 1 through December 31, 2011, reveal no abnormal findings. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency has set the standard of chlorine safe at 4 parts per million of water; our Huntley well shows chlorine at a range of 0.4064 – 0.582 parts per million of water. It is wise to run your faucet water for 3 to 5 minutes in the early morning daily or after periods of disuse to get rid of contaminants that might form in the pipelines.
There are many Americans who do not want to risk the side effects of chemicals used or contaminants found in tap water. They may choose filtered, bottled, distilled, and even reversed (as in reverse osmosis) water. Some experts find bottled water only a temporary solution. They recommend specifically distilled bottled water as best for drinking. Minerals, of course, are also lost, but the argument goes that we can always get them in the food we eat. You may even notice on your purified bottled water label that it contains “minerals added for taste.” It is important to know that the FDA, with the help of state and federal agencies, monitors bottled water, in some cases even stricter than tap water.
What are Sun Citians choosing for their drinking water? Arlene Anforth tells us that in the morning daily she fills up a three-quart Tupperware container, left in her bedroom.
“If I don’t consume it by the end of the day, I finish it then. We use natural spring water with 0 mg. of sodium on the label for my husband’s congestive heart problems. This has been recommended by my husband’s cardiologist,” she said.
“Since he stopped taking the Huntley well water, he has had no overnight stays at the hospital to remove edema from his body,” Arlene added.
Note that there is not a state or federal recommended amount for sodium in municipality wells (sodium comes from erosion of naturally occurring deposits and regenerated water softener material).
Mary Anne Palumbo and Jean Reid both like filtered water. Water filters are available at many stores and last about two months.
What about active agers? Bikers Jack McCann and Greg Matzke both agree that bottled water saves their thirst.
“I pack a couple of bottles on my bike and drink when I get thirsty,” McCann, a long distance rider, said.
“I drink water before and after, not during biking,” Matzke said. “However, when I took a 60-mile bike ride in California for five-and-a-half hours, I took water as I went along.”
“My classes bring in their water bottles, which they are allowed to put on the (all-purpose room) ledges,” Mary Wyatt, Strutters artistic dance director and instructor, said. “We take frequent breaks for water intake, and those without bottles are allowed time to get water out of hall drinking fountains.”
P.J. Knutsen and Joan Souchek make sure they have water with them as they golf.
“I bring one bottle for nine holes, two bottles for 18 holes.”
Swimmers Joan Souchek and Kathleen Wulf are conscious of the need for water. Joanne Garand, a daily long-distance swimmer, said swimmers must be hydrated like any other athletes.
All Sun Citians should follow the example of these residents and athletes and plunge into that water – this time I mean the hydrating stuff!
