H2O: The Best Drink Ever

For most people, water is not their go-to drink when eating, studying or working. When most people sit at a restaurant and order, they do not ask for just water to drink; some go for juice, and some go for soda. Although lately with the fitness revolution in place, people seem to walk around with water bottles everywhere they go, are they really putting these bottles to proper use? Most days I see people carry around water bottles, without refilling them, and not even finishing them.

Water has indeed become the second most popular drink in America. However, the first continues to be soft drinks. Drinks have been made into these liquids with what some may refer to as "good" flavors, filled with sugars and artificial ingredients. Do we really want to be putting these substances into our body?

I am writing to convince you to replace these drinks with water. If you don't intend to be on a healthy diet, and that's your excuse for replacing water with sugar every chance you get, at least learn a little about why water should be one of the only substance you consume in liquid form.

Of course, drinking water is intended to keep your body's fluid balance in check. We are constantly outputting water through not only urine but also breathing, skin evaporation -- also known as sweat -- and so on. Why do we want to keep our fluids balanced? Our bodies are composed of 60 percent water, and this is useful for proper digestion, absorption of nutrients, circulation, and maintenance of body temperature.

Water also helps energize our muscles, allowing us to have maximum performance when we exercise. If you're not consuming enough water in a day, you are not performing your best during exercise; therefore, you're not getting the effects that you are actually capable of.

Consuming water even keeps our skin looking great. Hydrated skin glows and has less acne and obstruction.

For best results, drinking a glass of water right when you wake up helps energize and hydrate your body. You can almost feel every cell in your body get filled with water, and you definitely feel ready to take on the day. After all those hours without water during sleep, your body can become slightly dehydrated, so drinking water in the morning is especially important.

For lovers of sugary drinks, a tip to help you get accustomed to drinking more water every day is to flavor your water! Add lemons, strawberries, cucumbers, or anything you like to give it more flavor.

On a personal level, I was never the biggest H2O consumer when growing up. However, after learning more about proper nutrition and exercise, it has become a huge part of my life. I drink at least 1 gallon every single day, and make sure that I do. I began to do so two years ago and have never felt better. I immediately felt better -- my digestion even changed. The sensitivity in my skin slightly decreased, my face glows, and even my hair shine increased.

I began drinking only water for nutrition reasons, and I encourage everyone to do so. I am not telling you to keep a strict healthy diet or to only eat clean. But do at least one thing that your future self will thank you for: Drink more water.

There are no benefits in sugary juices or artificial soft drinks. People simply drink them for the flavor -- and that's okay once in a while. Replace these drinks with water and see what a difference it makes. I can almost promise you won't want to turn back!