Water! The Wonder Drug??

As we go through life we are constantly told, even from a school age, that drinking water is good for you. Apparently we don't drink enough, especially as I often hear that 8 pints a day is our recommended consumption! 8 pints a day is in my mind a horrendous amount and even if I tried I don't think I could manage without flooding my brain or some other discouraged side-effect that could harm my carefully balanced physique. I of course realise that this is a theoretical value, and would depend on size of body, weight, and what would probably be a long list of other factors like diet and general health. But still, 8 pints. As if!

I decided to experiment, I would try to meet my 8 pint daily recommended intake. This was to be difficult as I already drink a hell of a lot, alcohol mainly, with a lot of coca-cola mixed in, which I know is bad and to be honest don't even enjoy, but there's only so much apple or orange juice you can drink. That is without reaching an overzealous 18+ of your 5-a-day fruit and vegetables. I didn't want to curb the evening boozing, but by interspersing each drink with a glass of water I felt a clear way to managing this some-what silly intake of clear tasteless lubricant.

So as I begin my experiment all I could report was bloated-ness! a constant need to run to the toilet and generally a slight feeling of woozy! But to what I presumed was to no-avail, I pushed on. by day 3 I had got used to the water, especially the taste as I have to say water is the most boring drink known to man. By day 4 I was easily flying through the glasses. making the experiment not so much a success, but an easy challenge to place upon myself.


Then things started to get interesting, Day 5 and suddenly I wake up in the morning with a clear head, an empty pint glass by my bedside and a thirst for even more water prior to my ritualistic cup-of-tea. I was starting to feel a positive effect from the water. Day 6 and I start digesting my food more easily, the headaches, especially those caused by alcohol were becoming smaller and I was sleeping more easily and getting tired at a reasonable time of the night.


Could water be the wonder drug to many of our most commonplace light health problems? I am no doctor but I have to say that as I reached day 7 I was totally convinced that this was the way forward. I don't mind admitting that the ability to drink without a hangover was a clear push for me to continue this routine, but I could also think clearer, solve problems at work quicker, rest better, plus there were a whole range of other less obvious but positive side-effects the water brought with it. Can you solve a problem with a glass of water? No, but apparently with 8 you can!


I now live in Malta, where the days are hot and the nights aren't much cooler. Drinking water has become a must to survive here and I never go to bed without a bottle next to me. I have now turned to sparkling, something that previously disgusted me. It tends to quench the thirst quicker and have a faster lubricating effect on the body. That is after you get over the strange carbon-like taste that comes with it. Its a good job water is only 18c a bottle over here instead of the nearly 70p in the UK, else good health might also translate to empty bank accounts.