Are you drinking enough?

Water, that is. The old “eight glasses a day” rule is still a good guide, as long as you remember that eight glasses means eight separate glasses of water. Your coffee, tea, beer, pop and other liquid consumption simply doesn’t count.

The good folks at Brita water filters naturally have an interest in making sure that we get enough water to drink. So they’ve given this week the dubious distinction of being named “Drinking Water Week.” This may not rank highly in the “special weeks” of the year, but it does serve to remind us that many of us are simply “dehydrated” without knowing it.

This can contribute to a host of problems including fatigue, sagging skin, toxic hold-up and weight gain. Some studies show that an adequate water intake not only has fat fighting abilities but that it may be the “only true magic potion” for permanent weight loss.