By Erin Kingrey
As temperatures rise and pools open for another season, health practitioners urge people to drink at least eight to 12 glasses of H20 each day.
Paul Jensen, a physician at the Alternative Health Center in Pleasant Grove, Utah County, said regularly drinking enough water, especially in the summer, is essential to maintaining good health.
Jensen''s practice promotes drinking clean water as one of the first and most important steps towards taking control of one''s overall health.
'Every physiological and biochemical process of the body depends on water,' he said.
There are two main purposes to drinking water, Jensen said. The first is to hydrate the body. The second is helping the body rid itself of toxins and wastes.
To successfully carry out these functions, he recommends that people drink water constantly throughout the day - even as much as three or four quarts each day.
Athletes, or other people working out need much more water, he said. They should be drinking at least every 20 minutes while engaged in physical activity, he said.
Unfortunately, most people don''t drink enough water to compensate for the approximately 2 1/2 quarts that are lost each day from normal activities such as breathing, talking, sweating, and using the restroom, he said.
Jensen said as a result of not being fully hydrated, people might suffer from a variety of ailments.
Everyday problems such as fatigue, lack of concentration, headaches, body aches and pains, digestive problems and others can be directly attributed to drinking inadequate amounts of water, Jensen said.
But drinking water isn''t just about preventative health, he said. It''s about helping the human body function at its optimum level.
'When water intake improves, so do energy levels,' Jensen said. 'Just drink as much as you possibly can.
Cory Christensen, a graduate student from Provo, Utah County, has noticed an energy increase since he began increasing his water consumption last December.
When Christensen noticed he felt sluggish and had frequent headaches, he decided to see if drinking more water would help, he said.
Since then, he has noticed many results, he said. He is more alert and feels healthier all around. He gets colds less often.What began as an experiment has turned into a lifestyle change, Christensen said.
Stacey Prince, a dietician at the BYU Health Center said others should consider making a similar change and drink more liquids.
While water is always the best choice, Prince said, the most important thing is to keep plenty of fluids in the body.
A good way for individuals to judge whether or not they are drinking enough is by examining their urine, Prince said.
'Urine should be almost clear and odorless,' she said. 'If your urine is concentrated, then you''re not drinking enough.'
Prince said people should drink even if they don''t feel thirsty, because water loss may already be significant before thirst registers.
Also, it''s not uncommon to confuse thirst and hunger, she said. It''s often a good choice to drink when hungry, just in case what the body really means to say is that it''s thirsty.
Silvana Mijangos, 21, a senior from Guatemala City, Guatemala, majoring in physical therapy, said she knows from her own experience that it''s important to drink large amounts of water.
Two or three years ago, Mijangos read that drinking water was something she should do for her health.
She began slowly, gradually increasing the amount of water she was drinking every day. Now she typically drinks between one and one and a half gallons of water each day, she said.
Mijangos said she has noticed that her skin is clearer, she feels better overall, and she has lost weight since she began increasing her consumption of water each day.
She said she carries a bottle of water around with her everywhere she goes.
'If you have a bottle of water with you, you''ll drink it,' Mijangos said. 'It just makes you feel so much better.'