Clean drinking water may just be one of the most powerful healing substance known to man. Next to air, water is the element most necessary for survival. A normal adult is 60 to 70 percent water. We can go without food for almost two months, but without water only a few days. If you're not drinking enough water, you could end up with excess body fat, poor muscle tone, digestive complications, muscle soreness - even water-retention problems.

Water plays an enormous role in how well our body functions. Simply put, the more fresh water we drink, the healthier we become. Knowing all this, it never ceases to amaze us when we hear people saying they "forget" to drink water. Would these people need a reminder to breathe? Water increases not only the quality but also the length of our lives!

Without water, we'd be poisoned to death by our own waste products. When the kidneys remove uric acid and urea, these must be dissolved in water. If there isn't enough water, wastes are not removed as effectively and may build up as kidney stones. Water also is vital for chemical reactions in digestion and metabolism. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells through the blood and helps to cool the body through perspiration. Water also lubricates our joints.

We even need water to breathe: our lungs must be moist to take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide. It is possible to lose a pint of liquid each day just exhaling.

So if you don't drink sufficient water, you can impair every aspect of your physiology.

The bodies "Thirst Reflex" is the last signal of excessive dehydration. By the time you become thirsty, the damage has already been done. Don't wait until you're thirsty! Constantly drink throughout the day!

So... by consuming those eight to ten glasses of water throughout the day, you could be on your way to a healthier, leaner body.