Drinking Healthier: How To Hydrate More And Keep Your Local Water Fresh

Many of us aren’t the greatest when it comes to getting enough water. In fact, up to 75% of the U.S. population is chronically dehydrated.

Fortunately, there are a few ways you can get yourself not only to drink more water but also to drink better water. Here are a few ingredients you can add to your water for bonus health (and flavor) benefits and what you can do to improve the overall quality of your water by fighting back against local pollution.

What can I do to make my water healthier?

If you’re not drinking enough water, it might be because it lacks flavor. Why have water when there’s iced coffee or cranberry juice? But you still need water to live a happy and healthy lifestyle, as flavorless as it is.

Here are a few things you can add to your glass to spice up your water and to get yourself to hydrate:

• Lemon. Just a few drops of lemon juice can help to alkalize and cleanse the body.
• Cucumber. Cucumbers are not only hydrating veggies themselves but they also have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Cayenne Pepper. Talk about adding spice to your water. Cayenne pepper is filled with vitamins, antioxidants, and activating properties that can kick your metabolism into gear.
• Mint. Mint gives your water a refreshing taste while aiding your body with digestion.
• Basil. Basil isn’t just for garnishing your pizza. It also has great anti-stress and anti-bacterial properties.

What can I do to improve my water quality?

Sometimes improving your water quality is outside of your control. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fight back against local water pollution.

Not only does water pollution result in contaminated water, which can transmit diseases like dysentery and cholera, but it also hurts the wildlife that depends on safe water for survival.

Here are a few things you can do to help keep pollution out of your local water supply and keep your drinking water fresh and clean:

• Watch what you pour down the drain. Never pour fat, oil, grease, cleaning agents, household chemicals, or pills down the sink or toilet. Avoid flushing sanitary products such as tampons.
• Minimizing water waste indoors. Turn off your sink when you’re not using the water and only wash clothes when you have a full load of laundry.
• Minimize water waste outdoors. Up to 90% of Americans prefer to live in houses surrounded by grass lawns, but overwatering these lawns is draining our water supply. Avoid water waste by only giving your lawn an inch of water a week.
• Wear the right sunblock. Approximately 60 million people in the U.S. visited beaches a decade ago. Whether you’re on vacation or taking the polar plunge in your local lake, make sure to wear the right sunblock. Certain sunblocks that contain chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate can impact the natural habitats in the water.

It’s important to do what you can to reduce pollution in your local water. Not only does doing your part reduce your carbon footprint but it also ensures that the water you’re drinking is clean and healthy.