Water is the king of all drinks. It is pure and nutritionally sound, essential for vitality and one small thing that can radically change your life. As a general guideline, most adults should be drinking at least 2 litres of water per day. This is a minimum requirement for everyday intake. If you exercise a lot or sweat profusely, if the weather is warmer or if you work in a dry environment, then you'll need to increase this amount.

For those who currently drink less than they should do, consider the following.

• Would you drink more water if you knew it was one of the best weight loss products on the market?
• Would you drink more water if you knew that it would help to keep you looking younger for longer?
• Would you drink more water if you knew it would give you much more energy?

If you answered “yes” to one or more of these questions, read on.

Water is absolutely essential to our survival. It is widely recognised that we can go no longer than 3 days without water. When faced with a survival situation, clean drinkable water is often the most important consideration. People have survived without food for weeks or even months, but go without water for even just one day and the survivor will be in desperate straights indeed.

Why is it so important to drink water? Well, your body is made up of 70% water, and the water we drink is required to replace cells that die off through natural wastage. Without the water, we cannot replace the cells that we lose. Water is needed for circulation and other bodily processes including respiration and converting food to energy. If you are losing more water than you are taking in, dehydration will occur.

A lack of water causes dehydration, which may result in lethargy, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and eventually death. Even mild dehydration reduces endurance and impairs concentration. It has been shown that if you lose just 2.5% of your body weight from water loss, you will loose 25% of your efficiency. As the person dehydrates, their blood becomes thicker and loses volume. This causes the heart to work harder and circulation of blood to be less efficient. Dark yellow or brown urine is a diagnostic indicator of dehydration. Bottom line: drink plenty of fluids whether you feel thirsty or not so that you stay at peak efficiency.

In general the higher the temperature the greater your water consumption needs to be. If you are active or exposed to the hot rays of the sun you may need upwards of 4 litres of water per day to stay healthy.

Perhaps surprisingly, very cold environments can be as hazardous as the heat. This is because cold air cannot hold much moisture. This cold dry air serves to dehydrate your body with every breath you take. Cold dry air can also rob your body of moisture via loss from exposed skin. This is one reason why your lips may be prone to chapping. So during cold weather even though you may not be sweating nearly as much as when you are in a hot environment you may still easily become severely dehydrated without even realising the danger you could be in.

How can water help you to lose weight?

There are three ways in which water can directly help your weight loss program:

· The liver directly affects your body fat and weight loss. The liver's job is to convert the stored fat into energy; this metabolism of fat is directly influenced by the amount of water you drink. The liver also acts as a backup for the kidney, which needs plenty of water to work properly. This means that when the kidneys are not functioning properly the liver kicks in to help out, which diverts it from its primary function of metabolising the stored fat.

· Every food we eat contains water. The brain knows this and recognises that it can hydrate the body by eating food. Research has shown that often when we get hungry, we are not actually hungry for food, but that we are actually simply thirsty. It is recommended that when you feel hungry you drink two cups of water and then wait fifteen minute to see if your hunger has gone away.

· Drinking cold water helps your body to burn more calories in a weight loss program. This is because your body needs to burn calories to raise the water temperature to your body's temperature. However, the advantage is that normal water has zero calories, which means your body ends up burning more calories.

For many people the thought of drinking “just water” is boring. Now I know that there are some awful tasting substances that people drink in the hope of losing weight so this one really doesn’t wash with me. The more we drink fresh water, the more our taste buds will begin to like it again. Another tip would be to add a touch of natural fruit juice to give it taste.

If you currently consume less water than you should, you may need a strategy to help you to begin your healthy drinking regime. A simple tip is to put small bottles around the office, on your desk and in the car etc so when you see them you take a drink from them. Drink before you're thirsty. Water coolers in the office are a great idea as they encourage everyone to drink more.

Remember too that water is also great for looking after your skin, so stave off the ageing process and start drinking that water now. It makes a healthy change from tea and coffee. Cheers.

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