Imagine standing in between two large ponds on a hot day, and knowing that a swim would be perfect for you. The pond to the left of you is crystal clear, clean, and refreshing. The pond on the right of you is murky, smells kind of funky, and gives you the heebie-jeebies. I hope I don't really have to ask, but I'm going to anyways. Which one do you choose to swim in? It seems to make sense that unless you are Bear Grylls you would choose the crystal clear waters for your refreshing swim.
Now for the not so fascinating part. Your body has a system within that that works much like the water systems of our world. A process of "hopefully" clean water going in and serving various functions in the body which makes the water saturated will contaminants that are constantly being removed from your system. The body evacuates the water using a couple of pathways to do so. The hope is that as this process is taking place you are doing your part to get more clean water in. In a perfect world, the amount of clean water going in would be enough to keep the systems of the body supplied properly and the body clean from all contamination.
Unfortunately we are far from living in a perfect world. On a daily basis we take in more contamination through food, drink, and daily habits then our body could ever keep up with. Over time this leaves an excess of toxin, and contaminants in our body. The systems of the body are amazingly capable of keeping us clean, however they are not invincible and over time become overwhelmed by the over-saturation of contaminants. This causes many forms of ailments and a severely weakened system. Your body becomes the swamp. Which pond did you say you would choose to be in?
If you are the average person the amount of water you take in is very low compared to the amount that you should consume. Every day in this awesome country we live in you have as many opportunities as you would ever need to get as much water as you should. Most people have generated a habit of passing on the water for many reasons. None of those reasons could possibly justify the damage done from going without.
The simple act of drinking a refreshing glass of water could in fact save your life! The standard for an average person who is not exercising regularly, or working a job that requires more than average energy is about a half of an ounce per pound of body weight. For example if you weigh 200 Lbs. you would drink 100 ounces of water, or just over 3/4 of a gallon a day. If you are expending extra energy through training, work, or just high level activity the ratio should be closer to 3/4 to 1 full ounce per lb. of body weight. That seems like a lot to most people but it means the difference between swimming every day of your life in either a clean body of water, or a toxic waste dump! The choice is yours, so again I hate to have to ask, but which one do you choose?
The only thing that separates desire from reality is action. So take action, and stay healthy my friends.