Why drink water?
Water is needed by all the cells and organs in the body in order for them to function properly. Without water, your body would stop working properly. Water makes up more than half of your body weight, and a person can't survive for more than a few days without it.
Your body doesn't get water only from drinking water. Any fluid you drink will contain water, but water and milk are the best choices. Lots of foods contain water, too. Fruit contains quite a bit of water, which you could probably tell if you've ever bitten into a peach or plum and felt the juices dripping down your chin! Vegetables, too, contain a lot of water — think of slicing into a fat tomato from the garden or crunching into a crisp stalk of celery.
How Much Is Enough?
Kids like to drink something with meals and should definitely drink when they are thirsty. But when it's warm out or you're exercising, you'll need more. Be sure to drink some extra water when you're out in warm weather, especially while playing sports or exercising.
Water helps your body:
• Keep your temperature normal
• Lubricate and cushion joints
• Protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues
• Get rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements
Your body needs more water when you are:
• In hot climates
• More physically active
• Running a fever
• Having diarrhea or vomiting
Zero Sugary Drinks
What is in Your Drink?
Sweetened drinks such as soda, fruit drinks and fruit punch, sweetened ice tea, sports drinks, and energy drinks contain a lot of added sugar. The added sugar can be sugar cane sugar, corn syrup, sucrose, fructose, honey and others. Too much sugar-sweetened drinks can lead to unhealthy problems such as dental cavities and unwanted weight gain.
Try to avoid sugar-sweetened drinks. Buy, serve and drink water and low fat milk instead. Low fat milk is nutritious and helps kids build strong teeth and bones. Water is the best drink when you are thirsty.
Tips
Be a role model – drink water throughout the day.
Serve water or low fat milk at meals. If it’s around, they will drink it.
Give everyone a water bottle to take to school or work and refill it often.
Make sweetened drinks a treat rather than an everyday choice.
Try to not keep sweetened drinks around the house. If it’s around, they will drink it.
Water is the best choice during and after physical activity. Try not to drink sports drinks except for high intensity activity for long periods.
The Scoop on Juice Drinks
Fruit drinks include POG, guava drinks, orangeades, and fruit punch. Some might have a bit of real juice but most have lots of added sugars and chemicals. The chemicals include fruit flavorings and artificial colors. 100% fruit juices are made from real fruits. A small amount of 100% fruit juice, about a half-cup a day, is okay for most children. But all juice drinks, including 100% juice, contain lots of sugar and calories. Think about serving water and actual fruits instead.
What’s in a can of soda?
Did you know that 1 can of soda has about 150 calories and 40 grams of sugar. This is equal to about 10 packets of sugar. Drinking an extra can of soda every day for a year, without burning it off through physical activity, will lead to 54,750 extra calories or about 15 pounds of weight gain each year.