This post is written together with Hydros—an Elephant partner. We’re proud to work with them. They’re dedicated to making drinking clean, healthy water easier and more sustainable. ~ ed.

Is your Drinking Water Healthy or Harmful? A Checklist.

Water might be the life-sustaining liquid that is essential for our health, but are we drinking it in a way that’s optimal for our bodies? Just like eating, there’s a way to drink that helps your body thrive. It’s a little more than just glass to tap to lips and chug.

Here are a few dos and don’ts when it comes to how you get your H2O:

1. Don’t drink straight from the tap.

When we drink straight from the tap, we aren’t exactly tapping into the healthiest option. Unfiltered tap (or even spring) water gives us a lot more than we bargained for, including chlorine, fluorine compounds, and assorted pesticides…just to name a few.

Unfiltered tap water is dirtier than it looks, in fact it’s downright funky.

Statistics show that roughly 85% of the population drinks unfiltered tap water that is laced with more than 300 contaminants, and a lot of them have long-term effects that you probably don’t know about.

But if you’re wondering if bottled water is the answer…no!

Basically, there’s never a good reason to buy a plastic bottle of water, and if you are someone who does, we’d urge you to ditch disposable plastic. Bottled water is unregulated, expensive, and even the EPA says that it isn’t necessarily safer than tap water.

2. Do filter your water.

Water filters for pitchers at home are great, but they can be cumbersome, slow to fill, and what about those plastic filters? Not much better than plastic bottles really.

Enter Hydros.

Hydros is the most efficient approach to filtered water. Its fast-flo tech filters and efficient design filters five times faster than regular water filters and empowers you to do more with less: less time waiting, fewer filters, less occupied space in your fridge or on your kitchen counter and dining table.

Hydros is good for everyone, including our planet. In fact, they don’t use the ion exchange resin or plastic micro beads that are used in multiple water filtration systems because they can pollute our oceans.

>> Filter your way to good health with 15% off Hydros<<

3. Don’t chug your water all in one go, standing up.

If you chug too much water at once your body doesn’t actually absorb all of it. Most of it will run right through you and you’ll end up running to the toilet all day long. Instead, sit down to drink if possible (just as you should sit down to eat). Take sips, not full-glass chugs. Small sip, swallow, breathe. Repeat. Bringing a little mindfulness to your hydration actually helps your body absorb more of the benefits.

Hydros offer a range of pitchers, carafes, and bottles to help you hydrate throughout the day. Just remember to slow down when you sip.

4. Do ask for water with no ice when you drink out, or better yet, bring your own.

If you want to be healthy, practice saying, “Water without ice, please.” Back in 2012, an award winning middle schooler’s science project showed that on average 70% of the time, ice from fast food restaurants is dirtier than toilet water.

Besides, both Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine advise us to drink room temperature or even warm water. Cold and iced water literally douse the digestive fire and make your body work harder to get that freezing water up to body temperature.

>> Filter your way to good health with 15% off Hydros <<

But even without ice, you’re back to square one, deciding between drinking either tap water or plastic bottled water: bit of a rock and a hard place situation. So, best of all, bring your Hydros bottle along with you and refill with room temperature tap water whenever you need to.

Hydros filter bottles are perfect for a busy and active lifestyle. From home, to the gym, to classrooms, to the office or on errands, Hydros Bottles are the easiest way to keep healthy hydration within reach. And the best thing is one Hydros water bottle with their proprietary filter, can help you save using 1,800 single-use 16 oz water bottles in a year.

Well-balanced and ergonomic design fits comfortably in standard car cup holders, backpacks and handbags. The bottles also come with a large enough carry loop and an anti-spill lock to easily take your Hydros bottle anywhere on the go.

5. Don’t ignore your body’s signals.

Drink when you’re thirsty. Thirst is a natural urge that should be heeded. It means your body needs water. This is why I personally love Hydros carafes because I can fill them up when I start my work day and keep one on my desk. Because when I get really into things, I tend to delay and delay getting up to get that drink of water I know I need. And when it’s empty I can refill it fast. It also has a colourful silicon base for skid-proof protection, an easy flip top lid which makes it easy to handle, and it fills with filtered water within 40 seconds. There’s no excuse to go thirsty again!

So, what do you say next time someone asks you how to easily get clean, tasty, healthy water?

Get Hydros. Get hydrated. Get healthy.*

*And help the planet while you do: since its launch with a new line of sustainable and fast-filtering pitchers, carafes and bottles, Hydros has made a 1% of all sales donation pledge to Oceana, contributing a portion of sales directly to the organization’s efforts. The global ocean conservation group seeks to make our oceans as rich, healthy, and abundant as they once were.

>> Filter your way to good health with 15% off Hydros <<