Recommended daily intake of water is one half your body weight in ounces of water, for example if you weigh 150 pounds, the you would need 75 ounces of water. Divide this amount into 8 to 10 ounce glasses of water to take throughout the day.

For every quart of water you drink, it is necessary to add 1/4 teaspoon of salt (not table salt). It is recommended that you use either RealSalt® (all natural sea salt) or Celtic Sea Salt, which has approximately 80 minerals. Many people find it easiest to combine the salt directly in a quart of water, others use it as seasoning after cooking their food, and some even lick it directly off their hands. For information on purchasing Celtic Sea Salt or RealSalt®, see the 'tips' below.

Caffeinated and alcoholic beverages are known diuretics (dehydrating), and therefore are best to avoid as much as possible. Just remember to drink additional water for every 6 oz of caffeinated or alcohlic beverages taken, in order to offset the dehydration. If you are a coffee lover, please, don't use this as an excuse not to drink any water! Just do the best you can, and refer to the 'tips' below for an update on this info.

It is also recommended that you be sure to add potassium (to help maintain healthy electrolyte balance) to your daily diet (i.e. potatoes, orange juice, etc.) as well as supplementing with magnesium, calcium and zinc (to help your body's immune system performance).

Your body only utilizes about 4 ounces of water at a time, therefore it is better to drink smaller quantities at more frequent intervals, and spare your kidneys from a whole bunch of unnecessary exercise!

Not used to drinking a lot of water? Then start off slowly and gradually build up to your optimum level of hydration. Just gradually increase the amount you drink every few days!

The easiest way to keep your water handy is to use a water bottle and just keep refilling it throughout the day.

What's the best way to drink your water? Glad you asked - through a straw! Why a straw? Because there is far less chance of getting bloated from swallowing air with your water. Not only that, but it lessens the transfer of unwanted germs to your water bottle. (I have been doing this for years at work, and when people asked me why I always drank through a straw, which they teased me for, I didn't realize at that time that there was a scientific reason for it - I just knew that I felt better and never got bloated!) If you prefer to drink out of a cup, then just invest in a package of those coffee stir sticks - they are like mini straws and you can use them for any beverage!

Don't rely on "feeling thirsty" as a signal to drink your water. Many times people mistake this feeling and think they are hungry so they have something to eat (and usually end up feeling uncomfortable), when all they really needed was water! Rather, get into the habit of drinking water throughout your day - one sip at a time!

If you participate in regular or extensive exercise programs or athletic events, are in a high temperature environment (i.e. hot summer weather resulting in a fair amount of perspiration), or ill (sweating, diarrhea, throwing up) it is advisable to increase the amount of fluids you take, as your body can dehydrate much quicker than under normal circumstances.

Both Celtic Sea Salt and RealSalt® should be readily available in any good quality health food store.

If you prefer to do your shopping on line, one site that we know of that carries Celtic Sea Salt can be found by clicking here.

RealSalt® has their own website with all the information. You can either order online, or through their 'Store Finder'. Although the store finder uses the example of putting in the abbreviation for a State (US), we found that if you live in Canada, you can also enter the abbreviation for your Province, and it will find if there are stores available that carry RealSalt®. This is the one preferred by Dr. Dani and you can find their site by clicking here.