Happy & Healthy

You drink water from the tap

We all know that drinking water is incredibly good for you. I even dare to say that I am still so incredibly attractive at forty-three because I drink so much water (and exercise. And eat healthy. And take care of my skin in a nearly maniacal way. And alright, because I also get a little help from Dr. Tom van Eijk sometimes). The human body needs water to stay hydrated, but also to eliminate waste. That's why it's so important to drink water even when you're drinking alcohol. Ever heard of the diplomat method? It means that you alternate between a glass of water and a glass of alcohol. This way, our man in a suit, let's say Washington, keeps it a bit pleasant at yet another gathering with the other ambassadors. Of course, you get drunk less quickly because you drink less. And even more importantly: you halve your hangover. Because hangover symptoms arise largely due to dehydration. So you can prevent that pneumatic hammer in your head by continuing to drink a lot of water alongside your gin and tonics.

And now I finally come to the point of why I am writing this piece. Because drinking water is best done from the tap. Really. It may be that water from Fiji, Iceland, or the well-known Belgian spring has a few extra minerals. But from an environmental perspective, tap water is many times better for all of us than bottled water that has traveled halfway around the world to end up on your table. And I haven't even mentioned all that plastic floating in the sea. Then there's something you never hear anyone talk about: do you have any idea how long that water has been in the bottle by the time you open it?

“And even more importantly: you halve your hangover.”

Sometimes you hear crazy stories about our drinking water. That there would be traces of medication in it and even cocaine in the metropolitan area. Reason for me to inquire with my bestie Renate Rijken, who happens to be Head of Communication at Brabant Water (and very smart and very attractive). According to her, traces of medication are sometimes found in the sources for drinking water in the Netherlands, and yes, the cocaine is true (juicy stuff! Who flushes all that shizzle down the toilet?). But, she insisted, we are talking about traces. These can be very, very small amounts that we can detect because we have very advanced measuring instruments. And, and this is an even better point, this water is extensively purified to safe and healthy drinking water. Those traces are all removed during the purification of surface water to drinking water. In other words: our drinking water is absolutely super-duper, comes fresh from the tap, and hardly burdens the environment.

So just drink tap water instead of that complicated stuff from Norway, Switzerland, or some other health-sounding exotic place. I always ask for tap water in restaurants and for all other occasions, I have such a super trendy water bottle that I just fill up at home under the tap. For example from Join The Pipe or ONEforONE, which also immediately supports drinking water projects in Africa. There, now you're really doing well!