That's Fit

Y Water is looking to tap into more than just the bottled water market by appealing also to the healthy and fit kids market and those shopping for ways to be friendlier to the environment. They offer four specialized low-calorie formulas to target the brain, muscles, bones, and immunity, plus once the water's gone, the leftover bottle (specially created by designer Yves Béhar) can be used as a building block of sorts to make toys and encourage creativity.

Sounds like a great way to get your kids to drink more water and get more vitamins and nutrients, all while helping the environment and stimulating their brains (or at least giving them a few minutes of entertainment).

Via Inhabitat

If you missed our daily postings this past week, we invite you to take some time to catch up on our prior week's news and gear up for a new week of healthy living information and inspiration.

It's a new week and a new look for That's Fit! Have you noticed our new feature boxes on the right-hand site of the page? Make sure to click through to read some of your favorite columns -- The Good, the Fat, and the Hungry, Celebrity News, Fit Kicks with Fitz, and of course don't forget to check in with our experts. And if you're striving for a new look of your own, check out this week's posts for the latest in diet and fitness.

• Jerry O'Connell has been busy pulling his foot from his mouth this week. Find out why.
• Celebrity gawker Perez Hilton took 10 inches off his waist. He wants to look like David Beckham.
• Martha raises some questions about flax seed. Is it really as good for us as we think?
• Settling into college life? Find out how to prevent that "Freshman 15" from creeping up on you. And find out why college campuses are banning cafeteria trays.
  
• The Presidential candidates have selected their running mates. Chris tells you how to pick yours.
• Having chicken for dinner? Margaret shares 20 ways to make it a healthy meal.
• Having trouble giving up your bottled water habit? Kristen exposes the myths behind this useless and wasteful product.
  
  

Have a great week everyone!

I've been carrying my reusable water bottle around with me for quite some time now. I fill a pitcher with tap water and keep it in my refrigerator so I always have nice, cold water, and I really try to do my best to avoid drinking bottled water. However, a lot of people stick almost exclusively to water from a little plastic bottle, and while there are a multitude of reasons for this, a lot of these reasons don't have much basis in fact.

Marie Claire recently exposed six of the most common bottled water myths -- even if you're not a bottled water devotee, some of these busted myths might surprise you.

You probably have a favorite brand of bottled water, but what about your dog? When you're out hiking or jogging you may bring water along for your dog in a bottle, but have you ever considered buying water already bottled, specially branded, and marketed just for your four-legged friend?

Fortifido is just that -- bottled water for dogs. Available in flavors like "parsley," "peanut butter," and "spearmint," Fortifido is fortified with vitamins to help promote healthy bones, healthy skin, fresh breath and healthy joints in your dog.

Will you buy it?

Not too long ago, San Francisco's mayor banned bottled water in City Hall. Now he's taking things a giant step further, proposing that the city charge large businesses a fee when they sell sugar-laden soft drinks. Apparently, the mayor blames corn syrup for the growing waistlines in his city, and says he'll use the money raised to support local anti-obesity programs.

Beverage companies are almost laughably quick to point their finger in a different direction. Saying that if the mayor bans soft drinks, he certainly needs to ban video games and TV as well, they voice their disapproval. I partially agree; I don't think obesity is a single-cause issue, but I do believe that corn syrup in processed foods definitely contributes.

What about you? Do you support fees on unhealthy goods, or is the mayor taking things a step too far?

I know that when it comes to getting and staying fit, getting plenty of water is key. Staying hydrated is not only crucial for staying energized through our workouts, it can help reduce caloric intake and prevent us from overeating if we go whole-heartedly into gulping down at least the recommended 64 oz of water a day.

With that much water consumed on a daily basis, it's enough to make you wonder about where our water comes from, and how clean and safe it really is.

I was curious about the safety of bottled water in particular, since so many people think it's the natural "healthy" alternative to tap water. So I did some searching and found a few shocking reports about the safety of bottled water:

What's your water -- tap, filtered or bottled? I've been a long-time tap drinker -- the tap water in my area is perfectly fine and I hate the waste that bottle water generates. But believe me when I say that I am one of the few -- in fact, I think I might be the only person I know who drinks tap water.

But that all could change -- according to this article, people in Britain are starting to trade in bottled water for tap water, both because of the waste issue and because it's less expensive. And I'd say it's about time -- the amount of damage that those little plastic water bottles do to the environment is astounding.

If you can't stomach the tap water, consider getting a filter and buy a bunch of those reusable water bottles for one-the-go hydration.

A few months back, the New York Times wrote an expose of sorts on the bottled water industry. By now, most people are familiar with the paper's shocking (read: barely causing people to blink) uncovering of truth: Aquafina and Dasani water are simply purified tap water. Did this revelation hurt bottled water sales? Not really. The fact of the matter is that people didn't really care about the water as much as they cared, and still care, about the convenience. It's not as though the water in these water bottles was sewage, so a question of health concern never actually became one. Instead, the undaunted bottled water industries forged ahead, promising labels that were more forthcoming.

This is all well and good. But, in an age where people are willing to spend more on a 12-oz bottle of Diet Coke than a 2 liter bottle of the stuff (merely because it's far more convenient to tote around the 12-oz bottle than it is to constantly refill a glass), there are some folks out there who are letting common sense prevail over laziness. Two of those people are the mayor of San Francisco and the mayor of Los Angeles. The individuals have banned the use of city money for the purchasing of bottled water. Use the tap water, it's just as clean - that's the general attitude being stridently taken by these two California city mayors, as well as city officials from states around the country.

I can't say that I disagree with these folks. Why waste taxpayer money on bottled water when what you're getting is pretty much the same thing as what comes out of the drinking fountains? Feel free to weigh in on this in the comments section.

The list of things that might cause cancer can sometimes feel endless, which occasionally leads to wild and outlandish rumors about newly discovered culprits.

Take, for instance, the recent rash of emails circulating around the Internet claiming that bottled water -- if left in the car -- could be cancer-causing.

Granted, these kinds of emails aren't exactly a reliable source of health information, and should never be taken seriously. However, some people are prone to believe such rumors, so Marie Claire's health expert decided to get some definitive answers.

After talking with health experts at Johns Hopkins, the FDA, the American Plastics Council and others, he discovered that the chemicals purportedly responsible for "causing cancer" (DEHA, diozin, bisphenol-A and phtalates) aren't even in plastic water bottles.

So there you have it. Just one more reminder that the only real ways to reduce your cancer risk are to quit smoking, eat healthy, and exercise.

Trying to find a cure for that soft drink addiction? If you finally get rid of those sugared and carbonated beverages, how about this: water! Of course, that tea and coffee can stay (in moderate amounts, right?).

There are many vitamin and mineral enriched products in single-serve packages that will turn ordinary water into a tasty treat if you must have that taste in things that you drink. The transition to plain water from sugar drinks can be a very tough one.

Try having four or five large glass bottles of water at home that you refil over and over and sip from while at home? At work, do the same thing (just a few less bottles, maybe). Try products like Emergen-C or Zingers and give that water some attitude. And, be more healthy as well.

I am and have always been a tap water drinker. I have friends who will gasp at this admission and tell me I'm nuts, that I'm putting myself in danger, but honestly, I don't see anything wrong with tap water. Water is water, right? And unless my local government issues a water warning, I don't see any need to filter my water, and I've yet to get sick from it.

According to this article, I'm not doing myself any harm, because tap water doesn't appear to be any less or more healthy than bottled water. So save your pennies and fill up at the sink. Unless you like bottled water for the taste, but that article points out that in a blind taste test, tap water fared quite well, while Evian was described as tasting like toilet water.

Which do you prefer -- tap or bottled?

The most natural food of all -- water -- is something many don't consider in everyday life; do you? Personally, I keep three 20-ounce glass bottles of chilled Mountain Valley water (from my 5-gallon dispenser) ready at all times in the fridge -- and I sip from these bottles all day when possible. Why? Since water -- even pristine bottled spring water -- is the best natural tonic there is, in my opinion (and I'm not alone).

For those that may need convincing further, there is a list of 10 reasons to drink more water at this link, and I agree with every single one of the points made here. The best lubrication I can give my joints and the best beverage there is happens to be water. It's not that hard to not drink soft drinks and caffeine-laced beverages if you have pure, fresh and chilled water at hand at all times. Even the mass-produced bottled water brands -- which many think are just re-badged bottles of tap water -- are better than sugared water and high-caffeine *sports* drinks.