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We know water's great for weight-loss, appearance and overall mental and physical performance. But can this simple beverage also make you sick? This week, AOL Health takes a look at what's lurking in your tap and what you can do to discover the quality of water -- and what, if any, changes in regulation we can help make happen. Plus, discover the 10 dirtiest tap-water states.

For most of us, it's getting warmer out, and for many of you that probably means long runs, walks, bike rides, and hikes. Some of you are also probably gearing up for race season -- there are some fantastic marathons coming up, as well as halfathons, triathlons, 10Ks, etc. All of this means that you're going to need to drink lots of water.

But wait! If you've been here at That's Fit for a while, you've already read that drinking too much water during exercise can be harmful, even fatal. It's a serious issue that warrants revisiting as the summer sun starts heating up.

Over-hydration, or hyponatremia, occurs when you take in more water than your kidneys can excrete because you've been sweating out lots of salt and you're replacing it with plain water (which is why sports drinks are used during long-distance runs and major workouts). Unless you're embarking on a serious workout, like an endurance race or a long hike, you'll probably be fine, but listen to your body -- make sure you're drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated, but not too much. Check out this post on FitSugar for warning signs of hyponatremia.

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They say you are what you eat, but it turns out that you are what you drink as well, at least when it comes to tap water. Scientists have discovered that they can determine where a person lives by studying hair samples. Hydrogen and oxygen left behind in hair samples were similar to those found in local tap water supplies. Even when researchers allowed for the fact that some people drink bottled water, the results stuck. These findings may be helpful in solving certain types of crimes.

Because the lake where our water comes from is quite polluted, drinking water is a big issue for me, big enough that I use an on-the-tap filter for cooking and drinking. If you ever wonder what's in your tap water and how it may affect your health, you'll want to read this series of posts over at Green Daily. It's chock full of good information about drinking water.

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Here's a new item that hit home for me: A recent study has found high levels of carcinogens in the water near the Alberta Oil Sands. Alberta's my home province, and it's also a huge source of oil. But land up north, particularly around the oil sands, has been raped and pillaged for so many years and the effects of abusing land for oil without any thought to long-term effects are beginning to surface. Levels of harmful substances are alarmingly high, according to researchers. One even says this could be a worse disaster than the Exxon Valdez.
Still, it's nothing new for people living in these communities. Residents complained of seeing oily scum in their drinking water and they've noticed higher incidences of cancer among residents than in other areas of the province.

I've lived in Alberta for a long time and I've seen the effects of the influx of oil money. But at the expense of our health? That's a mighty hefty price to pay.

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The levels of naturally-occurring arsenic in the world's drinking water are apparently so high that it's considered a global health risk. This news comes as scientists discover that the problem is much larger than they originally suspected -- with up to 140 million at risk in 70 different countries.

In places where the contamination is most-prevalent, it's thought that hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Elsewhere, arsenic is causing lung disease and cancers -- even after people have stopped drinking contaminated water.

According to one researcher, "most countries" have at least some water sources with "dangerous levels of arsenic," -- and scientists are only just now beginning to understand how far-reaching this problem really is.

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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.

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Take a wild guess about some of the most critical threats to American citizens -- from terrorist attacks to global warming -- and "drinking water quality" is generally not among them. But, the concern in that area is growing from the public's perspective.

Would you believe (sorry, Don Adams) that rust would be the culprit here? A great quote from this story is this: "If you clean up water and then put it into a dirty pipe, there's not much point." Right on.

With towns and cities all over the nation spending $50 billion annually to "clean water" from many sources, the distribution system may just put that risk right back there. Darn it. Time to drill my own well.

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Researchers in Canada have found two new contaminants in the drinking water system. The contaminants are nitrosamines, which are byproducts of the drinking water disinfection process. Ironically, these byproducts of making our water "safe to drink" are extremely carcinogenic (which means they promote cancer.)

The nitrosamines aren't something the government tests for yet, and not all drinking water filters will catch them. If you're concerned about what might be in your tap water and need suggestions on which filters will work best for your home's water, you can hire an independent lab to analyze your drinking water for you.

Via: Vital Votes

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What's the secret to losing weight and consistently keeping it off? How about drinking lots of water? Although there is a laundry list of diet techniques that spring up every single day, the long-term success of changing lifestyles compared to temporarily changing diets are in two different universes if you ask me -- I know since I've been in both universes before.

New research shows that dieters (not lifestyle changers, sigh) stand to lose up to an extra five pounds per year by replacing sugary drinks with plain water. From personal experience, I started losing weight years ago once I dumped soft drinks for good, no matter how good they tasted or how they made me feel.

The fact is that I was tired of the yo-yo weight effect and wanted to find a start to a permanent lifestyle change. Out went 30+ years of soft drink memories and in came the daily 60 ounces of cold water per day. After seeing results within a few months, I stayed off soft drinks permanently and have not been back. Guess what? I don't miss them at all -- although it took years to get there. What about you -- have you tried to get off soft drinks, and why/why not did it work long-term for you?

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