Truth is, from the standpoint of nutrition, they’re no better off drinking bottled water. For while drinking lots of bottled water won’t hurt you, it won’t help much either.

"There’s really no outstanding reason for you to drink bottled water," says Dr. Robert Keith, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist. "Yes, we need water and on average, we need the equivalent of eight glasses of water a day. But you don’t have to get that strictly from drinking water. It can come from other beverages and even from eating food."

From a nutritional standpoint, Keith says fruit juice, rather than water, is a healthier choice, namely because people are getting antioxidants and phytochemicals in addition to water.

"Juices have all those antioxidants in them – vitamin C, for example – that water lacks. Juice really is the better nutritional choice when you look at it from the standpoint of nutrition rather than strictly calorie counting."

In addition, while many bottled water products, especially mineral water, claim to be nutritious, they’re actually not in comparison to many other beverages, Keith says.

‘While they may contain a few minerals such as calcium and magnesium, that’s generally about it," he says. "But in many cases, you can’t even be sure of that because the product label often doesn’t specify. So beyond the need to reduce calories, your best choice is to drink fruit juice."

Indeed, as Keith sees it, the only advantage water holds over fruit juice and other beverages is its complete lack of calories – a factor that weighs heavily among many diet-conscious consumers.

Besides fruit juices, other nutritious alternatives include milk, which, because of its high calcium content, is a good choice for women, many of whom face a risk of osteoporosis, a crippling bone disease stemming from calcium deficiency.

Tea, rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, also is a good choice. However, despite its nutritional value, tea also contains caffeine, which may cause some people to urinate more often. In effect, people who drink large amounts of tea in order to stay hydrated actually may not derive as many advantages as they would from drinking fruit juices and other beverages.

Like tea, alcoholic beverages also produce the same diuretic effect.

Even if people occasionally fail to consume eight glasses a day of water or some other beverage on any given day, it is no cause for concern, Keith says. While beverages supply the bulk of our daily water intake, a lot of this also comes from eating food.

"What people don’t realize is that you don’t have to drink water in order to get water in your body," he says. "You can even ‘eat it’ instead of drink it."

Many common foods, in fact, are largely made up of water. Many fruits and vegetables – peaches, apples, for example -- are made up of about 90 percent water. The same holds true for pasta and spaghetti.

"By the time these foods are eaten and reach the intestinal tract, the water has been extracted and absorbed into the body just like beverages," Keith says. "It’s the same as if you had derived this water from drinking beverages."

One other argument for drinking lots of water, especially bottled water, is because it helps flush toxins out of the body more efficiently.

However, this ignores the kidneys' amazing power to filter toxins even when you aren’t consuming that much water, Keith says.

"Kidneys do a very good job of getting rid of toxins even down to the point where the body is becoming dehydrated," he says. "If you’re not drinking that much, your kidneys will compensate by loading more toxins per liter of urine."

"Likewise, if you drink more water than your body needs, the kidneys will compensate by loading fewer toxins per liter of urine."

Yet another reason why people drink bottled water stems from fears about the safety of the public drinking water supply.

While Keith believes American drinking water is among the safest in the world, he says consumers can allay these fears merely by equipping their faucets with water filters.

That way, they will end up with a product as safe, and possibly even more safe, than bottled water.

(Source: Dr. Robert Keith, Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist, 334-844-3273.)