Health experts agree that drinking plenty of water is one of the most important factors in maintaining good health. Most dietary guidelines recommend drinking eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day. However, some researchers suggest that these recommendations may be inaccurate; instead of drinking eight glasses of plain water every day, many experts now contend that consuming about sixty-four ounces of any fluid daily meets the body’s needs. The required fluid can be found in beverages other than water and in food, they argue. Regardless of how water is consumed, health researchers agree that plenty of fluid is vital to all sorts of bodily functions.

Water makes up about 50 to 80 percent of a person’s body weight and contributes to proper blood flow, lubricates the joints and eyes, helps with swallowing, aids in waste disposal...