Water, Water Everywhere

...and not a drop that's fit to drink. With municipal systems reporting that there's something funny in the pipes, more and more people are turning to the bottled version. Selecting the right one from the nearly 1,000 brands on the market can get confusing. They tantalize with come-ons like artesian, spring and sparkling. What's a thirsty person to do?

"Choosing bottled water is a social, not a medical, decision," says Tufts University nutritionist Ronenn Roubenoff, MD. "Tap water is just as good, providing your town water is properly filtered and your pipes have been tested for lead and other contaminants."

Pop culture would have us believe that more is better, but Roubenoff advises restraint: "A vitamin deficiency can be cured by treatment, but does taking more supplements than you need make you even better? The answer for water, just like vitamins, is probably no."

Drinking lots of water does not: help you lose weight faster, wash away fat cells, make your skin more supple or fight constipation. A balanced diet and drinking a 1/2 ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight will help keep you in the pink.