Hero999 said:
I don't like my water too cold as it hurts my teeth.
I have this problem, too - due to an illness that I had when I was young, my teeth developed with thinner than usual enamel. Naturally white teeth, but very susceptible to cavities and temperature, sweetness, etc.
This bothers me more than most people, because I like playing brass instruments. Every now and then, that involves putting a bit of pressure on the teeth. A few years back my dentist turned me on to Sensodyne toothpaste. Can you get that in the U.K.? If not, let me know and I'll look up what the de-sensitizing ingredient in Sensodyne is, and you can find an equivalent brand. My advice: avoid the baking powder (or do I mean baking soda? I always get those mixed up!) brands - they taste disgusting!
Sensodyne's alright, though. I brush with it all the time, and I even got really used to the taste, so I brush for a long time, sometimes just sucking on the brush for a half-hour or so. Weird, huh? But with that and the water, I have
never had a complaint from the ladies! And my teeth stay numb, which is the way they oughta be.
Anyway, enough of my toothpaste ad. As for the whole water intoxication, kidney damage nonsense, it's all bogus. By all means, go when you gotta go. As long as the water you're drinking is clean, it's all good. Apparently people with low-sodium diet restrictions ought to be careful about drinking water from systems with water-softeners, but even then, a typical gallon of water from a household-water softener has about as much salt as two slices of white bread. You don't need to drink a gallon! Incidentally, stop eating white bread, too.
There are a couple things that perpetuate these sort of myths. First, obviously there's a lot of industry at stake (alcohol, pop, coffee) that has an interest in convincing you you're better off drinking their filth than water. Seriously, I'm not into drinking pee as was alluded to above, but you'd be better off doing that than drinking alcohol, pop, or coffee. But don't drink pee either.
Second, allowing your consciousness to be distracted by fanciful notions like, "Hey, maybe water can be bad!" generally serves the purpose of fuelling your apathy. Seems weird to think that apathy is something that requires fuel, but we do it all the time. We imagine stories that are essentially opportunities for us to invent excuses for not changing our ways. Because we're animals, and we use energy, and we like to conserve energy, and it takes less energy to think of a reason for not doing something than it does to actually do something.
But we're also able to anticipate consequence. If your instincts tell you that you're headed in the wrong direction, trust them. Find out what's bugging you about what you're doing (like the things you put in your body) and change them. Really get down to the nitty-gritty, know all the facts, and who might have an interest in duping you.
Of all your assets, none of them is more important to you than your body. Re-assess where your health is in your hobbies. There's no sense in restoring an old car if you're wrecking yourself with bad food. Think about it. Take some time to do it right. You deserve it. You deserve a Ferrari of a body. You can do it. Other people have, you can, too. Other people have, with less available to them than you. That means: you can do it. The choice is yours. Choose to do it, because you deserve it. Eat right, feel great.