Had eight drinks today? (Editorial).

It took me a while to figure out why I would end up feeling right on the verge of being sick on most Sunday afternoons. Finally I figured out what was happening to me on weekends almost by accident.

My office air conditioner was acting up on a particularly warm day a couple of years ago. By midafternoon I noticed I was starting to get my weekend feeling, but it was a Wednesday. I started heading to the water cooler down the hall from my office, filling up my large drinking cup several times during the course of the afternoon. As I walked to my car later that evening, I noticed I was feeling lots better, even though the air conditioner never really was fixed that day.

Suddenly it hit me. At the office I head to the drinking fountain six or more times per day. So I'm able to stay pretty well hydrated most workdays. But my weekends are busy with yard chores, errands, church, and spending time with family and friends indoors and out. I realized that on weekends I was not drinking nearly as much water as I do during the workweek. And by Sunday evening my body was starting to let me know.

My personal experience confirms for me that drinking enough plain water does good things for your body. But if Larry Becker telling you that he feels better when he drinks a lot of water daily doesn't quite convince you, try this.

A new study published last spring in the American Journal of Epidemiology confirms that drinking lots of water each day can actually reduce your risk of heart disease. Researchers at Loma Linda University found that otherwise healthy people who drink at least five glasses of water daily are half as likely to die from a heart attack as those who drink less than two glasses per day. And water's effects held even after researchers controlled for variables such as age, weight, blood pressure, education, and smoking status.

Another surprising finding in the study was that, especially in women, drinking five or more glasses of fluids other than water leads to a significant increase in the risk of heart problems. Apparently it does make a difference to your heart whether your fluid is from plain water or sodas.

Wandering down the hall to the drinking fountain is clearly not a glamorous health habit. But it's one we want to encourage. So we're making a special offer to all our readers. Between now and August 31, 2002, anyone who starts a new Vibrant Life subscription, renews their existing subscription for a year, or gives a one-year subscription as a gift at $18.95 will receive as our thanks a free 32-ounce Vibrant Life sport bottle per paid subscription. You have to call us at [phone] and ask specifically for the water bottle offer. Or you have to mention it specifically in what you mail to us. Lots of my friends here in the office use these bottles already. And while your bottle will hold all kinds of fluids, research confirms that both the bottle and your body work best with water.