Drink Six Glasses of Water a Day

2006-05-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Water is good for you. Many nutritionists say that people should drink six to eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day.

Celebrities including Mo’nique and Susan Lucci say in magazines that drinking water is the secret to their great skin. Makeup artist Shalini Vadhera concurs, “Drinking a ton of water is one of the quickest ways to give your skin that amazing glow.”[i]

Bottled water is a huge market. In 2003, the industry grew $4 billion (15-20%).[ii] In 2004, Americans drank 6.7 billion gallons.[iii] But bottled water is expensive, and many experts say it isn’t much better than tap water, because both meet strict safety standards.

Here are a couple tricks to try if you don’t want to pay premium prices for good water:

1. Get a pitcher with a filter. Filtered water is tasteless and still, and over time is much cheaper than bottled water. In 2006, one cartridge cost about $8 (depending on the quantity in which you buy them and the brand), and lasts 40 gallons – that’s only $.20 per gallon, compared to $1 and up for bottled water at the supermarket. If you want that “branded look,” take a brand name water bottle and fill it with your filtered water.

2. Prefer Pellegrino? I can only bring myself to drink fizzy water, but at $1.20 for .75 liters, I can’t afford pricey imported brands. The solution? I drink generic brand seltzer water. All the fizz, no calories, $.99 for 2 liters.

How It Will Help You Live More Like a Celebrity
When your friends ask where you got your fabulously fresh skin, you can tell them it’s all the water you drink – the same method that Jessica Alba uses.

References
[i] Vadhera, Shalini. “Tips and Trends: Everyday Beauty Secrets.” 2004, http://www.shalinivadhera.com/html/tips_and_trends/beauty_secrets/treat_winter_skin/
[ii] "The U.S. Market for Bottled, Enhanced and Flavored Water - 3rd Edition." Packaged Facts, November 2003.
[iii] Jordan, Jeffrey L. and Senhui He. "Size counts: the economic value of bottled water." Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm and Resource Issues, Fall, 2002.

Rules of Thumb to Live Like a Celebrity

2006-05-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

Do you know who Steven Levitt is?

If you don’t, you’re not alone. Just four out of 10 people asked in Times Square this past May knew the influential economist and co-author of the popular book, Freakonomics. Tony Snow? Three out of 10 could place the new Press Secretary.

But eight out of 10 knew who Jessica Simpson was.

Celebrity culture is a tie that binds, a pervasive thread that gives Americans – especially women – a reference point from which to relate to themselves and the world around them. We see attractive, successful women in movies, on TV and in magazines, and we want to be more like them. Are they an unrealistic, unachievable ideal? Probably. We don’t care.

This blog shares some easy to follow rules of thumb that can help you live more like a celebrity: it will help you look better, have more money and live enviably.

Have you learned something great by reading Us Weekly, watching Access Hollywood, or visiting Gunnar Peterson? Share it here!