Dr. Karthick Gunasekaran

Eat your fruits empty stomach or as an in between meals food. Fruits provide our body with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fructose etc. All these nutrients are best absorbed when fruit is eaten empty stomach or as a separate small meal.

Water is an essential ingredient for life. While you can live without food for some time, you probably will not survive without water for more than three days. Compared to other natural beings, humans are the only species who store water for drinking for continued periods of time.

The emergence of plastic bottles and its ill effects on health-
In recent years, the storage medium for water has changed from earthen or metallic pots to plastic bottles. However, this is going to have a negative effect on your body as plastic bottles contain many harmful chemicals such as:

1.BPA - Bisphenol A or BPA is a chemical that is used to make plastics clear and see through. This chemical is known to be a disruptor of endocrine related functions and can cause severe illnesses or conditions over long term usage such as:

a)Neurological problems
b)Birth defects in babies
c)Various cancers
d)Early or premature labor
e)Making young girls hit puberty earlier and many others

2.Phthalates - Another common ingredient used in the production of plastic bottle, this also inhibits endocrine functions and can cause the following disorders:
a)May reduce sperm count
b)May cause testicular tumors or abnormalities
c)Other gender development issues
d)It is also a known carcinogen as well

Copper as an alternative to store water
Copper is an essential nutrient for the body and at any point in time, the human body has about 0.9 mg of copper within it. This is required for the body as it helps make and repair red blood cells and is responsible for the health of the nerve cells. It is also required in the upkeep of the immune system.

Copper as a material for storing water also has its own advantages. Let's look at some of them.

1. It doesn't have harmful chemicals like the ones in plastic bottles- Copper is a metal and thus reacts to water in a very different way compared to plastics. Also it doesn't have the harmful chemicals as mentioned above in its production process and is automatically a notch up.
2. Copper has antibacterial properties- Storing water in a copper container overnight will kill harmful bacteria and thus it is good for your gastro-intestinal health.
3. It will provide the body its daily requirement for copper- The usage of copper bottles helps the body get its requirement of daily copper easily and thus helps the body to keep its immunity up as well.

Thus, it is always advisable to store drinking water in copper bottles or vessels as it will be far more beneficial than drinking water from plastic bottles.