In a world filled with tempting drink options that range from frothy coffees to fizzy sodas, it can be easy to overlook the cheapest and healthiest beverage: water. Yet, when comparing health benefits and cost against other popular drink choices, water consistently rises to the top as the smartest alternative for your body and your budget.
Drinking water regularly plays an important part in keeping you healthy. It helps keep up your energy during exercise and day-to-day tasks, fights off fatigue and muscle cramps, and aids in digestion and detoxification. Hydration is also crucial for brain function, improving concentration, alertness, and short-term memory. It even helps prevent common dehydration-related headaches, which can easily be mistaken for tension or stress. And it does all this without any added sugar, caffeine, or calories.
Cost in Perspective
Osceola Water Works strives every day to ensure the community has access to safe, clean, fresh-tasting water at an affordable price. Customers pay $13.30 per 1,000 gallons; that breaks down to just ONE CENT for ONE GALLON. Now let’s take a moment to compare the average cost for 12 ounces of water against 12 ounces of other common drink choices:
- MILK – A gallon of milk is about $4.50, making the cost of 12 oz. roughly $0.46
- COFFEE – Around town, you’ll pay approximately $2.00 for a plain 12 oz. coffee – even more if you prefer the specialty flavors
- SODA – Perhaps you like to sit down with a 12 oz. can of fizzy lifting drink with your meal. A single 12 oz. can will cost you about $1.00, and even if you buy a multi-can pack you’re still spending $0.68 for just one.
- ENERGY DRINK – That temporary kickstart you can get from any number of energy drink options doesn’t come cheap. For one 12 oz. can, you should expect to pay anywhere from $1.80 to $2.75.
- WATER – Fresh and cold right out of your tap, you can drink TEN 12 oz glasses of water for roughly a PENNY. To keep the affordability of tap water in perspective, you’ll pay more than TEN TIMES that – at least $0.14 – for just ONE bottle of water.
Not only is there a considerable price difference, but these other drinks all come with health concerns that make them less than ideal. Coffee can lead to anxiety, insomnia, heart palpitations, and caffeine dependency, while offering little to no hydration. Energy drinks are not only the most expensive option, but they’re also high in caffeine and sugar, which can elevate blood pressure, disrupt sleep, and pose serious risks for people with underlying health conditions. Milk can be problematic for those who are lactose intolerant or allergic and contains saturated fat that may affect heart health. Soda offers virtually no nutritional value and is strongly linked to obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, and other long-term health issues. Water hydrates the body without calories, sugar, or harmful additives, making it the healthiest and the most cost-effective choice.
The Clear Winner
When weighing all the facts, water is the undisputed champion. It nourishes your body, boosts your brain, aids digestion, and detoxifies—without adding a single calorie or costing you more than a penny. While other drinks may offer temporary benefits or satisfaction, they often bring along long-term health risks and a much heavier price tag.
In the end, water isn’t just the most natural drink. It’s the most economical one.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the team at Osceola Water Works at 641-342-1435, or contact Brandon Patterson, Water Superintendent at [email protected].
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