H2Oh?

Wow-worthy intel about the liquid we can’t live without.

- Leslie Goldman

FEELING PARCHED? You may not be eating enough water. Yes, eating. So say the experts familiar with H 3 O 2 , or gel water. Research spearheaded by Gerald Pollack, PhD, a water scientist and bioengineering professor at the University of Washington, suggests that water has a fourth phase in addition to solid, liquid, and gas. Found abundantly in living cells, gel water is thought to be more hydrating than the regular kind, which is why Dana Cohen, MD, coauthor of the book Quench, encourages people to get more water from food.

“Tap water is still vital, of course,” Cohen says, “but the water in plants, like the silky gel water surrounding cucumber seeds, is more like the water in our cells, so it hydrates more efficiently.” The fiber found in produce, she adds, “has a sponging effect, creating a long-lasting, slow release that allows us to absorb liquid.” For this reason, says Quench coauthor Gina Bria, who researches the best ways to hydrate, “consuming an apple and a glass of water is more hydrating than two glasses of water.” Now that you know H 3 O 2 is the new H 2 O, drink in a few other notable water facts:

All-natural water isn’t safer than the treated kind.