In this day and age when there are so many advertisements for thirst quenching drinks….why drink water? Every advertisement wants you to drink Pepsi, Coke, Mirinda, Thumbs Up, what have you.

Then there are other healthy drinks which have no advertising, but is still very popular – albeit with the lower strata of society. These drinks are sugarcane juice (OMG Subra this causes cholera, did you not know, I can see mother’s eyebrows go up!), coconut water (thanks to the omnipresent Malayali available in every nook and corner of Mumbai at an affordable price), kokam juice,….etc. Of course kokam is still branded and some sales efforts are made. Then there is the ‘ginger and lime juice’ available in every nook and corner of Mumbai (this time thanks to the Udipi hotels – run by the shettys!), another brilliant product, but not marketed at all except by the shetty hotels.

Then there is the real king – plain simple H2O. Water. Drink it at room temperature, warm or cold. All three forms have their own advantages.

What are the advantages?

– no calories added to the body

– drinking cold water actually helps you burn calories – the water has to be heated before it can be used, so that helps in burning some calories (too small do not bother to include it in your daily diet chart)

– warm water also has its advantages of releasing some of the toxins in the body,

If you go to Google there are many advantages of water listed there. Frankly I do not know which are correct and which are not correct. Google to me is a great resource only in subjects that I know. What I do not know, I do not think Google is enough.

I do not have a dietician’s view on Hot or Cold water.

The index fund in the investment business is the equivalent of water – all other products are derivatives of water. And like a derivative carry a risk. Risk of not understanding what you are doing. Gartrode, tea, protein shake, chocolate drink, etc. are also derivatives of water and poor ones at that!

Keep it simple folks. Right now stick to some top funds which are doing well…as soon as these funds under-perform the benchmark, we will review what to do. By the time a person is say 70 years of age, he/she should have all his moneys in Index fund ONLY apart from cash and bank balance. By 80 years of age all your moneys should be in a bank, where it is easy for you to withdraw….unless there is somebody to look after it.