WHAT WOULD FREUD THINK if he wandered the streets of America and observed a country of grownups not yet weaned from the bottle? What repressed childhood experience would propel us to suckle from plastic containers brimming with clear liquid? Well, at least there are no inhibitions where water is concerned-we imbibe it on street corners and at our desks, on exercise bikes and when sunk into movie-theater seats. Water fills shopping carts and Sub-Zeros; it fights for space with cell phones in our Kate Spade totes and edges out depositions in our briefcases.

Just when did we, with excellent tap water at our disposal, become a nation of name-brand water junkies? The trend crept in during the Sixties, when, returning from forays to Europe, we began ordering Perrier and Evian; it added that soupcon of restaurant one-upmanship -and it was decidedly easier than trying to pronounce Pouilly-Fuisse. At about the same time, and in a more serious vein, we began to worry about what we were doing to the environment, and reports of pesticides, impurities and escalating lead levels in our drinking water began to make us nervous enough to reach for the bottled stuff.

Things really began to pick up a head of steam, so to speak, in the abstemious late Eighties, when, in the tiresome puritanical mode of our forebears, we began frowning on red meat and red wine-and just about anything else with even a hint of alcohol. The three-martini lunch was replaced by “just a Pellegrino, please.” Water even began reaching for decor status as Tynant, in those sapphire blue bottles, arrived from Wales. But we were still sipping it discreetly at home or at table. Then, like a host of Internet companies, our obsession went public in the Nineties.

Water is no longer a mere biological necessity; it has become an accessory. It is the perfect accompaniment to those just-off-the-treadmill clothes we all started wearing on weekends, even if the only time we ever get near a tread-mill is to use it as a clothes hanger. That big bottle of Deer Park gives off the aura of exercise without our actually having to move a muscle-except to unscrew the cap, and even that effort is made obsolete by the nipple-top bottles that have us practically breast-feeding in public. And water has become a full-fledged menu item; these days, there’s no such thing as “a glass of water, please”-ordering one has gotten so complicated!

We’ve also been thoroughly brainwashed by the idea that the more water the better for losing weight, enlivening our complexions, “flushing the toxins out of our bodies” and all sorts of other spa-speak uses. Ah, if only that were true, we’d all be as slender as reeds, our skin cells plump and positively glowing.

What is the science? It is not very dramatic. Yes, water is essential to life; it’s the most prevalent element of our bodies-about 70 percent of our weight is made up of it. And we can live longer without food than we can without water. How much do we really need to take in every day? To quote Diane Quagliani, a registered dietitian and spokesman for the American Dietetic Association: “Everyone loses about ten cups of water daily, so it’s important to drink about eight eight-ounce cups of fluid-the rest is made up by water in foods and the water the body makes in metabolism. The bigger, more active and more overheated you are, the more fluids you should take in. Taking in too much is not very likely, unless it is gallons a day, and the main danger would be flushing out too many electrolytes. Healthy kidneys can keep up with most water consumption.”

It makes sense that drinking enough water is bound to help us avoid dehydration-which can happen as easily in the overheated rooms of midwinter as in the summer sun-and make us look and feel alive and well. The Environmental Protection Agency maintains that the U.S. water supply is one of the safest in the world (in fact, in some areas it’s superior to bottled water). So whether it’s from the tap or from a bottle (watch the labels-about 25 percent comes right from the local water supply near the plant), and whether it’s seltzer or mineral water, it’s all a matter of taste and susceptibility to advertising hype. The main differences are in the type and amount of minerals-and be sure to study the labels for sodium content. A willing suspension of disbelief helps too; I’m sure that is what has sustained all those taking-the-waters health spas. And if we want to overdose on our favorite labels, so what? It certainly beats a hangover from one too many martinis the night before.