DR. WALLACE: My boyfriend and I are in love, and we have been dating for two years. We both live at our parents' homes even though we are 19 years old. Last weekend, we hopped in our car, drove to Las Vegas and got married!

We haven't told anyone that we got married and I'm not sure we should yet, since everyone would be shocked to hear this news. What do you think? I am not wearing my wedding ring in public yet, of course.

I will absolutely admit it seems very strange for each of us to go home to our parents' houses after our dates when we are now married. — Secretly Married, via email

SECRETLY MARRIED: You should definitely tell your parents immediately! They need to share in your future decisions, including where you will ultimately live together.

Your letter did not mention your financial situation or the current job status of you and your husband. Needless to say, financial factors will be very important to you as a couple going forward. So, come clean with both sets of parents and have a group discussion about how best to proceed from here.

Being married means doing what is best for the marriage, compromising and making mature decisions. Running off to get married in secret and then returning to your respective family homes without telling anyone appears to be a bit immature. The good news is that you can both work hard to make more solid, mature decisions going forward, and you should start that process right away.

TAP OR BOTTLED WATER?

DR. WALLACE: I focus on eating a healthy diet, and I monitor my intake of sweets and junk food accordingly. I'll eat a little something less healthy here and there as a treat, but for the most part, a healthy diet is important to me.

Lately, I've been focusing on drinking water instead of sodas or other sweetened beverages. I know you need to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated — and just about everybody knows that — but should we drink tap water or bottled water? — Healthy Girl, via email

HEALTHY GIRL: You can drink either bottled water or tap water; both are good ways to hydrate. The Food and Drug Administration oversees bottled water, while the Environmental Protection Agency helps regulate tap water. However, they use similar safety standards, and both sources are regulated and tested often. Therefore, tap water and bottled water are generally comparable in terms of safety.

So, the choice of tap or bottled is mostly a matter of personal preference. Some homes even have water filters to make their tap water somewhat freer from various sediments and particles.

Since you like to know about health and nutrition, I thought you might enjoy a few interesting facts about water and the human body. Babies and children have a larger percentage of water in their body than adults do, and women have less water in their body than men. People with more fatty tissue have less water than people with less fatty tissue.

Water is indeed our source of life, so whichever you choose, be sure to stay well hydrated.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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