Life-giving Water
|
Water is essential to all living things. It is the most important chemical compound on the planet. It is the foundation of life on Earth as the life-giving fluid in all organisms, plants and animals (including humans). Humans are about 70% water, 25% protein and 5% minerals. The protein and water create a gelatinous mass attached to our skeletons. Water is a component in every party of the human body right down to the cellular level (except bone and tooth enamel).
|
|
Water enables all the chemical reactions to occur (such as dissolving oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood), stabilises body heat, enables absorption of nutrients, provides lubrication for organs and joints, moistens skin, eyes, nose mouth etc, and acts as a flushing system for wastes. The digestive tract alone uses 8 litres of water per day! Some of this is reabsorbed and some needs to be replenished daily by consumption of water as fluid and through food (more on that later).
So as you can see water plays an integral part in survival.
Which is why when we increase our water intake we notice an improvement in health. Ever watch a wilting plant spring back to life after you give it water? This is what happens to our bodies too – we receive this vital element and our cells thank us for it by functioning more efficiently as we are enabling them to do their job properly! If you give an office worker data to enter on a computer but don’t give him a computer, how is he going to fulfil the job?!
What does dehydration look like for humans?
So as you can see water plays an integral part in survival.
Which is why when we increase our water intake we notice an improvement in health. Ever watch a wilting plant spring back to life after you give it water? This is what happens to our bodies too – we receive this vital element and our cells thank us for it by functioning more efficiently as we are enabling them to do their job properly! If you give an office worker data to enter on a computer but don’t give him a computer, how is he going to fulfil the job?!
What does dehydration look like for humans?
You’ll notice your urine is a dark yellow when it should be pale yellow and you won’t urinate that much. Your skin will dry out and become less elastic. A quick test is to very gently pinch a little skin on the top of one hand in between the index finger and thumb of your other hand and then let go. If it flattens again quickly you’re hydrated if it stays up or flattens slowly, you need to increase your water intake. Dehydration also leads to reduced muscle efficiency, headaches, mental confusion and dizziness. You can become tired or lethargic. You can experience constipation, delirium, and fainting. According to Coory (2013) it can also increase the risk of kidney stones, bladder and bowel cancer, cause lower back pain, raised blood pressure, asthma, as well as morning sickness and nausea in pregnant women. If you’re experiencing dry mouth, decreased or very little saliva and thirstiness you’re already dehydrated. You should really be drinking before you feel thirsty, or indeed before any of these signs emerge. Chronic dehydration doesn’t make for pretty reading but it does demonstrate just how truly important water is. If you are chronically dehydrated you need to seek professional medical advice. The symptoms are: consistent fatigue, constipation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, acid-alkaline imbalance, digestive disorders, skin disorders, asthma and allergies, weight gain, joint pain and stiffness, bladder and kidney problems, and premature aging (Carpenter, 2014).
When you exercise you perspire water (and toxins) so you need to replace the water. This is also the case in summer months. Coory (2013) suggests an increase from ½ a litre per hour to over 2 litres per hour in extreme conditions. Perspiration and urination are effective ways to rid the body of toxins, and wastes and will help make your body healthy too, but you do need to replenish electrolytes after exercise and during summer months when your perspiration is frequent. Drinking too much water however has the same effect in that it flushes out all the vital electrolyte minerals. Again the easy way to tell is if you’re urine is completely clear you’re possibly drinking too much water. It’s a good idea to drink water before strenuous work or athletic activity to give the muscle protein sufficient water to work efficiently for you.
When you exercise you perspire water (and toxins) so you need to replace the water. This is also the case in summer months. Coory (2013) suggests an increase from ½ a litre per hour to over 2 litres per hour in extreme conditions. Perspiration and urination are effective ways to rid the body of toxins, and wastes and will help make your body healthy too, but you do need to replenish electrolytes after exercise and during summer months when your perspiration is frequent. Drinking too much water however has the same effect in that it flushes out all the vital electrolyte minerals. Again the easy way to tell is if you’re urine is completely clear you’re possibly drinking too much water. It’s a good idea to drink water before strenuous work or athletic activity to give the muscle protein sufficient water to work efficiently for you.
It’s better to drink fresh clean water but some of your daily intake can include the water in vegetable and freshly squeezed fruit juices, herbal teas, and to a lesser extent your tea, coffee, and soft drinks (bear in mind that the latter have tannin, caffeine and sugars which dehydrate you so minimizing these is better for you).
As an adult, it’s best to have 4-8 “small” glasses of water per day every hour or so, and between meals not with meals. Fluid slows the digestive process and as your food is fuel you don’t want to slow it down or make it more difficult for your body to absorb nutrients. You can obtain about 25% of your daily water requirements from water-rich fruits and vegetables (Coory, 2013) such as cauliflower, eggplant, red cabbage, peppers, spinach, broccoli, watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, and cantaloupe (Srivastava, no date). For a full list see the website listed in references.
The RDI (recommended daily intake) is according to Coory (2013), 1.2 litres for children up to 8 years (5 cups), 1.6 litres for children 9-12 years old (6 cups), 2.2 litres (9 cups) for teens, men should be consuming 2.6 litres (10 cups), women 2.1 litres (8 cups), and during pregnancy 2.3 litres (9 cups) increased to 3.5 litres (11 cups) whilst breastfeeding. These RDI’s include the 25% from foods with high water content, but does not account for water lost via perspiration.
The quality of the water you consume is important however. The quality of water has drastically deteriorated due to population growth, industrial waste, agricultural chemicals, chemical dumps etc. Treated water is pumped full of chemicals to attempt to make it drinkable, but even those chemicals are having adverse reactions on our bodies. Those that say “I don’t like water” are usually highly intolerant to the toxins and salts in regular tap water, which is treated water. It usually has chlorine and fluorine and other chemicals added as well as salts. Too much salt can lead to hardening of your arteries, high blood pressure and fluid retention. Distilled water is a great short-term solution to flush out excess salts as it is a very pure but only try this under the guidance of a nutritionist or medical professional. Rain water collected in a tank is an option but it would need to be filtered as urban areas have vehicle exhausts and pollution and rural areas have crop dusting, pesticides etc to consider.
Filtered water is probably your best choice. You can buy standard carbon filter jugs or install under bench filters. These range in price from the cheapest being carbon-based to systems that create reverse osmosis. The choice is yours based on cost. Just remember that filters need to be renewed or replaced periodically.
So do your body a favour and increase your water intake if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms of dehydration or chronic dehydration and seek professional medical advice, especially if you are in the latter category. Drink good quality water to help maintain a healthy body and mind.
References:
Carpenter, D (2014), Change your water, change your life. YNR Marketing: Laguna Niguel, CA.
Coory, D (2013), Stay Healthy by supplying what’s lacking in your diet. Zealand Publishing House: Tauranga.
Srivastava, M (no date) http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-fruits-vegetable-high-water-content-8958.html
Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/ 1 - Dan, 2 - Nixx Photography
As an adult, it’s best to have 4-8 “small” glasses of water per day every hour or so, and between meals not with meals. Fluid slows the digestive process and as your food is fuel you don’t want to slow it down or make it more difficult for your body to absorb nutrients. You can obtain about 25% of your daily water requirements from water-rich fruits and vegetables (Coory, 2013) such as cauliflower, eggplant, red cabbage, peppers, spinach, broccoli, watermelon, strawberries, grapefruit, and cantaloupe (Srivastava, no date). For a full list see the website listed in references.
The RDI (recommended daily intake) is according to Coory (2013), 1.2 litres for children up to 8 years (5 cups), 1.6 litres for children 9-12 years old (6 cups), 2.2 litres (9 cups) for teens, men should be consuming 2.6 litres (10 cups), women 2.1 litres (8 cups), and during pregnancy 2.3 litres (9 cups) increased to 3.5 litres (11 cups) whilst breastfeeding. These RDI’s include the 25% from foods with high water content, but does not account for water lost via perspiration.
The quality of the water you consume is important however. The quality of water has drastically deteriorated due to population growth, industrial waste, agricultural chemicals, chemical dumps etc. Treated water is pumped full of chemicals to attempt to make it drinkable, but even those chemicals are having adverse reactions on our bodies. Those that say “I don’t like water” are usually highly intolerant to the toxins and salts in regular tap water, which is treated water. It usually has chlorine and fluorine and other chemicals added as well as salts. Too much salt can lead to hardening of your arteries, high blood pressure and fluid retention. Distilled water is a great short-term solution to flush out excess salts as it is a very pure but only try this under the guidance of a nutritionist or medical professional. Rain water collected in a tank is an option but it would need to be filtered as urban areas have vehicle exhausts and pollution and rural areas have crop dusting, pesticides etc to consider.
Filtered water is probably your best choice. You can buy standard carbon filter jugs or install under bench filters. These range in price from the cheapest being carbon-based to systems that create reverse osmosis. The choice is yours based on cost. Just remember that filters need to be renewed or replaced periodically.
So do your body a favour and increase your water intake if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms of dehydration or chronic dehydration and seek professional medical advice, especially if you are in the latter category. Drink good quality water to help maintain a healthy body and mind.
References:
Carpenter, D (2014), Change your water, change your life. YNR Marketing: Laguna Niguel, CA.
Coory, D (2013), Stay Healthy by supplying what’s lacking in your diet. Zealand Publishing House: Tauranga.
Srivastava, M (no date) http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/list-fruits-vegetable-high-water-content-8958.html
Images courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/ 1 - Dan, 2 - Nixx Photography
|
Want to read more? Check out more articles: here
|
