Wonderful, Wonderful Water
The extent of water’s role in maintaining our health is not common knowledge.
Many people suspect they should drink more water, but few know why.
Background
Our bodies are marvelously complicated ecosystems: constantly seeking balance,
demanding little, yet providing so much and with so little fanfare. Water is vital to
these processes - it is both the critical transportation system and the metabolic lubricant of the body.
By weight, men are 60% water, women about 55%. Estrogen, the female hormone, creates this difference through the obligatory female adipose tissue of the breasts and hips. Fat contains by far
the least water of any body tissue (10%). Next lowest is bone which has more than twice as much
(22%). Other tissues are 70-80% water. Take away our water and there isn’t much left.
Nutrition
Water transports vital nutrients from the lungs and digestive tract to needy tissues. There, these nutrients produce energy, make repairs, or are stored for later use. Water also transports metabolic waste products to the kidneys, liver, lungs, bowel and skin for elimination.
Too little water means metabolic congestion. Waste and heat accumulate and the vital nutrients
don’t reach those needy tissues. This is metabolic suffocation. We begin to feel thirsty at about
2% dehydration; that's too late - the body's performance is already compromised.
Weight Loss
Water becomes additionally important in weight-loss efforts. Mild dehydration stimulates hunger.
It’s often water, not calories, that our body craves. Further, with too little water the liver becomes
overloaded with waste and its capacity to burn fat is severely diminished.
Temperature
Lesser known, but equally vital, is water’s function in removing heat from the body. Our energy production system has a low efficiency of about 25-30%; the remaining 70% is heat. The skin is the body’s radiator and water acts as the coolant.
Side Effects
Over many decades medical and sports researchers have clearly linked mild dehydration with headaches, lethargy, constipation, dry skin, fatigue, poor concentration and the indefinable "blahs". Skeptical? Try drinking 8 glasses of water for the next 2 or 3 days and note how you feel generally - you may be surprised!
How Much Water Each Day?
You should never feel thirsty. A generous 2 litres per day sipped throughout the day makes sense. You'll get extra water from the food you eat, particularly vegetables. Caffeinated and alcoholic beverages don’t count; they contain diuretics or water-losing chemicals.
If you are particularly active or living in dry, hot conditions, you'll need more water
because of the increased sweating and more rapid breathing.
Contributing author: Dr E J Carstensen.
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Read About ...
Is Water An Acquired Taste?
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The truth is, all those commercially engineered fluids we’re consuming these days seem to overwhelm the senses to the point where, for many people, water seems bland.
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And the relentless marketing of these products together with a little peer pressure will have some effect, however subtle, on what we decide to drink.
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Thinking back, our first experience of wine, beer or coffee probably wasn’t all that appealing. But we persevered and developed a taste for these fluids.
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And so it can be with water.
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Weaning the taste buds away from fabricated flavours will take a little time but in doing so, we also diminish our reliance on artificial stimulants.
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That's quite a bonus.
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If water isn't your favourite taste try adding a sprig of mint or a squeeze of lemon. Another trick that's particularly effective is to fill a jug with water and letting it sit for an hour to breathe – much like a good wine.
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It's well worth re-acquiring the taste for water. Your body will thank you - and it's free.
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