Adequate hydration is one of the easiest, most economical and most overlooked ways to stay healthy. Water is essential for life. We can survive without food for two months or more but we can only survive for a few days without drinking water.
Why is Water so Important?
Water accounts for a large percentage of what makes each of us “human.” The human body is composed of 60-70% water. Water is the main component of blood, lymph, sweat, urine and digestive juices. Blood is approximately 83 % water, bone is 22% water and the brain is a whopping 74 % water. Consuming adequate amounts of water produces energy, regulates body temperature, builds new cells, lubricates joints and eliminates waste.
Every day we lose water naturally from breathing, sweating and waste elimination. We also lose water as a result of exercise and/or environmental conditions such as heat and humidity. Water losses are greater during the summer months due to the fact that perspiration, which is used to cool our bodies, evaporates faster in a hot environment. As it evaporates, our bodies produce more perspiration, using up more and more of our body’s water. Once the water level in our bodies has become depleted, we become overheated because our bodies are no longer able to cool themselves, as they should. A serious lack of water causes blood pressure to elevate thus causing the heart to malfunction and leading the kidneys to shut down. This is a very dangerous condition that left untreated, can lead to death.
How Healthy is Water?
Forget expensive creams or exfoliates for your skin. The best thing you can do for a clear, healthy, radiant complexion is to drink plenty of water. And that’s just the beginning of water’s many health benefits.
Water is imperative for your body to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. It also detoxifies the liver and kidneys and carries away waste from the body. Water also plays an important role in the process of digestion. Fiber requires water to aid in proper digestive function. The saying, ‘You can’t have one without the other’ applies in this case. They need each other. Good fiber can actually go bad when not accompanied by water. Constipation and extreme stomach discomfort can result.
Once called “Mother Nature’s healthy cocktail”, it is believed that when it is pure and free of contaminants, water is truly a wonder drug.