The Importance of Water
Did you know that next to air, water is the most essential element to human life and that true health cannot occur without proper hydration of the body? Our bodies can go a long time without food, but we will only last 4-5 days (if that long) without water. Also did you know that water is vital to the functioning of every single cell and organ in your body? Here are some facts about water and your body:
- Water makes up greater than 2/3 of the weight of your body
- The brain is 75%-95% water (each of the articles that I read for this newsletter had different opinions on this, so I just put in a range).
- Blood is 83% water.
- Bones are 22%-35% water (again a difference in opinions).
- Lungs are 90% water.
As you can see, we are mostly made up of water. Water is as important to your body as gas is to your car. Neither ‘vehicle’ can run without it.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH WATER
When you become dehydrated, your body instinctively begins a rationing process to each organ. The brain, which is the most important organ, gets the most water; while the skin, which is the least important, gets the least amount of water. Your body will do what is has to do in order to survive, so the most important organ gets the most water.
Have you ever been plagued by fuzzy short-term memory or having trouble with basic math? How about feeling lightheaded or dizzy? Daytime fatigue? Trouble focusing on smaller print or your computer screen? Believe it or not, these things can be triggered by a mere 2% drop in your body’s water supply. It is estimated that 75% of Americans have mild, chronic dehydration. That statistic amazes me because water is so readily available to each and every one of us; we have access to drinking water almost everywhere we go.
Here are some other statistics*:
- In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
- Even mild dehydration will slow down your metabolism as much as 3%.
- The biggest trigger of daytime fatigue is lack of water.
- One glass of water deters hunger pangs for 98% of the dieters observed in a University of Washington study.
- Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, breast cancer by 79% and bladder cancer by 50%.
*Excerpt taken from The Importance of Water to Human Health. http://watershed.net/water-importance.aspx
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
At a minimum, you should drink half of your body weight in ounces. For instance, let’s say I weigh 130 lbs. (ok, that would be my dream weight, but a girl can dream, can’t she?) I weigh 130 lbs, so, at a minimum, I should drink 65 ounces of water a day. That basically equals out to 8 eight ounces glasses. That is a minimum. If you exercise daily or it is hot outside, then you need to drink more.
I know what you are thinking—you don’t drink a lot of water, but you do drink coffee, tea, caffeinated beverages or alcoholic beverages, does that count? Unfortunately, no! These beverages have a diuretic effect; they actually steal water from your body, so you need to drink extra water to compensate for the water that was ‘stolen’.
Still not sure if you are drinking enough? Frequent trips to the bathroom got you down? The best indicator that you are drinking enough water is when your urine is pale yellow to clear. A dark yellow color is a sign that you are dehydrated and your body is concentrating the urine in an effort to conserve water.
Here are a few extra tips:
- Drink water before you feel thirsty. If you are thirsty that means that you are already dehydrated.
- Drink a few extra glasses of water before you exercise and make sure that you drink frequently during your workout and after.
- Water helps to maintain the muscle tone and lubricate the joints, helping to reduce muscle fatigue and soreness during exercise.
- Carry a water bottle with you.
- Drink frequently throughout the day to prevent dehydration.
- Drink twice as much as it takes to quench your thirst.
Water is good for you, plentiful and inexpensive. DRINK UP!!!! It does a body good (oops, sorry I think that was a commercial for milk).