Importance of Water

75% of the human body is water. Water acts as a healing agent in our body. Water is the solvent of the body and it regulates all functions, including the activity of everything it dissolves and circulates. It moves nutrients, hormones, antibodies and oxygen through the blood system and lymphatic system. It helps transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells and maintains body temperature. It is necessary for all digestive, absorption, circulatory, and excretory functions, as well as for the utilization of the water soluble vitamins. As age advances, water content in the cells decreases. Since the water content in each cell plays a vital role in maintaining its normal function, inadequate water can lead to loss of some functions resulting in specific symptoms. And if you don't drink enough water, cells pull water from your blood stream, which causes your heart to work harder. Then other organs can't work properly and then you can develop a number of minor health problem, such as headaches, cough, sinus pressure, allergy, dry and itchy skin, acne, poor concentration, increased risk of developing kidney infections, and constipation. Our glands and organs need to be nourished with good, clean water, otherwise, their functions begin to deteriorate.

Water and Human Health

Water and Human Health by Dr. George Grant, http://www.academyofwellness.com/

"The Most Powerful Healing Substance Known To Man" The human body is primarily composed of water. Water is not only beneficial but also vital to life--only oxygen is more important to human survival. Water plays an enormous role in how well our body functions. Simply put, the more fresh water we drink, the healthier we become. Knowing all this, it never ceases to amaze me when I hear people saying they "forget" to drink water. Would these people need a reminder to breathe? Water increases not only the quality but also the length of our lives! Don't believe me? Let's take a closer look.

Water helps to:
Relieve/Prevent: lower back pain, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, headaches, migraines, asthma, allergies, colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, hypertension, cholesterol, hangovers, neck pain, muscle pain, joint pain, bloating, constipation, ulcers, low energy levels, stomach pain, confusion and disorientation.
Maintain: muscle tone, weight loss, clear and healthy skin.
Regulate: body temperature, remove toxins and wastes, cushion and lubricate joints, decrease risk of kidney stones, protect tissues, organs and the spinal cord from shock and damage.
Assist In: the digestion & absorption of food, and in transporting oxygen and nutrients to the cells.

There's no substitute for water!
Beverages that simply contain water aren't good enough. juice, soda, tea, coffee etc. counter the positive effects of water; some, in fact, may also be unhealthy. For example, drinks containing caffeine stimulate your adrenal gland and dehydrate and rob your body of important vitamins and minerals. Beverages containing lots of sugars stimulate the pancreas, boosting your insulin levels and taking your body out of its natural fat burning state. Sodas are a quadruple whammy. Colas, in particular, contain caffeine, sugar, sodium and acid that could eat through a dime. Have you ever tried the household remedy to a calcium and lime rusted toilet? Just let a bottle of soda sit in the toilet for a bit and presto -- a sparkling toilet! I'm not saying that you should completely eliminate these drinks from your diet. However, you may want to replace them with water whenever possible and at least keep them at a low to moderate level.

Water and Weight Loss
Drinking water may be the most important piece to the weight loss puzzle. Water contains no calories, fat, or cholesterol and is low in sodium. It is nature's appetite suppressant, and it helps the body to metabolize fat. Current research shows that low water intakes yield an increase in fat deposits. Conversely, a high water intake reduces the amount fat deposits. Without enough water, the kidneys cannot function properly. As a result, some of their workload is pushed off onto the liver, in turn preventing the liver from operating at peak levels.

How does all this tie into weight loss? Because metabolizing fat is a primary function of the liver, and because the liver can't function at peak levels when taking on the added workload from the kidneys, less body fat is metabolized and more is stored. This leads to either weight gain or reaching a plateau of weight loss. When dieting, we restrict the calories we take in, to some degree. By doing so, we lessen the total amount of water available to our bodies since about 30% of the average person's water intake comes from the food they eat. This gives us even more reason to raise our water intake.

Water and Water Retention
The best way to beat bloating is to give your body what it needs. Lots and lots of water! I'm always amazed to hear people say that they would rather not drink a lot of water because it "bloats" them or it makes them "retain water." In fact, the opposite is true. These people are retaining water because they're not drinking enough water! I'd be willing to bet that these people got their information from the "local gym expert," or maybe they hired a "Personal Trainer" whose qualifications include a take-home certification test, a chemically enhanced physique, and the valuable experience they received playing high school football.

People, I beg of you, pay no mind to what I call "Gym Science." It will hinder your progress and possibly injure you along the way! If you need advice, seek a qualified professional. (In a future article, I'll discuss what makes a qualified professional.) Now, back to the scientific facts. The human body functions in a "Primal Survival Mode" and it responds accordingly to anything it perceives as a possible threat to its survival. If you deprive your body of ample amounts of water, you are threatening its survival. In response, your body kicks into its "Primal Survival Mode" and holds onto every drop of water it possibly can for future needs and purposes. This water is often stored in extra-cellular spaces and appears as bloated hands, legs and feet.

If you're currently using or thinking of using diuretics to decrease water retention, think again. With diuretics, the damage is two-fold. Not only is the "Primal Survival Mode" activated, where your body hoards as much water as it can, but you are also draining your body of valuable vitamins and minerals! Check with your health care provider & Nutritionist before you change medication! If you have long-term water retention issues, you may be ingesting too much sodium (salt). Our bodies can only tolerate so much sodium. Thus, the more sodium you take in, the more water your body will retain to dilute the sodium concentrations. By simply cutting down on your sodium intake and drinking plenty of water, you'll notice considerably less bloating. The water will carry the excess sodium along for the ride as it flows through the kidneys.

Water and Metabolism
Water, also known as the body's solvent, regulates all bodily functions including the activities of circulating and dissolving. Every enzymatic and chemical reaction of the body occurs in the presence of water. Water also transports hormones, nutrients, oxygen and antibodies through the blood stream and lymphatic system. In addition, our bodies' proteins and enzymes are more efficient in solutions of lower viscosity (i.e., diluted), thus making drinking water a must.

Water and Digestion
Digestion of solid foods has to happen in the presence of large amounts of water so that proper digestion occurs. Water and muscle tone Desired muscle tone can be maintained through adequate water intake. Water not only helps the muscle achieve a better contraction, but it also prevents the sagging of skin that sometimes follows weight loss. Finally, water maintains clear, young and healthy skin.

Water and Waste
During weight loss, the body has much more waste to expel in the form of metabolized fat. Since water helps digestion and rids the body of waste, it only makes sense that more water is better.

Water and Constipation
When the body doesn't get enough water, it takes what it needs from internal sources. The colon is a primary internal source. When this happens, constipation usually follows. Normal function commonly returns along with proper hydration.

Water and Body Temperature
Water helps us maintain our body temperature through perspiration. Perspiration dissipates excess heat and cools our bodies. Without water, this delicate balancing act of the body is disrupted.

Water and Asthma
Histamine is a major factor in regulating the way we use and distribute water. It also helps control the body's defense mechanism. Asthmatics' histamine levels increase with dehydration, mobilizing their body's defense mechanism to close down their airways. Knowing this, we can draw the conclusion that asthma could be relieved through increased water intake.

Water and the Kidneys
Our kidneys remove wastes like uric acid, urea, and lactic acid to name a few--all of which are dissolved in water. When there aren't adequate amounts of water, these wastes aren't removed effectively and kidney damage may result.

Water and Joints
Cartilage tissues between the vertebrae of the spine and at the end of long bones retain a lot of water. Cartilage needs water for the purpose of lubricating the body's joints during movement. When the cartilage is well hydrated, the two opposing surfaces glide freely and minimize damage to the joint caused by friction. Conversely, dehydrated cartilage increases friction forces to the joints, resulting in joint deterioration and pain.

Water and Back Pain
Minimizing back pain can be as simple as hydrating your body! The water stored in your spinal disc core supports approximately 75% of the upper body's weight. Your spine is dependent upon the hydraulic properties of water.
Water and Muscles
Muscles are primarily composed of water. Therefore, it's only logical to drink lots of water if you want to have more muscle mass. Furthermore, water removes wastes from and transports nutrients to the muscle cells, decreasing recovery time. Water also ensures that a proper muscle contraction can be achieved so that the working muscle is properly exhausted. Finally, bodybuilders tend to ingest a lot of calories, supplements and proteins, really taxing their kidneys in the process. Water takes some of the strain off the kidneys.

Water and the Brain
85% of brain tissue is water. The brain is about 1/50th of the body's total weight and it uses about 1/20th of the body's blood supply. Dehydration causes energy generation in the brain to decrease. In fact, studies have linked depression and chronic fatigue syndrome with dehydration.

Water and Migraines/Headaches
Dehydration is a major factor in causing headaches and migraines. In times of "heat stress" migraines are often signs of dehydration. To further complicate the matter, dehydration brings on stress and stress brings on dehydration.

Water and Pregnancy
Morning sickness is common in the first trimester of pregnancy. One reason for morning sickness is dehydration. It's a signal being sent by the fetus and the mother's body to the mother. What's the message? We need more water! When the mother isn't drinking enough water, she's dehydrating the baby and herself. This a result of the mother being the provider of water to the fetus during the intrauterine stage of cell expansion.

Water and Skin
Without water, it becomes dry and cracked. It is also the main conduit for releasing water from the body. Proper hydration is key to keeping your skin looking smooth, healthy and young.

Water and Liver
Metabolizes fat. But if the body's not getting enough water, it has to perform some of the kidney's functions, which means it's not metabolizing as much fat as it should.

Water and Blood
It thickens when the body's lacking water, which makes it difficult for the heart to pump and distribute blood to the rest of the body. Plus, capillaries shut down creating obstacles for nutrients circulating to vital organs.

Don't obey your thirst!
The bodies "Thirst Reflex" is the last signal of excessive dehydration. By the time you become thirsty, the damage has already been done. Don't wait until you're thirsty! Constantly drink throughout the day! How much water should I drink? The non-active individual needs 1/2 oz. per pound of bodyweight, per day. For the average American who weighs 160 lbs. that comes to ten 8oz. glasses per day. This is just an average; you'll need to adjust these numbers to your activity level, environment, bodyweight, and diet.

 

back to top

Facts about Water

• 75% of people are dehydrated.
• 2.5 liters of water is lost each day through normal bodily functions.
• Symptoms of the body's deterioration begin to appear when the body loses 5% of its total water volume.
• Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%
• Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
• Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of suffers.
• A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or a printed page.
• Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
• Our energy level is impacted largely by our consumption of water. It has been medically proven that just a 5% drop in body fluids will cause a 25 to 30% loss of energy in most people, a 15% drop causes death! It is also estimated that more than 2/3 of all people do not drink enough water and suffer some degree of dehydration. The result being a large part of our population operating at only 70 to 75% of their capacity, or less. Unfortunately most people turn to stimulants like caffeine and sugar to boost their energy level rather than drinking more water, which is what our body needs to produce natural energy. Caffeine, alcohol and sugar are all strong diuretics and actually cause your body to lose water, resulting in a further loss of natural energy production and eventually can lead to a dependency on artificial energy.
• A study done by the Medical College of Wisconsin and Harvard University concluded that drinking chlorinated water over long periods of time increases the chances of contracting rectal cancer by 38 percent and contracting bladder cancer by 21 percent. In addition, among those who drank chlorinated water, the researchers found a higher incidence of cancer of the esophagus, rectum, breast, and larynx, as well as Hodgkin's disease.
• 2 cups of water and a 20 minute break will overcome most common headache pain.
• A child consumes 3 times as much water per pound of body weight than an adult does, so they get a bigger dose of the chemicals in our water, and they're developing bodies are simply much more sensitive.
• By taking in enough water, your body starts dropping weight possibly 4 or 5 pounds in the first week because it optimizes your bodily functions, allowing the body to run more efficiently and start burning stored body fat for energy.

back to top