Did you know the key to a healthy body is simple? So simple, that it's easy to obtain in almost every space you occupy (unless you live in a desert). This key to our health is often overlooked and it's right in our face. Ready to hear what it is? You probably guessed it - WATER!According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are watery: 31%. In all, the human body is about 60% water, and in some organisms, as high as 90%. Now do you see the importance of keeping yourself hydrated with water?
What does water do for our body?
Our body uses water in all its cells, organs, and tissues to help regulate its temperature and maintain other bodily functions. Because our body loses water through breathing, sweating, and digestion, it's important to re-hydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water.
Water is working, even while you are at rest. Nothing is possible without water.
How long can you live without water?
The general answer would be about three days. However, a lot has to be taken into consideration. Not every body is the same. The body requires an abundant amount to function. Remember, breathing requires water. Movement requires water in muscles and tissues. If you lack water, you become dehydrated. Dehydration happens quicker than you think. Once you become dehydrated, you become extremely thirsty, fatigue sets in, your drowsy, low energy, your body functions start to deplete that could cause organ failure and eventually death.
According to Medical New Today, a person may go from feeling thirsty and slightly sluggish on the first day with no water to having organ failure by the third. However, diet, age, fitness level, sex, and overall health contributes how long you can go without drinking water.
What are some benefits of water?
- regulating body temperature through sweating and breathing
- aiding in digestion by forming saliva and breaking down food
- moistening mucous membranes
- helping to balance the pH of the body
- lubricating joints and the spinal cord
- helping the brain make and use certain hormones
- helping transport toxins out of the cells
- eliminating waste through the urine and breath
- delivering oxygen throughout the body
Also, if you want beautiful hair, skin, and nails, or even to shed some extra pounds, water is the way to go.
How much water should one consume?
“It depends on your size and weight, and also on your activity level and where you live,” Nessler says. “In general, you should try to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh, every day.” For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, that would be 75 to 150 ounces of water a day. If you’re living in a hot climate and exercising a lot, you’d be on the higher end of that range; if you’re in a cooler climate and mostly sedentary, you’d need less. (WebMd)
Now do you see the importance of water? You cannot function fully without the incorporation of water in some kind of way. There are different ways to get your daily amount of water without actually drinking it. You can eat most water food like greens and fruits.
Dangers in consuming too much water
Now, there while water is essential to your daily life, consuming too much water can have an adverse effect. Drinking a lot of water increases the amount of water in your blood.
This water can dilute the electrolytes in your blood, especially sodium. When sodium levels fall below 135 mmol/L, it is called hyponatremia.
Sodium helps balance fluids between the inside and outside of cells.
When sodium levels drop due to excess water consumption, fluids shifts from the outside to the inside of cells, causing them to swell (2).
When this happens to brain cells, it can produce dangerous and potentially life-threatening effects.
Water intoxication results from the swelling of cells.When brain cells swell, pressure inside the skull increases. This pressure causes the first symptoms of water intoxication, which include:
- Headache.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
Severe cases can produce more serious symptoms, such as:
- Increased blood pressure.
- Confusion.
- Double vision.
- Drowsiness.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Muscle weakness and cramping.
- Inability to identify sensory information.
Excess fluid accumulation in the brain is called cerebral edema, which can affect the brain stem and cause central nervous system dysfunction.
In severe cases, water intoxication can cause seizures, brain damage, coma and even death.
Bottom line: Drinking too much water increases pressure inside the skull. This can cause various symptoms and even be fatal in severe cases.
If it makes you feel any better, rarely does water intoxication happen. Mostly none of us drink that much water to a level of hyponatremia. So drink up, get well, and heal yourself with water.