Water is everywhere, water is life, water is inspiration, water is nature, water is gold. And, we are fond of water. We love water not only during summer when we need it very much, we get in contact with it so often, and we long for it. Water also relates with the time that goes by, the speed, the movement, and we use it verbally an infinite number of times in our day to day life. “Like water under the bridge”, “Keep your head above water”, “Test the waters” “Dead in the water”, “In hot water”, “In deep water”, “A fish out of water”, “Like a fish out of water”, “Blood is thicker than water”, “To go through fire and water”, To walk on water”, “Trouble waters” etc. Briefly said, water is an integral part of the Universe, the Existence, the Human soul and body.
The Human as a whole, namely the body all in all, since it consists of 60% water. We find water in any single function of the human soma since water plays a vital role in all body organs. Lungs consist of 90% of water, brain of 70%, bones of 22%, and muscles of 75% !!
Water nourishes all our organs, keeps us alive, improves our well-being, helps to have clear thoughts, and gives us energy.
Water operates as a protective shield of our organism, and when it flows harmoniously, our motion is facilitated since it smoothes our body’s articulations and absorbs shocks. Water moistens the eyes, the mouth, the nose, and it cleans up our cells and our kidneys, carrying nutrients and oxygen and rejecting toxins and useless matters. Water gives freshness to the body in summer and protects against cold in winter. Without water, there is no blood, sweat, tears, or saliva.
Water contributes to weight management since it helps in calories’ burning, fights fluid retention, releases any excess sodium existing in the body, and it helps in reducing fat reserves. On top of all that, when we drink water, we feel full, the desire to eat diminishes, and we finally eat less. Besides, don’t we often confuse the feeling of thirst with hunger and end up craving salty or sweet snacks and non-healthy meals? By listening better to our body and connecting with it, we will recognize our actual needs. Most of the time, our body just craves for WATER.
Water beautifies the skin, and if the body doesn’t get enough water, the skin will immediately feel the consequences more than any other body organ. Water moisturizes the skin, keeping it smoother, softer, more flexible and with fewer wrinkles.
Water ameliorates the capacity of aerobic exercise and prevents dehydration which impacts the efficiency of our physical activity and can also become very dangerous for our health in case of heatstroke because of high temperatures. I quote here an easy way to understand how much water you need while exercising (D. Betrzeletos «Physical activity and water»). Go on the scale before and immediately after exercising. If your weight has changed more than 2% compared with your initial weight, then next time, drink enough water so that your weight doesn’t deviate more than 2% compared with your weight before exercising (for instance, by drinking a glass of water every 20 minutes).
Above all, it has been proved that water protects us against many diseases, such as simple cold, constipation, urinary inflammations, kidney stones and even more severe conditions such as bladder cancer.
Briefly, water doesn’t only keep us alive. It ameliorates our health, daily life, physical and mental condition, and even our overall appearance.
Having said that, how much water do we need to drink?
Generally and on average, an adult male needs approximately 3 litres of pure water per day, whereas an adult female needs about 2,2 litres per day. But factors such as gender, overall body and health condition, weight, geographical and weather conditions, levels of physical activity, and food quality are essential to determine our needs. In the end, the rule of thumb is to drink enough water not to feel thirsty, and the best way to hydrate ourselves is to listen to our body and drink enough water throughout the day regularly. When we feel thirsty, it means we have already lost 1% of our body’s quantity of water, and this is enough to get a negative impact on our attention, our mood, and our body’s coordination capacity.
The following seven hydration pieces of advice are saviours for those of us who simply “forget” to drink water. Often, the only way is to include it consciously in our daily lives. Otherwise, thirst will ring the bell and then, it will be already too late.
I suggest:
- to consume lots of vegetables and fruits
- to drink 2 large glasses of water in the morning
- to have ½ glass of water before any physical activity
- not to forget to drink water before going to sleep at night
- to always keep one bottle of water in our bag
- to avoid any soda drinks and packaged fruit juices
- to consume more water when drinking coffee or alcohol
We drink water to keep our levels of physical and mental balance, connecting with ourselves and our bodies and feeling our needs at any moment while also acting towards an overall well-being sensation.
Sources:
ΤHE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium,
Chloride, and Sulfate (2005)],
Anatomy & Physiology for Nurses, Sheila Μ. Jackson
Textbook of Medical Physiology, Arthur C. Guyton
Journal of Public Health of Australia and New Zealand
