CHAPTER 4

Water: The Power of Hydration - The Nectar of Life

Your body contains between 50% and 70% water, depending upon your age and how much muscle and fat you have on your frame. Muscle tissue contains more water than fat does. Without water you will die in a matter of days.

Why is water so vital to your survival? Well, water is a solvent. It dissolves other substances and carries nutrients and other material around the body, making it possible for every organ to do its job. Water is needed to carry waste products out of the body, to digest food, to lubricate your moving parts, to provide a medium in which biochemical reactions take place, to regulate body temperature and to send electrical messages between cells to enable us to do everything that we do.

As much as 75% of the water in your body is contained within your cells. The rest is contained in blood plasma, bodily secretions, the fluid between cells, lymph and urine. A body that is in a state of fluid balance will have just the right amount of fluid inside and outside the cells. If there is too little water inside your cells, they will shrivel and die. If there is too much water inside the cell, the muscle will burst. To establish and maintain that essential fluid balance your body has things called electrolytes. Electrolytes are mineral compounds that, when dissolved in water, become electrically charged particles called ions. Sodium, potassium and chlorine are the principal electrolytes.

Under normal circumstances, the fluid inside your cells has more potassium than sodium and chloride. The fluid outside is just the opposite, it has more sodium and potassium than chloride. The cell wall is a semi-permeable membrane which means that some things are able to pass through but others are not. Water molecules and small mineral molecules flow through freely, unlike larger molecules, such as proteins.

The process by which sodium flows out and potassium flows in to keep things on an even keel is called the sodium pump. If this process were to stop, sodium ions would build up inside your cells. Sodium attracts water, so the more sodium there is inside a cell, the more water flows in. Eventually, without the sodium pump effect, the cell would burst and die. The sodium pump, regular as a clock, prevents this imbalance from happening.

If you don’t get enough water, your body will let you know pretty quickly. The first sign is thirst and the second sign is reduced urination. If you don’t pay attention to these signals, your tissues begin to dry out. Make water a lifelong commitment and your body will repay the effort many times over.

How Much Water?

• We’ve all heard people say that we need to drink 8 glasses of water per day. That, however, is a generality. We are all individuals with individual needs so the following formula is the easiest way to determine how much water you need per day. Simply multiply your body weight in kilograms by 35mls. So, a person who weighs 90kg would want to consume just over 3 litres of water per day and that’s before even thinking about ANY other fluids. In fact, caffeinated beverages such as tea, coffee, cola and alcoholic beverages do not count the same as the volume of water as they act as diuretics in the body, increasing fluid loss from the kidneys. So, if you do choose to drink these beverages, then you should consume even more water to compensate!
  

What drinking water do we choose?

What is the right thing to do regarding the water we consume?

Well, all we can do is the best we can with what is available, our inner guidance and, of course, knowledge.

The best way to assess water is by taste and smell. It is also very important that we know where it originates from, how it is processed and the sources.

I personally love to use filtered water and I also drink plenty of boiled water with a tad of lemon or loads of herbal teas.

There are many different filters on the market. Apparently the reverse osmosis filters are thought to be the best types of filter by most authorities. It removes dissolved solids, organic chemicals, lead and other heavy metals.

Store all of your water in glass not plastic because it has been found that dangerous chemicals can leach from the plastic. BisphenolA (BPA) is a chemical used to make clear plastic hard. It can leach from plastic containers into water or liquid. Exposure to this can be connected to cancers of the breast or uterus, impaired immune function, increased miscarriages, decreased testosterone levels, obesity, heart disease and early onset of puberty.