We all know that drinking water is good for our bodies, but have you ever wondered why this is true and what would happen to our bodies if we didn’t have access to drinking water?
Our bodies are made up of about 55-60% water. In fact, when a baby is born, there body is in fact made up of 75% water.
The purpose of all this water in our bodies, is to cushion and lubricate joints, regulate temperature and to nourish the brain and spinal cord. There’s water in our blood, in our brain and even in our bones.
You may wonder why we still need to drink so much water if our body is already made up of so much water? Each day we lose about 2-3 liters of water through sweat, urine, bowel movements and even breathing. Our water intake is essential for our survival as we need to compensate for these losses of fluid.
A balanced water level is vital to avoid dehydration or over-hydration.
Increased dehydration will lead to notable drops of energy, mood, skin moisture, blood pressure and cognitive impairment. A dehydrated brain has to work so much harder than a normal brain to accomplish the same thing. It will even cause the brain to temporarily shrinks because of the lack of water.
Over hydration also has its pitfalls. Athletes often suffer from this which can cause water intoxication where headaches, vomiting and in extreme cases – seizures and even death can occur.
It’s however quite easy to maintain a well hydrated system on a day to day basis if you have access to clean drinking water. In the past, 8 glasses of water seemed to be the daily recommendation across the board but now the recommendation seems to be dependent on weight and gender, whereby between 2.5 and 3.7 liters are recommended for men and between 2 and 2.7 liters are the amount specified for women.
Plain drinking water is not the only source of water intake, but other beverages replenish the body of water as well as food, where 1/5 of our food intake consists of water. Foods like cucumber, strawberries and broccoli are made up of more than 90% water.
There are various long term benefits of water intake. Studies have shown than optimal hydration is linked to a decrease in the risk of stroke, it assists in managing diabetes and can even decreases certain types of cancer.
Besides these long term benefits, water generally just makes one feel, think and function better throughout the day.
Via: TED-Ed