How much WATER must you consume?

Chapter 14

WATER

Water is the most important part of our life after air. It is the god’s most important gift to mankind. Three fourth of the earth is water. But human being can use only 1% of the water since 97% is salt water and 2% is ice. This 1% is very important for the survival of living beings. Water in the ocean is salty and cannot be drunk. Water in the ocean evaporates and forms clouds in the sky. Due to the wind this cloud travels to other parts of the earth. During the rainy season, this cloud is converted into rain. Rain water is not salty. It falls into wells and rivers and can be used by humans for drinking.

 According to health experts, one must drink at least eight glasses of pure water per day. Lack of water causes dehydration which kills living beings faster than lack of food. Lack of food is called starvation. Water is important for transporting, dissolving, replenishing nutrients and organic matter in our body. It also carries away waste material and regulates the activities of fluids, cells and secretions in our body.

75% of our body is water. Even the loss of 2.7 litres can cause dehydration.  The patients will suffer from irritability, fatigue, nervousness, dizziness and weakness. Lack of water can cause short term memory, trouble with basic maths and difficulty in focusing on the computer screen or printed page. Sever vomiting and diarrhoea can cause dehydration due to loss of electrolyte. Drinking water or replacement fluids can cure the problem.

Many people mistake thirst with hunger and go for food. But just a glass of water will remove the feeling. Our body loses around 2-3 litres of water due to sweating, urination and respiration. We have to replenish this lost water. The problem with modernization is that so many types of soft drinks, coffee, tea, alcohol are available everywhere. These are all diuretics. They cause not only the loss of water in them but also draw water from our body. Hence we should drink pure water or fresh fruit juices if we want to replenish the lost water.  We can also get water from eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Dehydration can be recognised by signs like constipation, headaches, indigestion, weight gain, smelly urine, kidney stones and urinary track infection.

Drinking too much water is also dangerous. Too much water in the body leads to imbalance of electrolytes leading to fatal disturbance in brain functions. This can be avoided by drinking only when thirty. But normal, healthy people need not worry about this. Death usually takes place during the water drinking contests.

 People are so careless about the water available. They dump rubbish into rivers which are the most valuable source of drinking water to us. Due to this bad habit, we have reached the stage of having to purchase drinking water. Pure water has become so scarce. Earlier rain water was considered pure but due to the polluted air, even rain water is found to contain dangerous chemicals. Many people consider spring water as pure but it contains unwanted inorganic materials that maybe harmful to our body. Hence it must be used sparingly and only during emergency.

The marine life in the rivers has reduced due to pollution by man. It has been found that the water available to us has at least 200 deadly commercial chemicals and also bacteria, virus and inorganic materials (that make water hard). Most of the chemicals found in modern water have been added by us for some reason or the other during purification. Boiling water may kill bacteria but it does not remove these dangerous chemicals.  

Chlorine in water can cause heart problem, anaemia and cancer. Aluminium Sulphate that is added to purify water can cause loss of memory and Alzheimer’s disease. Sodium fluoride is added to water to reduce tooth decay in children. But even slight excess of Sodium fluoride can damage lungs, heart, liver and cause discoloration of teeth. Fluoride corrodes the copper pipes carrying water and this dangerous chemical can mix with water. Copper causes stomach pain, nausea and diarrhoea. Lead found in water can damage nervous and digestive system. Like this there are so many other harmful chemicals in water. Every year so many people die of waterborne diseases.

When we are tired, a warm bath makes us so fresh and a cold bath makes us so energetic. There are so many healing springs all over the world which are used for curative purposes. Minerals and other substances like salts, sulphur compounds and gases are added to water to get mineral water which has a particular taste and therapeutic use. The use of bottled mineral water has become so common that more than 3000 brands are available worldwide.

Water is the liquid form of Hydrogen and Oxygen (H₂O). Since it contains no calories, it can be used to fill the stomach when hungry if you want to lose weight.

River water is purified by distillation in which the water is heated to vaporise it. This vapour is then cooled to get pure water. Due to the heat, bacteria get killed. This water is sent through the municipal water system to the houses. It is also packed in bottles for drinking.

By taking enough quantities of water daily one can avoid the risk of colon cancer, breast cancer and bladder cancer.

Water is a precious commodity. We must take care not to pollute the water sources we have.