We are taught that the chemical formula for water is H2O; two hydrogen atoms connected to an oxygen atom. However, it is claimed that water cannot exist in this form. Water will always bind to something. To the formula is therefore added an unknown quantity and should then be written (H2O)x.
In practice, water is not just H2O. It can for example contain small amounts of ethereal oils plus quite a few mineral salts that are decisive to the hardness of the water. Besides, it is healthier to drink hard water. Studies show that the water contents of calcium- and magnesium salts are absorbed by the body and lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
When we are born, our body consists of 90% water. This part declines during a person's lifetime to 60 - 70% depending on the body's content of fat. Most of the water is located inside the body's cells. The rest is a constituent of blood and tissue fluids.
Among other things, water is used to dissolve and transport substances in the body. For this purpose, water is second to none. Water is even called the queen of solvents on account of its ability to dissolve inorganic substances in particular.
The body needs water in order to regulate the body temperature around the 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The twenty-four-hour variation usually does not fluctuate more than ½ - 1 degree Celsius (up to 2 degrees Fahrenheit) and it is lowest during the night. Disease and hard work, however, will elevate the temperature and increase the bodily fluid loss on account of sweating and evaporation. In high temperatures, we sweat more and therefore must drink more.
It is very important for us to drink large amounts of water so that we can substitute the liquid that is constantly lost from our body. Under normal circumstances, we lose about 2.5 litres of fluid a day on an average diet; the distribution is as follows:
- 1.5 l. of urine
- 0.5 l. of sweat and evaporation from the skin.
- 0.4 l. of vaporization through expired air
- 0.1 l. as part of the faeces
Combined, this amounts to 2.5 l. of water a day and this amount must be replaced. The way to do this is by way of direct supply of liquid when we drink and indirectly from the liquid that is present in the food we eat. In addition to this comes the liquid that is added to the body when our cells break down nutrients and excrete carbon dioxide and water.
The calculation could look something like this if balance is to be obtained:
- 1.5 l. from drinks
- 0.5 l. from food
- 0.5 l. from the cellular metabolism
When everything is going right, this fluid balance will be self-regulatory. A larger or smaller intake of fluid and salts will naturally increase or reduce the amount of urine.
To many people, however, drinking 1.5 l. of fluid a day can be quite a challenge. First of all, it requires an understanding of how important it is to drink this fairly large amount of liquid. Secondly, it takes some self-discipline for it to become a daily routine that you do not have to think about. You can find out how much it takes by filling a jug of water with your day's ration in the morning and making sure it is empty by evening.
If we do not get an adequate amount of liquid, we get tired and our performance and working capacity will be reduced. A liquid deficiency of only 2% can cause our capacity to be reduced by 10 - 20%.
If we are deficient in liquid, our amount of blood is reduced, our subcutis is drained of water, the supply of oxygen and nutrients is reduced, just as is the excretion of waste substances by the kidneys. The stools will be hard and we will risk being constipated. According to the severity, we will feel uncomfortable, our skin will be wrinkled, our mucosal membranes will be dry, and we will have renal and metabolic strains. If we lose 20% of the liquid in our body, we will die. This condition is called dehydration.
Children and elderly people are even more sensitive towards liquid deficiency than is the case with healthy adults. The elderly have a reduced sensation of thirst. Some elderly people have difficulties getting to the toilet because of a poor gait function. They will be inclined to drink too little; either because they have no sensation of thirst or because they wish to limit the number of troublesome visits to the bathroom. Not too rarely will the consequence be that the elderly person becomes confused or even suffer pseudodementia, a condition involving reduced mental faculty.
People who take diuretic drugs have an increased need for water. Alcohol, coffee, and tea - including herbal tea - have diuretic abilities and increase the body's need for water; but this need is not similar in everyone. Under normal circumstances, the best form of liquid for your body is neither sodas, soft drinks, beer, nor coffee, but pure water that does not contain sugar or other things that need to be digested.
If you drink large amounts of aerated water, you will degrease your intestinal mucosa and risk disturbing the potassium-sodium balance of the cells. Pure water, however, is a chapter by itself. We cannot trust that our tap water is of a quality that satisfies our demands. We need our water to be free of pathogenic microorganisms. It should not contain environmental toxins such as nitrates, chorine, fluorine, heavy metals or pesticide residues. It also should not contain ochre or too much nickel. If surface water is used it should be free of humic acid, which is derived from decomposed plants. Humic acids work as free radicals in the body. Drinking water should above all taste good, and water of poor quality does not taste good. This causes people to drink other liquids where water is preferable.
Far from everywhere is the drinking water of acceptable quality and we may expect this problem to get bigger in the future. To a large degree, the problem is an environmental political one. In the meantime, however, people who have a poor quality drinking water can either buy spring water or purify the water themselves.
You can buy various water purification sets and they all have their own way of purifying the water. Some of them have osmosis filters in which the water droplets are squeezed through several membranes (often made from teflon) which will gradually become finer and finer. Other sets use activated carbon or ceramic filters. A completely different method consists of adding small bags of coral limestone from Okinawa to the water. This substance is also said to be able to remove many pollutants from the drinking water.
The best filters all have in common that they purify the water of bacteria, heavy metals, and other minerals, pesticides, and vira. The difference in taste between purified and non-purified water can be quite distinctive. The purified water tastes better but it also softer because it lacks the healthy mineral salts of pure non-purified water. You must make sure to get these salts in another way.
