Hydrate for health

Water is the source, the basis, of carbon based life. I remember writing a paper in the final exam of my M.Sc. in biochemistry showing how the abnormal wonderful wondrous properties of water allow life as we know it to come about....

Another interesting point about water, life and earth is that our planet is covered by about seventy percent water and we are composed of about the same percentage of water....

Coincidence? Probably.

Synchronicity? Perhaps.

Water is life's transportation and buffer (balance) system. It is used as the nervous systems electrical generation system as well as to balance the body's temperature in warm blooded animals.

Water (in the form of blood) caries the nutrients (including oxygen) from one part to another and then caries the waste products (including carbon dioxide) to places where they can be got rid of.

Water is also the main medium of digestion.

The body needs to be replenished with plenty of water both so it can be used in detoxification and getting rid of the waste products of metabolism and life in general and so you can cool your body through sweating.

We have all heard that we need at least eight glasses of water a day. What we foreget is that this is the absolute minimum and the chances are that we are not getting enough water and we are dehydrated. The following increase our need for water:

• High temperatures.
• Wind.
• Diuretics (like caffeine, alcohol, water melon) - note most natural diuretics come in fluid form with plenty of water but will get rid of more water than you'll consume. So if you drink coffee or beer remember that you need to drink more water over and above the drink.
• Too high a sodium intake (salt and salty foods) - the sodium/potassium ratio and absolute amount very important in nerve conduction and muscle movement. You'll excrete more when your diet is too salty so you'll need to drink more.
• Exercise.

There is a very simple way of knowing if you are drinking enough water. Look at the color of your urine. It should be colorless. The more colored the more you know that you need drink more water.

Finally just a little about the unique chemical properties of water which allows for the existence of life. The water molecule is very asymmetrical in terms of its electromagnetic fields. This forms very strong hydrogen bonds which make water a semi-crystal even when in the fluid phase. It is this property of water which makes it start to expand when the temperature drops bellow four degrees Celsius.

Hence ice floats above water. Ice is an excellent insulators of heat. This allows the water in lakes and seas not to freeze all the way through killing all life.

Another property of the hydrogen bonds of water is to allow the existence of hydrophobic (water hating - do not dissolve in water - fats) and hydrophilic (water loving - dissolve) and the important group of amphoteric molecules which have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts in the same molecule (fatty acids are an example). These are used in membranes separating different part of cells and the cells themselves.

You do not need to understand a single word of the above - all you need to know is that:

Chances are you are dehydrated - drink more water!