Many people, like me, are constantly reminded by their elders from an early age: "Remember to drink plenty of water." If you have a cold or fever, your doctor will stress, "Drink plenty of water." To lose weight drink more water, to have good skin drink more water, drink more water as if can solve all life problems. But why should we drink more water? How important is water to our bodies? Many people may not be able to make it clear. Today I'm here to talk to you about the most important component of our human body: water.
Between 55 and 65 per cent of the human body is made up of water. Newborn babies have up to 75 per cent water content, almost the same as fish, but by the age of just one year our water content will drop to 65 per cent. Water cushions and lubricates joints in the body, helps the body regulate body temperature, and supplies organs, including the brain and spine, to function properly. Water is present not only in our blood, but also in different tissues of the human body. The heart has a water content of up to 75%, almost the same as a banana. The lungs contain 85% water, about the same as apples. Even in bones, it contains 31% water.
So, since our bodies already contain such a high proportion of water, why do we drink water?
On average, the body metabolizes 3 liters of water per day, which is excreted with feces, urine, and sweat. Even when we breathe, we metabolize some of the water. Breathing, excretion and sweating are all physiological activities that the human body must do, in order to maintain these physiological activities, we must constantly replenish water to fill the metabolic loss of water, otherwise the body will appear dehydration phenomenon, and severe dehydration can even affect life.
When the body is mildly short of water, the hypothalamus in the brain begins to warn, and then the body begins to secrete anti-diuretic hormones, which, when they reach the kidneys, the kidneys begin to secrete water-channel proteins (aquaporins), which open special passages in the cell membrane to allow the blood to absorb and maintain more water. The kidney is an important organ of the body's metabolism of water, once the water channel is opened, a large number of water molecules in the kidney body fluid will be re-absorbed by the body through the water channel protein, and the heavy absorption of water in the urine will increase the concentration of urine, which is why when water is scarce, our urine color will be deeper.
If the water shortage continues, other physical reactions will follow. The first thing we feel is a mild headache, and the speed at which our bodies respond and how we perceive pain begins to decline. If water is not ingested for one to two days, the body will stop urinating completely and will experience difficulty swallowing, muscle twitching, and nausea. Next, a number of brain functions will appear serious obstacles, and even the phenomenon of confusion. If the body is further dehydrated, blood will not flow smoothly to the body, body temperature will begin to drop, the skin will begin to appear gray-blue, heat can only maintain the basic functioning of organs in the core areas of the body. If water is not ingested for more than 3 days, the body's organs will begin to fail one by one until the brain dies. Water scarcity is more dangerous for the body than hunger.
That's why we are drinking water. Therefore, for the sake of our health, keep drinking water every day.