The Importance of Water Water is your very essence. It’s the most important nutrient in your body. Water makes up 70 percent of your muscles and 75 percent of your brain. The only thing your body craves more than water is oxygen. Throughout the day, the average adult can lose up to ten cups of water through regular activities, evaporation, exhaling and urinating. Ten cups! And that’s before doing any sort of strenuous exercise! Remember that your body needs 1 ounce of fluid for every two pounds of body weight. You do the math! We lose 2 cups of water daily just exhaling. Add to that 2 cups evaporating from the surface of our skin. Urination takes about 5 cups from our system daily. Water helps you maintain proper muscle tone, prevents dehydration, improves your skin and hair, and helps to rid your body of waste and harmful toxins. It increases your energy level, suppresses your appetite, helps you maintain your weight and is absolutely essential to your good health and well-being. Dehydration is defined as the condition in which the body suffers from lack of water and blood salts. Your vital organs like kidneys, heart, and brain must have the proper amounts of water and salts to function properly. New weight loss surgery patients must be especially careful to make sure, in the early stages following surgery, that they do not become dehydrated. Early post-ops should push 4 ounces of fluid every half hour. Vomiting and diarrhea can greatly affect hydration. The signs of dehydration are as follows: Mild: Thirst, Dry Lips, Headache, Constipation, Amber Colored Urine, Bloating and Dry Mouth. Moderate: Very dry mouth, sunken eyes, skin that doesn't bounce back to the touch, nausea, dizziness, muscular endurance diminishes, problem with concentration, drowsiness, and impatience. Severe: All signs of moderate dehydration plus rapid weak pulse, cold hands and feet, rapid breathing blue lips, confusion, lethargy and difficult to arouse or collapse.
Last update : Monday, 09 July 2007
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