Something that is most abundant on this planet is water. Seventy percent of the earth is filled with water and we need to take care of this wonderful resource, which supports our lives and provides hydration.
Even fifty-seven percent of an adult’s body weight is water. In a newborn infant, it may be as high as seventy-five percent of the body weight. The stats are different for men and women. Water has a soothing effect in your body; it hydrates cells and enhances well-being.
Every cell in your body is made up of fluids that have ninety percent water content. Several researches declare that drinking seven to twelve glasses of water is basic and enough to keep you hydrated.
Looking further into the facts one see that body loses some water every day which needs to be replaced and the basal requirement comes up to 5 glasses.
It may vary for different individuals depending on their type of work, environment, age, gender, and activity. When you are doing strenuous exercise or workouts, you need more water as body loses excessive water and salts during perspiration.
Bursting Myths About Water Consumption
One often mistakes hydration as the intake of flavored drinks and beverages such as tea and coffee. Water should be taken only in its pure form to replenish body’s water requirements.
Another common mistake, which young people make, is to confuse the thirst urges and try to satiate it with food or other non-hydrating beverages such as soft drinks.
The continuous denial of water to the cells for a long time dulls the body’s mechanism to generate the impulse for water. Generally, this habit starts in the teenage years and is the major cause of dry and ageing cells.
Drinking sugary syrups and soft drinks also creates numerous health problems and makes it tougher to burn fat while doing workouts.
Symptoms Of Dehydration
There are several symptoms of dehydration: headaches, nausea, lethargy, low metabolism, and irregular bowl movement. You can check for dehydration on your skin by pinching it.
If the skin regains it firmness quickly your skin is well hydrated and the longer it takes to regain this composure the more dehydrated you are.
Water Absorption In The Body
A myth commonly prevalent is that water taken in high amounts at a time is a good hydrating process. High amounts of water at once may have a drowning effect, leading to the feeling of immovability and bloating.
Years of research show that the most vital part of hydration is uptake, not intake, that is, how well the cellular absorption of water takes place.
Pranayama (a part of Yoga exercises) imparts that pacing water consumption instead of instant intake helps in hydration as well as detoxification of the cells.
Hydration is good for you, but having more water than required does not guarantee to make your skin better according to researches.
Municipal Water Report To Assess The Quality Of Water
You must have often heard people say that tap water is the best in Melbourne or in your suburb and that is what they have been drinking down the decades. Have you wondered then how the taste and the smell of water varies in different suburbs?
It is very difficult to obtain water in its pure form as it quickly associates with the free ions like Hydrogen in pipes during transportation and forms compounds as toxic as chloroform.
Tap water should be filtered and purified before drinking as the water reaching you through taps is contaminated in the path from the municipal water plants. Water treatment and water purification (Filtration) are two different entities all together.
You as a citizen are entitled to request free water reports from the council and should do that to make you aware of how clean the water is which pours down our taps. Another astonishing fact is that even bottled water in these reports does not guarantee pure water.
Water Filtration Norms To Watch Out
You should be aware of the critical facts before you buy a water filter. You should know to what level or percentage the filter removes the unwanted particles.
If it says it kills the microbes in water, it should be using UV ‘C’ rays, which are safe to human beings but kill, the microbes effectively.
The system should have a carbon filter too to cut out salt, iron and other micro particles in the water. Back Osmosis may always not be an effective method of filtration.
Sometimes back Osmosis that is filtering under high pressure through a parchment paper or thin muslin cloth may not be effective in removing all the bacteria and fine particles and dust present in the water.
Avoid using plastic bottles to carry water, as the polyvinyl compounds that are synthetically manufactured to make the bottles are neither ecofriendly nor human friendly.
Extended use of plastic in the storage of drinking and eating goods has harmful effects on human body, releasing many toxins for our body to combat. The synthetic compounds when dumped in the ground never degenerate, as they are not biodegradable.
So be careful of leaving a huge carbon print on this earth, which will burden it forever and effect your generations down the line.
Learn More about the Aimex Aust 16 litre Water Purifier with Free 2 x 8 Stage Water Filters
Packaged Water
If you are thinking carrying a mineral water bottle is the most hygienic and healthy form of drinking fluid then you have been completely fooled by the advertising that make a mountain out of a molehill.
It is very clearly written on the water bottles that they are packaged water and do not guarantee carrying out any process of filtration and purification before packaging them.
Therefore, the water in your bottle may be from any unhygienic and contaminated source, which does not carry out any quality test for purification. These pointers indicate that filtered water is the safest option for you and your family.
Weight Watcher
Drinking sufficient water half an hour before and after meals can keep you away from over eating and unhealthy snacking. During parties or heavy meals, this can be a good buffer to cut out all the calories that you might otherwise consume being a foodie.
You can also make your hard drinks rest a bit by drinking water during alcohol consumption. You will find this a good practice to avoid extra calories being added to your diet.
You can get more essential and useful information about this vital fluid in your life by following the links and websites mentioned under references.
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
References
Websites used for collecting data and inferences
http://www.hydration.net.au/
http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/
Interviews conducted with Natural Health practitioner and Neuropsychologist, Leonie Hibbert http://www.leoniehibbert.com/
Guyton’s Textbook of Medical Physiology
Sweta Lal
The beauty of Melbourne turned Sweta into a writer. Her writing work include independent scholarly research, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and she feels honoured to be a part of three encyclopaedias. Sweta uses the Social Media Platform of https://www.facebook.com/SwetaLal.Author to showcase her writings and to spread the love of reading and creativity.
