Health & Wellness

I have a very good friend that do call me fish. Why will someone be calling a fine girl like me a fish? Of course, you all know my name is Elizabeth Tolulope and not fish. Where do fishes live? Inside water. I doubt if any fish can survive without water. That’s just it. I love water just the way fishes love water but I’m not a fish. I love fetching water, maybe I should say it’s part of my hobbies. As much as I can fetch water, I can as well drink water. A few friends of mine know that I can’t joke with water. It’s not my fault. It’s simply because water is life. Does anyone agrees with me that water is life? Yes, we need water to survive. Water is an incredibly important aspect of our daily lives. Every day we drink water, cook with water, bathe in water, and participate in many other activities involving water. According to Dr. Jeffrey Utz, Neuroscience, pediatrics, Allegheny University, different people have different percentages of their bodies made up of water. Babies have the most, being born at about 78%. By one year of age, that amount drops to about 65%. In adult men, about 60% of their bodies are water. However, fat tissue does not have as much water as lean tissue. In adult women, fat makes up more of the body than men, so they have about 55% of their bodies made of water. This, babies and kids have more water (as a percentage) than adults. Women have less water than men (as a percentage). People with more fatty tissue have less water than people with less fatty tissue (as a percentage).   Why will someone just drink just a glass of water in a whole day or two sachets of pure water? Some will even eat and wouldn’t take water at all. These ought not to be so. There are a lot of activities that water does in the body and a glass of water per day isn’t sufficient. BENEFITS OF WATER IN THE BODY 1) Water is the primary building block of cells. 2) It acts as an insulator, regulating internal body temperature. This is partly because water has a high specific heat, plus the body uses perspiration and respiration to regulate temperature. 3) Water is needed to metabolize proteins and carbohydrates used as food. It is the primary component of saliva, used to digest carbohydrates and aid in swallowing food. The compound lubricates joints. 4) Water insulates the brain, spinal cord, organs, and fetus. It acts as a shock absorber. 5) Water is used to flush waste and toxins from the body via urine. 6) Water regulates body temperature. 7) Water lubricates and cushions your joints. 8) Water protects the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues. Moreso, kidneys are the body’s filtration system, but they require a copious amount of water to do their job properly  and boot unwanted toxins out. Without proper hydration, the kidneys become unable to filter  the blood properly, and you risk all kinds of hilarious nasties, from kidney stones to disease. The kidneys can do a little to save water(by concentrating your urine to the color of a tangerine) but beyond that, you need water to keep it working. Putting the kidneys under stress is a terrible idea and, interestingly, they have a minimum amount of water that’s required to be able to function properly. The usual thinking is eight glasses a day.People who’ve had a kidney stone need  to drink a massive two to three liters (up to two-thirds of a gallon) a day to reduce their riskof developing another one. Does drinking too much of water has any effect? When your kidney are unable to excrete the excess water , the electrolyte (mineral) content of the blood is diluted, resulting in low sodium levels in the blood, a condition called hyponatremia. “Young, healthy people don’t normally [get hyponatremia] unless they drink liters and liters of water at once, because your kidneys can only [expel] about half a liter at most an hour,” says Chris McStay, MD. Even though this is rainy season and the weather is usually cold,it shouldn’t hinder us from drinking enough water. We should also endeavour to drink water that are free from pollutants and dirts. Drink colourless and odourless water.