Water: The Best Tonic For A Healthy Body

By Zulkiple Ibrahim This is the first of two articles on the health benefits related to drinking water. However, healthcare practitioners also point out that drinking lot of water is only good for those people who have healthy kidneys and those persons with chronic kidney impairment or related renal problems should avoid drinking excessive water. KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Recently, a neighbour of this writer had to rush his five-year-old son to a private clinic in Bandar Baru Sungai Buloh near here, after the boy started displaying symptoms of severe diarrhea. At the clinic, the doctor prescribed the relevant medication, but also asked the boy’s father to ensure that his son consumes a lot of water. "That will prevent dehydration," the doctor said. Dehydration can be caused by the excessive loss of body fluids and the inadequate intake of water or fluids or both. The body may lose fluids from excessive sweating, exercising, through excessive urine output, which can be caused by uncontrolled diabetes or diuretic use, or through fever, vomiting or diarrhea. "It is better to drink plain water, as soft drinks and other beverages are far less effective in hydrating the body as compared with plain water," added the physician. According to healthcare practitioners, many people fail to realise that they are chronically dehydrated, and their lack of body fluids is the reason for many of their health problems. Therefore, people need to be aware of why drinking water is so important, and what kind of water should they be consuming? DANGER OF DEHYDRATION Medical practitioner Dr A. Radha pointed out that the body can become dehydrated quite quickly. "Although human beings are capable of surviving, for a fairly long period, without food, the same does not hold true for water or liquids. Going three days without any liquid, either in the form of drinks or what is bound to be solid food, is sufficient for causing serious physical breakdowns," she stated. "Staying without water for an additional two or three days can be fatal," she told this writer recently. The physician also noted that our bodies are constantly dealing with the deficiency of liquid. "Every day we cast out around 2.5 liters of water from our bodies in the form of urine, sweat, water vapor from the lungs and the liquids contained in stool. "When an equivalent intake of water is not maintained, the body’s water balance is put in jeopardy. If the liquid intake is insufficient, the process of dehydration begins," Dr Radha noted. LIQUID DEPRIVATION Dr Radha also explained what happens to the body when it is deprived of liquids for a long period of time. "Firstly, the blood volume tends to shrink, surrendering part of its own essential water to the kidneys and other excretory organs that remove toxins from the body. "It is therefore necessary for the body to adjust to this change. As it is no longer receiving water from external sources, it must draw what it needs from the nearest internal source, which is the extracellular fluid," she said. "Unfortunately, this withdrawal means that the cells are no longer surrounded by a sufficient quantity of liquid, and this impairs their functioning and makes it intermittent and incomplete," Dr Radha stated. She added that to remedy this, the body is again forced to find another source of water, and for that it begins to draw liquid from the intracellular fluid and taps on water that is normally used by cells. "If the cells are deprived of water, their ability to function is compromised. When this happens, the body becomes weaker. "If the body still does not obtain water from an external source, it starts drawing water from within the deepest level of the body. The cell’s water content then shrinks inexorably, as the body is left with no alternate source from which it can withdraw water," she said. Dr Radha stated that most people think they do not need to worry about dehydration. "But there is a chronic form of dehydration, which does not have the sudden and intense symptoms seen in an acute form of dehydration. Chronic dehydration is however widespread in the present day and age and affects everyone who is not consuming enough liquids," she added. BENEFITS OF DRINKING WATER Healthcare experts say drinking water is good for the health, as it helps in reducing weight and increases the body’s stamina. They also point out that water is good for skin care and for maintaining the body’s calcium balance, which makes it an important part of everyday living. Water also helps in flushing out the harmful by-products that the body releases while breaking down fat cells. It restricts hunger and has zero calories. It regulates the body temperature too. "That is why we feel more energetic while exercising, as water helps in fuelling our muscles. Drinking water is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body," Dr Radha said. "With water, you can turn your life around and live a healthy and active life. It is also necessary for cellular function. It is something that is so cheaply available and offers immense health benefits," she added. -- BERNAMA