Water is essential for every function your body performs. In fact, you are mostly water! Nutrient absorption, blood flow, respiration, elimination and your ability to see and hear require adequate consumption of pure, clean water. Your body cannot adequately store the water you need throughout the day. Drink water often.

Physiology
 
The primary dietary requirement of the human body forms the medium for every body structure, but it contains no energy, no genetic or protein building blocks, no vitamins or minerals and no fiber. It is plain water.
 
Your body may seem solid, but it is actually two-thirds water, and maintaining the delicate water balance within your body is one of your brain’s primary functions. Water is essential to every body process, including: respiration, circulation, digestion, brain function, joint function, blood production and waste removal. When you consume water in its pure form or within the foods you eat, it is absorbed into the blood, which carries nutrients to the cells. After the cells take the nutrients they need, they return the toxic by-products of cellular function to the blood, which carries the wastes and water to the kidneys. The kidneys return filtered water back to the body, while sending excess water, salts and waste byproducts to the bladder as urine.
 
Your brain closely monitors your water balance—without adequate water, the mineral balance in your body deteriorates, and toxins are left to cause disease and damage to body organs. Your kidneys maintain balance by making more or less urine. The brain monitors the amount of water in the blood. If there is too little, it releases hormones that cause the kidneys to make less urine. These same hormones make you thirsty, which urges you to drink to restore water balance in your body.
 
 Symptoms of Imbalance
 
 • Thirst—if you’re thirsty, you are already dehydrated
 • Pain
 • Dry mouth, dry skin, and premature aging of the skin
 • Low urine output
 • Strong-smelling urine
 • Frequent illness
 • Fatigue
 • High blood pressure
 • Acne
 • Faintness
 • Muscle weakness
 • Dry eyes
 • Constipation
 
 Health Threats
 
Short-term: Lack of pure water in the body has an immediate effect on every body system. Mineral imbalances occur, leading to muscle weakness, lightheadedness and lack of stamina and energy. Hair and skin become dry and brittle, and eyes and eyesight suffer. Digestive difficulties occur, including constipation and poor nutrient absorption.
 
Long-term: Your body relies on adequate water levels to purge itself of dangerous toxins. Much like the rinse cycle in your dishwasher, your body needs the cleansing effect of water to maintain a clean and efficient internal environment. Long-term water deprivation can lead to a toxic build-up that triggers a number of health threats, including digestive disorders, premature aging and even cancer. Kidney damage caused by insufficient water consumption leaves the body without the ability to process toxins—and open to disease.
 
Water balance within the body is directly correlated with blood pressure. Your body uses its water supply to increase or reduce blood volume, thereby stabilizing blood pressure. Without adequate water, your body cannot regulate blood pressure.
 
 Points to Consider:
 
 • 2.5 liters of water is lost each day through normal body functions
 • Water must be consumed throughout the day, since your body cannot effectively store water
 • Adequate water consumption prevents toxic build-up in the body
 • Water is essential in the digestive process, helping to break down food and carry vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients into the cells
 • Water is the main component of every single structure in your body—cells, blood and organs
 • Water provides a protective barrier around each of your cells
 • Water is the rinse cycle—sweeping toxins from the body, and encouraging fiber to cleanse the system without becoming impacted
 • Water is essential to nerve function transmission
 • Total body water content decreases with age
 • Hormonal output decreases with lack of water
 • Water is essential for youthful, healthy skin
 • Your body needs as much water in cold weather as it does in warm weather
 • Water lubricates the joints and tissues, preventing damage
 • Water stabilizes the mineral levels in the body
 • Water is essential for optimum circulation
 • Water quality is important—pure, spring water is best. Avoid distilled water that lacks essential minerals
 • There is no substitute for water
 • Almost 10% of the American population drinks no water Hydrating beverages:
 • Pure water
 • Juice
 • Milk
 
 Dehydrating beverages:
 • Coffee
 • Caffeinated tea
 • Soda with caffeine
 • Alcoholic beverages
 
 Substantiation
 
If you don’t make a conscious effort to drink water throughout the day, you can become dehydrated, which, according to Tufts University, is among the top ten reasons that elderly patients are admitted to hospitals. Older people are at an increased risk for dehydration because their sensations of thirst diminish and their bodies naturally begin to lose more fluids as they age.
 
According to a study of 48,000 men, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1999, the incidence of bladder cancer fell 7% for every extra increment of 240ml of water consumption per day. Men who drank 10 or more glasses of water per day had a 49% lower risk of developing the cancer than men who drank only 5 glasses per day.
 
The adult human body is about 70% water and requires water intake to carry out nearly every bodily process. A study by the Nutrition Information Center at the New York Hospital found that most people aren’t drinking enough water and have common excuses for it, such as not enough time (27%); don’t feel thirsty (11%); don’t like the taste of water (8%); forget to drink it (7%). Researchers say people are making matters worse by drinking alcohol and caffeinated beverages, both of which dehydrate the body further. It’s important to drink water throughout the day and not only at times when you feel thirsty—by the time you feel the sensation of being thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.
 
 According to the Mayo Clinic Women’s Health Source, adults lose an average of 10 cups of fluid a day through breathing, urinating, bowel movements and sweating; therefore, people need to be drinking at least 10 cups of water each day to compensate. Exercising and hot, humid or cold climates increase water requirements.