We have been receiving different type of messages regarding water consumption for circulation among our members. Today we have received a query from one of our friends, as to how much water one should consume? The query was referred to our Mr. RK Panicker and the clarifications received from him is enclosed.
This contents may be useful / helpful to many of our friends, hence being circulated please. ** ** *With regard to water requirements let us not conclude with sentiments, second hand information, unscientific advices without any solid proof, prejudice and bias because water just like air are the most important vital need for our survival.***** ** ** *What is happening now a days is type of conclusions by the five blind men judging what an elephant is. These are so many factors in this and water intake can vary with just 25 ml. to 4 litters depending up on the condition of the person.***** ** ** *Let me explain before we come to the requirements of a healthy adult person. Remember that this is a science by itself and we can write volumes about it. So better take the advice of a doctor or an expert on this keeping in mind the wrong advices coming forward many times. First let us agree the fallowing facts.***** ** ** *1) A kidney patient, no matter he is in the initial stages of the problems or in advance stage, needing transplant or dialysis should not take water unless specifically ordered by the doctor who may ask to limit water intake to the minimum.***** ** ** *2) A person living in the desert, no matter how he is and what is the condition is unable to find enough water and all the theories get lost. Remember Kidney is a wonderful machine with an automatic mechanism of "urine circulation" (Those who have read the Encyclopedia of Nursing - five volume set know this). When ever there is shortage of water input, the kidney adjusts the function by purifying the urine by molecular filtration and converting it to pure injectable water. The situations are where water is not available for drinking and patients who cannot drink much water. In this case the evaporation loss only need be replaced as external drinking water and that even, in difficult situations. To minimize the evaporation loss air-conditioned rooms or at least cool places with optimum humidity are ideal shall be useful.***** ** ** *3) A person living e.g. in Madurai may need considerable extra water compared to some one living in Kerala. This is because of the **low humidity in Madurai which falls to as low as 30 percent. Even Climate and weather changes can affect the intake of water. Even in Kerala the so called winter season from November to March the relative atmospheric humidity goes low and body evaporation is high and naturally the water intake may be varying accordingly. (A word about climate and weather. I am ways shocked to know that most people do not know what is climate and what weather is. Climate in a place usually does not change and weather only changes).***** ** ** *4) A person having physical work may need more water than a a person with sedentary life style. So also a person working in an A/C room may need different quantity of water depending up on the humidity control of the working place.***** ** ** *Because of very many factors like the above we cannot say a hard and fast rule as to how much you should drink.***** ** ** *How ever, let us face the facts. Water is a carrier of impurities and a cleaning material. Just like you clan the floor the dirt in the body is excreted as urine, sweat etc. More you drink more you have pure blood. In addition water diluted the blood making it easier for pumping by the heart. Many people do not know that blood pressure varies even minute to minute but under certain range for that day. Many people who have lack of sleep have got up after their blood pressure went up suddenly and they cannot sleep any more.***** *Even checking the B. P. will not sow the sudden change taken place when he got up from the sleep. In such situations drink a liter of water and he goes to sleep in a few minutes unless he has some other problems. Why? Because the blood got diluted and the heart functions better and kidney has filtered much easier as it is thinner! We have about 7 percent of body weight as blood and 75 percent of it is water.***** ** ** *When you grind the rice for Dosa and the water is less, you find the mixie makes a sound and even motor gets burnt if more water is not added. Add a very small quantity of water and the motor works fine. More the water better is the running of the mixie. So also is the case with the human heart which functions better when the blood is diluted and thinner.***** ** ** *So the water requirements in general for a healthy person can be between 3 percent to 5 percent of the body weight successively increasing the percentage for heavier persons and according to the different situations explained above. One can easily calculate how much water he needs.***** ** ** *For a healthy person the only known problem I know in drinking too much water depletion of potassium through urine. If your diet is right with food with potassium (Banana and Orange with its with the flavido intact etc.) this problem may not happen.***** ** ** *As a clarification needed when talking about drinking water and losing minerals we have to know the following. When you lose potassium you also lose sodium. So the sodium potassium balance is in tact. In human body there is a balance of these two. Potassium is in the inter cellular fluids and sodium in extra cellular fluids. So when sodium is more the blood pressure increase.***** ** ** *On way to control the balance is to use low sodium salt being marketed by well known brands like Tatas. Even at a high cost it worth using this salt with enough potassium to safe guard your blood pressure as it contains potassium to compensate the sodium salt taken otherwise.***** * * A few other important aspects of drinking water are:- *a) Better do not drink water while eating and after it has partially digested because digestion takes place by enzymes and more water is mixed more time it takes and less efficient the digestion is.* * * *b) If you want to reduce the weight and control intake of food better take enough water 15 minutes to half an hour before food.* * * *c) Thirst and hunger are interlinked and you can suppress the hunger by drinking water for those who want to take less food. Drink a lot of water and you will not feel to eat or even take alcohol until the water is absorbed in to the blood which takes about 75 minutes.* * * *c) Those who drink hard liquor remember to take fives its volume of water at least to avoid overloading the kidney function,* * * *d) Most of water drunk is absorbed by the large intestine.* * * *e) When you eat food especially in modern times there are a lot poisons materials including heavy metals and chemicals which all get deposited in the liver and lever is called a scavenger. So if you drink enough water these poisons are excreted as urine instead of stored in the lever.* * * *(Talking about liver poisoning - "Silybum Adans or Milk thistles" detoxifies liver from these harmful chemicals)*
