October | 2014 | Strauss Water System

Maintaining the Body’s Water Balance… What is lost must be returned

You are primarily made up of water. This is true of you and of every other person on the planet.

On average, adults are 60% comprised of water, while newborns can reach as high as 75% water. If we are to maintain our strength, well-being, and ability to function in our day to day life, it is essential that we sustain healthy levels of hydration.

The body needs to preserve its water balance in order to avoid dehydration. This means that for every drop of water released from the body, another must enter it. Keeping this ‘water homeostasis’ is extremely important for your health.

Water loss is a regular part of life. Sweating, urination and other bodily functions lead to the loss of water every day. These are normal processes that contribute to your body’s operation. More dramatic, yet still manageable, water loss can be the result of heavy physical activity or extreme heat. Whatever the causes, when your body loses water you become thirsty, which incentivizes you to look for water to rehydrate.

[custom_blockquote style=”eg. green, yellow, purple, blue, red, black, grey”] Did you know?

You may need to modify your total fluid intake depending on your age, how active you are, the climate (temperature and relative humidity) you live in, your health status (illness, fever, vomiting or diarrhea) and whether you’re pregnant or breast-feeding. [/custom_blockquote]

While the body aims for homeostasis, it can still function at a water deficit. A 3-4% water decrease doesn’t cause problems for most people, while a 5-8% decline leads to fatigue and dizziness. By the time you reach a 10% deficit dehydration begins to have more severe effects, including physical and mental distress. A decrease in water levels of 15-25% is fatal.

Fortunately, when people have access to clean water, the body naturally regulates water levels through the feeling of thirst, which encourages you to drink when levels are low and reducing fluid excretion. Although “water intake and output are highly variable,” according to the European Hydration Institute (EHI), they are “closely matched to less than 0.1% over an extended period through homeostatic control.” Fatal levels of dehydration are usually the result of severe illnesses, such as cholera.

In order to increase your hydration and achieve homeostatic levels, there are three main sources of water ingestion. The primary source of water is from drinking water and other fluids; this accounts for 70-80% of water intake. Food is also a significant source of water, accounting 20-30% for most people. The final source is very small, with only 250-350 ml of your water intake coming from the oxidation of macronutrients.

Under most circumstances, the EHI finds that the average person loses and needs to replace approximately 2-3 litres of water a day. Your body regulates this process very well, and a loss of 1% of your total water will usually be returned within 24 hours.

Water is a vital component of our bodies. Nurture your body by staying hydrated and maintaining your water balance every day.

Are you hungry or thirsty?

(Photo credit: Mauricio Alves/Flickr)

Could your hunger actually be thirst? Perhaps.

The argument that your feelings of hunger might actually be thirst has been circling around the internet for years now. Debated on forums, posted in blogs and discussed in academic articles, the argument has some obvious appeal.

Both hunger and thirst, after all, can come across as similar sensations. It’s essentially your body telling you, “I need fuel.” One form of fuel, however, can lead to weight gain and even obesity, while the worst impact of the other is a more frequent need to visit the washroom.

The main reason most people seem to like the idea that they’re not hungry, just thirsty, is that this may be a way to lose weight.

Before we all jump on a water diet, though, we should take a moment to review the evidence.

Fereydoon Batmanghelidj, an American medical doctor, is likely the “hunger is actually thirst” argument’s most important advocate. In his 1995 book, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water, Dr. Batmanghelidj argued that not only was thirst often the actual cause of hunger pains, but that higher water intake could help heal a number of diseases.

“Unintentional dehydration leads to illness and painful, degenerative diseases” like asthma, hypertension and multiple sclerosis, according to Dr. Batmanghelidj. These illnesses “can be prevented, treated and cured by drinking plenty of water.”

A number of nutritionists and doctors, such as Elizabeth Fassberg and Melissa Lueking, have come out in favour of Dr. Batmanghelidj’s views on the misunderstanding about thirst, if not his views on its role in disease.

Because the signals for thirst and hunger are very similar, and are both regulated by the hypothalamus, these medical professionals argue that it’s easy to mistake the two.

Some scientific researchers, however, are less sure. One of the main challenges noted by a researcher from Purdue University is the inherent difficulty in measuring thirst or hunger. If two people are both “very thirsty,” what does that mean? Are they actually the same amount of “thirsty”? It’s difficult to say because it is an inherently subjective question.

These sensations “generally rely on temporal, motivational, metabolic and/or self-reported descriptive” factors, argues Richard Mattes of Purdue University’s Nutrition Science Department. Not only are there these physiological conditions, but we also can’t ignore other “cognitive, social, sensory and logistical factors.”

Given the challenge of determining the exact degree of a person’s hunger or thirst, perhaps the best advice comes from Dr. Lueking. She suggested that if you’re hungry, drink a glass of water. If you’re still hungry 15 minutes later, then hopefully you have “used this time to think of something healthy to eat.”

An extra glass or two of water a day will help reduce the chance of dehydration and may help reduce the urge to overeat, plus it will have numerous other benefits for your skin, mood and general physical well-being!

Our shared water monuments

(Photo credit: Slunia/Wikimedia Commons)

For millennia, people have marvelled at the beauty of water. In many of the world’s great cities, public fountains celebrate that most primary of resources: water.

In ancient and pre-modern societies, fountains served multiple purposes. Greek, Roman and Muslim societies were all known for their magnificent public and private fountains.

Fountains were often the end of aqueduct systems, which used gravity to bring fresh drinking water from rivers and streams into the cities. Greek fountains frequently ended in sculptures of animal heads, with water spouting into marble and stone basins.

The Romans are legendary for their aqueducts, public baths and fountains. Their skill at moving water from the mountains to their cities and farmlands is one of the major reasons their civilization was so successful. Fountains were more than just a way to provide drinking water; they also served as entertainment for the people and as monuments to the empire’s leaders and Gods.

(Photo credit: Ismael zniber/Wikimedia Commons)

Fountains and water gardens were also prominent across the Islamic world. From the fountains of Arab rulers, where many of the Roman and Greek engineering practices were maintained, to Persian water gardens, and to the famous fountains of the Alhambra in Muslim Spain, fountains were an important part of life. They provided water to the people, relaxing gardens for rulers, and held religious significance.

In more recent times, the need to distribute water to the public via fountains has decreased. Our fountains today are much more often for display, serving as exhibitions of the magnificence of water or to commemorate individuals or moments from our common past.

Many fountains have gone beyond simple displays and have now achieved the status of monuments to water itself. The great musical fountains are especially noteworthy, as they take these spectacles to a new level of magnificence, incorporating music, lights and multiple spouts. They are a truly arresting show.

(Photo credit: Jon Sullivan/Wikimedia Commons)

Cities like Las Vegas in the United States and Kolkata in India have made names for themselves through their fantastic aquatic displays. One of the best shows in Las Vegas is outside the Bellagio hotel, where numerous water spouts create jaw-dropping displays. These fountains are state-of-the-art, with computer-guided systems operating over a thousand water nozzles in a choreographed dance in a nine-acre lake.

Like the Bellagio, the CESC Fountain of Joy in Kolkata adds music and lights to create the most unique water show in India. With a three tier fountain pool, 150 spouts, lights and music, it provides a stunning exhibition. Its central display is 6 metres high and 18 metres wide, with specially designed valves that allow it to launch water spouts at unbelievable speeds.

What are your favourite water fountains? Does your community have any noteworthy monuments to water?