This is your host, Neogentrics. And we're back
with another episode of Food for Thought, thoughts
if it were you. Today's topic is water and why
we need it. Is it even important? Is it good
for you? Is it something that we should absolutely
have? Well, let's talk about that today and find
out. For one, let's go ahead and take a look
at the definition of water. Like, what is water?
And, you know, by the definition standards, it...
as a noun, means a transparent, odorless, tasteless
liquid, a compound of, what, hydrogen and oxygen,
two things that we find in the air, but it's
freezing. It's a solid, and, you know, when it
boils, it turns to a gas. This is standard things
that almost everybody knows. It freezes at 32
degrees Fahrenheit, even 0 degrees Celsius, and
then boils at 210 degrees Fahrenheit and 100
degrees Celsius. It's more or less an impure
state, You know, but it depends. But at the same
time, you know, water constitutes rains, oceans,
lakes, rivers, etc. I could go on, on and on
and on and on. But its most common form is liquid,
typically found in rain. And it's also used to
moisten, drench, and wet things or supply animals
with something to drink. The same thing applies
to us. So it just depends on how you look at
it. So, you know, is water important? Not necessarily,
but I mean, we need it to survive in one or more
ways. The planet is constituted and made up of
about 70 % water, you know, so it helps dissolve
and make a lot of nutrients voluble so that we
can actually absorb them into our bodies and,
you know, makes it so that we survive, you know.
It's essential for animals, plant life, photosynthesis,
you know, so we can breathe and have food to
eat. Dissolving vital nutrients in your bloodstream
for your cells even helps regulate your body
temperature and dissolve waste substances. It
makes it easy for you to go to the bathroom,
folks. If you ever had a problem going to the
bathroom, probably because you didn't have enough
water. It helps protect your tissues, your joints,
your spinal cords, helps your brain think like
it's supposed to. Here's one for you. If you've
ever had a headache and had no idea why and it
felt like the back of your head was hurting,
it's probably because you weren't drinking enough
water. How does that make any sense? Water helps
bring nutrients and helps your brain to function.
If there's no water there, then it's just resting
on the back end of your skull. There's not enough
liquid running through your body like there should
be. An example of this is when you go to, I don't
know, relieve yourself in the bathroom. I'm going
to use number one, number two for sake of clarity
and to keep this clean. If you go to number one,
if you've ever seen it yellow or it hurt to use
the bathroom or, you know. It's discolored. Chances
are there's not enough water in your body to
provide enough relief and to absorb all the waste
materials that's there. And in order to do that,
you have to drink more water. And we're back,
guys. All right, so. Like I said, it's useful
for a lot of things that are necessary for our
body. We're going to go into 16 reasons why water
is important today. And I've already mentioned
a few, but it's okay to reiterate. This makes
sure, you know, you actually understand that
it is a necessity and we have to have it. You
know, the same thing applies to tea. I'm going
to cover tea in a later podcast. So if you're
looking forward to that, just let me know. Your
likes, your subscribes, your messages helps keep
this podcast going. And I definitely look forward
to making more of these this year versus last
year. The pandemic has definitely made this more
difficult for most people to do what they need
to do. So let's go ahead and get back into the
habit of what we've been doing and step up to
the... Let's step up and do what we gotta do.
So... what's the big deal it's common to hear
water is essential for your body for your health
but why you know the substance makes up the majority
of your body weight and it's involved in many
important functions in your body such as like
i mentioned before flushing out the waste from
your body regulating body temperature and helping
your brain to function you get most of your water
from drinking beverages but food also contributes
a small amount of your daily water intake as
well depending on what you're eating okay now
let's start with the first one drinking water
helps create saliva um this is more of a function
than it is a need but like i said water is the
main component in saliva saliva also includes
small amounts of electrolytes music sorry mucus
and enzymes it's essential for breaking down
solid food and keeping your mouth healthy your
body generally produces enough saliva with regular
fluid intake however your saliva production may
decrease as a result of age or certain medical
medications or therapies or things. So if your
mouth is drier than usual, you need to increase
the amount of water that you're taking. If you're
not sure how much, ask a doctor. Two, it regulates
your body temperature. Staying hydrated is crucial
to maintaining a healthy body temperature. If
your body starts losing water or sweat during
physical activities or in a hot environment,
you need to drink some water to replenish it.
Your sweat keeps your body cool. but your body
temperature will rise if you don't replenish
the amount of water that you're losing on a you
know on a regular basis and that's because your
body is losing the electrolytes and plasma that
it needs to survive when it's dehydrated so if
you sweat more than usual you should probably
drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration this
is very important especially since summer is
right around the corner number three it protects
your tissues your spinal cord and your joints
i already mentioned this earlier but You know,
I'm going to reiterate it one last time. Water
consumption helps lubricate and cushion your
joints, your spinal cord, and your tissues. This
will help you enjoy physical activities and lessen
discomfort caused by different conditions. You
know, kind of like arthritis. Arthritis. Arthritis.
It's one of those words. Anyway. The fourth thing
is it helps excrete waste through perspiration,
urination, if you defecate, you should defecate
every now and then. If you don't have normal
bowel movements, you should probably go see a
doctor. But your body uses water to sweat, urinate,
and have bowel movements. And sweat regulates
by temperature when you're exercising or in its
warm temperature. You need water to replenish
those lost fluids. when you sweat and use the
bathroom you also need enough water in your system
to help have healthy stool and avoid constipation
if you've ever knew you had to use the bathroom
but you couldn't go it's probably because there's
not enough water in your system to flush it like
it's supposed to especially your kidneys kidneys
are also important for filtering waste during
your urination when you go and use the bathroom
adequate water intake helps your kidneys to stay
and function more efficiently and to prevent
kidney stones unless you've ever had a kidney
stone before i'm gonna go ahead and tell you
right now passing one of those is not fun it's
not pleasant the utter most pain that you can
feel uh when you have to go because now you're
afraid to go because it hurts so dang much but
you know you need to go because it's going to
make you sick if you don't so this is one of
those things where you know you need to drink
water but a lot of people don't listen and they
continue to drink sodas and teas and other things.
Tea is good for you as well, but for the amount
of tea you drink, you need to drink twice as
much in water because tea is also dehydrating.
I'll go into that, like I said, another day.
It helps maximize your physical performance.
Drinking plenty of water during physical activities
is essential. Athletes may perspire up to 6 -10
% of their body weight during physical activities.
Hydration also affects your strength, your power,
your endurance, your stamina. You may be susceptible
to the effects of dehydration if you participate
in a lot of endurance training or high -intensity
sports such as basketball, football, or soccer.
Negative effects of exercise in the heat without
enough water can include serious medical conditions
like decreased blood pressure, hyperthermia,
yes, you can get hyperthermia. Extreme dehydration
can cause seizures and even death. You have to
make sure that you're getting enough water and,
like I mentioned before in a previous podcast,
enough sleep. If you're doing that much physical
training or have that high level of physical
endurance and you're doing a lot of physical
activities, you need to make sure that you're
getting enough water and enough sleep. Those
are the two number one things I cannot stress
enough. And like I mentioned before, number six,
it helps prevent constipation. Eating fiber isn't
the only way to prevent constipation. We already
did the fiber episode a couple weeks back. If
you're not sure, go back and have a look at it.
It's important to maintain your water intake
so your bowel movements contain enough water
so that the fiber can do its job. If you don't
consume enough water, magnesium, and fiber, you
may be more likely to experience constipation,
which is not pleasant. If you're already constipated,
however. The only thing I can say is drink some
carbonated water as well as plain water to help
you ease your symptoms. The reason for the carbonated
water is to help it move along. The water is
to help flush it out. Because you know once you
drink something that's carbonated, water can't
get in because of the bubbles. If you're not
a carbonated drinker, then you don't really have
to worry about this too much because this will
probably be the only time you drink something
carbonated. Seven, it aids in digestion. contrary
to some belief even experts confirm drinking
water before during and after a meal will help
your body to start breaking down the food a little
more easily and this will help you digest the
food more effectively and get more uh get the
most out of your meals that's what a lot of research
shows anyway the body adapts to changes in the
consistency of food and stomach contents whether
it's solid or more liquid and if it's liquid
it does process it faster but be careful that
you don't drink too too much water as it can
result in liquid stool, which is also not very
pleasant. Yes, you will feel used to the bathroom,
but you, let's just put it this way, it'll be
more wet, and I don't feel like going into that.
So, eight, it helps with nutrient absorption
in your body. Like I mentioned before, carbonated
water prevents this because of the carbonation,
but regular water, in addition with food breakdown,
It helps dissolve vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients from your food. And then it delivers
those vitamins and components to the rest of
your body for use. Not to mention, nine, it helps
you lose weight. Studies have linked body fat
and weight loss with drinking water in both overweight
girls and women and men as a result of drinking
more water while dieting and exercising just
to help you lose the extra pounds because the
water in your body is circulating and it's able
to pull all that from your body. Not only that,
it also improves oxygen circulation. This is
number 10. Water carries nutrients and oxygen
throughout your entire body. I've said this enough
times today that it should be evident. Reaching
your daily water intake will improve circulation
and have a positive effect on your overall health.
It will help you be less tired, for one. Number
11. It helps fight off illness. Drinking enough
water can help prevent certain medical conditions.
It won't stop them completely, but it will lower
your chances of getting them. Number one, constipation.
We've already gone through that. That's the first
one. The second one is kidney stones. The third
one is exercise -induced asthma. That's when
you can't breathe after exercising. Urinary tract
infections. Been there, had that, not pleasant.
Trust me. And hypertension. Which is a whole
other thing in itself. Okay? Quick definition
as to what hypertension is. High blood pressure.
Okay? I do believe I think I covered that already.
If I haven't, I will later. So you understand
what high blood pressure is and what causes it.
But water will help you absorb important vitamins,
nutrients, minerals from your food. Which will
increase your chances of staying healthy. So.
12. It helps boost your energy. I think I've
already said this earlier, but I'm going to say
it again. Drinking water may activate your metabolism
and boost it so that it has been associated with
a positive impact on your energy levels as your
body is able to process the food way faster than
it normally would. One study that someone did,
I don't know how effective it was, but it showed
that drinking 500 ml of water daily boosted the
metabolic rate by 30 % in both men and women.
And this effect appeared to last over an hour.
So, I mean, it's consistently drinking 500 milliliters
of water. But like I said, drinking too much
water isn't exactly helpful as you can get waterlogged.
And it's not a very pleasant feeling walking
around like a bloated balloon. so let's get to
the last couple for this list you know and then
we'll move on number 13 water aids in cognitive
functions for your body okay proper hydration
is key to staying in tip -top cognitive shape
and you know there have been researches done
to prove this it indicates that drinking enough
water uh can negatively affect i'm sorry affect
your uh Your focus, your alertness, your search,
your memory. If you have an issue remembering
stuff, chances are you're probably not drinking
enough water. But again, you know, this has been
a couple of research things that have been proven
in this, but not all of them. As you know, memory
loss is affected by many different factors. If
you'd like to hear a podcast on that, just let
me know. But 14, drinking enough water. Now this
is going to be a little weird, but... not getting
enough water can also affect your mood because
if you're dehydrated it causes fatigue and confusion
which builds anxiety if you're a very anxious
person and you're constantly on the ride then
chances are you're not drinking enough water
to stay calm i'm not saying that you need to
drink water to be calm i'm just saying that it
will help reduce the level of anxiety that's
caused from not drinking enough water 15 drinking
a lot of water adequate water intake rather,
will help keep your skin hydrated and promote
collagen production so that, you know, essentially
it keeps your skin bright. Water intake alone
isn't enough to reduce the effects of aging.
You know, this process is connected to your genes
and overall sun protection, but it can help keep
your skin brighter and make me look fresher versus,
you know, the alternative. Sixteen, last but
not least, it prevents overall dehydration. if
there's anything from this list that you probably
should have gotten is that it prevents dehydration
dehydration is a result of your body not having
enough water because water is imperative to so
many of your bodily functions dehydration is
extremely dangerous and it's bad for your body
severe dehydration can result in a number of
serious and severe complications i'm gonna just
name three swelling in your brain which you know
can cause headaches migraines and such kidney
failure which can result in kidney stones if
not getting the ability to use the bathroom seizures
well you're not going to remember anything from
that uh if not kill you the seizures will can
kill depending on how severe they are so you
have to make sure you drink enough water to make
up for the amount that you lose in sweat urination
bowel movements you know so on and so forth avoid
dehydration so this brings the question how much
should i drink if all of this is important Let
me just put it this way. Just be attentive to
the amount of water you drink each day. You know,
it's the important thing to know that you're
at least drinking water and you're drinking enough
water. Most people drink when they're thirsty,
which helps regulate daily water intake. But
sometimes you can just drink just to drink water
and make sure you have some in your system. You
can't overdrink, but you can drink too much.
And according to the National Academies of Science,
Engineering, and Medicine, you know, y 'all can
look this up yourself. general water intake from
all beverages and foods to meet most people's
needs and this is just an average person your
weight height and size do change this slightly
depends on the person but about 15 .5 cups of
water that's 125 ounces each day for men and
about 11 .5 cups of water or 91 ounces daily
for women again this depends on your size your
weight and your height People get about 20 %
of the daily water intake from food. The rest
is dependent on drinking water and water -based
beverages. So ideally, men would consume about
100 ounces or 3 liters of water from beverages,
and women about 73 ounces or 2 .12 liters from
beverages as well. If you're not sure, here's
one way you can do it. Get a bottle of soda that's
either already been drank or such and fill it
up. the bottles of soda you buy are the two liter
bottles well right there there's more than half
of your daily water intake so if you can drink
at least one of those a day or one and a half
of those a day you're getting your basic water
intake for your body i'm not sitting telling
you to sit there and chug a two liter bottle
of water you can if you want to i don't recommend
it um but you'll have to increase your water
intake if you're exercising, living in a hotter
region to avoid dehydration. I live in Texas,
so I definitely have to drink a little bit more
than the usual. Other ways to assess hydration
include your thirst, the color of your urine,
like I mentioned earlier. Feeling thirsty indicates
your body's not receiving adequate hydration.
If the urine is dark or colored, it indicates
dehydration. Or it's pale or non -colored. Let's
put it this way. if your urine is dark and it's
colored you're not getting enough water if it's
pale or it has no color at all that means you're
drinking enough water okay i can't stress this
enough the bottom line is water is important
to nearly every part of your body not only will
hitting your daily recommended intake help you
maintain your current state of being but it'll
even improve your overall health so in a nutshell
carry a bottle of water with you wherever you
go That way you can drink some when it strikes
you, or you at least have some in case of an
emergency. Try to keep track of your intake.
Aim to take in an optimal amount every day. Even
if it drops low one day, you can make up for
it the next day. It doesn't mean you gorge yourself,
though. Pace yourself to approach half of your
recommended consumption by midday. That way you
can finish the other half in the other half of
the day, you know, and make it effective. If
you're a person who likes to play video games
and such and you play them on a day -to -day
basis but on a regular schedule, make it a game.
Okay? That way you know whether or not you're
drinking enough water. Hell, challenge someone
else if you have to. That way everybody's getting
what they need and they're able to function properly.
Okay? Well, that's it for today's episode, guys.
Thank you for listening. This has been Food for
Thought, about to fit with you. I'm your host,
Neo Gentrix here. Hope you enjoy the rest of
your day. Until next time.