Next to oxygen, water is the most essential ingredient for survival. The human body is made up of 60% water. The human brain is 70% water, the lungs nearly 90%. Muscle is 75% water, and blood is 83% water. Water is essential for every bodily function, without it a human would only survive a week, three weeks less than he would survive without food.
Water plays an important role in the human body. It maintains blood circulation and carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells. It regulates body temperature and aids digestion by maintaining the balance of stomach acids and enzymes that break down solid foods for passage into the intestine.
Not getting enough water forces the body to work twice as hard to circulate the water that is available and causes your body to retain it when it isn’t replaced. Dehydration can severely impact your body’s physiological functions. Thirst is not a good indicator of when the body needs water. You can be dehydrated and not know it until you start feeling dizzy or disoriented and confused, which are symptoms of dehydration.
Our bodies loses two to three liters of water a day through respiration, urination, elimination and perspiration, so it is important to replenish that amount every day, even more if you are active.
Water covers 70% of the earth’s surface and is crucial for not only the survival of humans, but animals and plant life.