WATER, the nutrient of life.

Water is one of the most important nutrients to life. Water constitutes about 60% of an adult's body weight and a higher percentage of a child's. Water assists with the transport of nutrients, hormones and many other elements as well as waste products throughout the body. Water participates in metabolic reactions, acts as a solvent, serves as a shock absorber, regulates body temperature and maintains blood volume. Furthermore, water acts as a lubricant and cushion around joints and inside the eyes, the spinal cord, and, in pregnancy, the amniotic sac surrounding the fetus in the womb.

Dehydration and water deficiency can be devastating. Dehydration symptoms progress rapidly from thirst to weakness, exhaustion, and delirium and end in death if not corrected. A general water requirement is difficult to establish. This is because water needs vary depending on diet, activity, environmental temperature, specific diseases and certain health and body conditions.

What type of water should you drink?

Should you just reach for the water bottle when you need to hydrate? The ideal fluid replacement beverage should encourage fluid consumption and promote fluid absorption. Nutrients and Electrolytes (charged minerals) in the water help distribute the fluids inside and outside the cells. Nutrients are those elements from food and drink that perform a sustaining or metabolic function when taken inside our bodies. Essential nutrients must be supplied from an outside source because they cannot be made by the body in sufficient amounts. You have a choice whether your fluid is simply water or an enriched beverage that may or may not contain other nutrients. Base this selection on your need for extra calories/and or additional nutrients.