Water and Health
Water is essential for life. There is good reason NASA searches for water on other planets and moons: for life as we know it cannot exist without water. All life on this planet got its start in water.
When access to clean, drinkable water is cut off, chaos ensues. We need clean, fresh water to live. We need it to grow our food, to support livestock and wild creatures, and to sustain our wild plants and forests. The health of our water is directly related to our own health. Thankfully, we have groups of people who are defending our water every day. We, of course, get to do our part in turn.
This week, I will be focusing on water and attempting to answer the following questions:
What does water do in our bodies?
How much water do we need, and how can we tell if we are dehydrated?
What is the current state of our water supply?
What can we do to protect our access to clean water?
Why Do We Need Water?
First, let’s acknowledge that the majority of our body is water. Up to 60% of the human body is water, and certain tissues like the brain, heart, lungs, muscles contain even more water. Even our bones contain about 31% water. (1) We are also constantly eliminating water through our urine, feces, sweat, tears, and breath. No matter the substance, if we are made of it and we get rid of it, it’s a safe bet that we need to replenish it.
This is all great to know, but what does water actually do in our bodies? According to the US Geological Survey, water performs the following functions (1):
A vital nutrient to the life of every cell, acts first as a building material
It regulates our internal body temperature through sweating and respiration
The carbohydrates and proteins that our bodies use as food are metabolized and transported by water in the bloodstream
It assists in flushing waste, mainly through urination
acts as a shock absorber for brain, spinal cord, and fetus
forms saliva
lubricates joints
I would add that water is the medium where all functions of life happen. Hormones and neurotransmitters are formed and moved around the body in water, our blood is mostly water, and each cell is filled with and surrounded by a watery environment.
Remember, we can live for much longer without food than without water!
How Much Water Do We Need?
There are many different claims for how much water we need on a daily basis, but which is correct?
Unfortunately, we have been unable to calculate a RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for water like we have for other nutrients. So, all the recommendations you see out there are based on average intakes of surveyed populations. Recommendations here are split along the gender binary and not all that helpful. Additionally, our food contains some water, our environment influences our fluid loss, our physical activity affects our need for water, medications and health conditions influence our water needs, pregnancy and breastfeeding increase water requirements, and other factors come into play as well. Where is one to start?
If you aren’t drinking much water, start by increasing your water consumption by at least a glass a day. Starting your day off with a glass of water is an easy way to help you wake up and start hydrating. If you try to increase your water intake too quickly, you will find yourself rushing to the bathroom all day. A gradual and steady increase is much more comfortable.
When you are drinking water through your day, check in with yourself. A well hydrated body rarely feels thirsty as thirst is the first sign of dehydration. Bodies that are replenished with water eliminate clear to pale yellow urine. Well hydrated tissues are springy and supple. One way you can test this on yourself is by pinching the skin on the back of your hand and releasing it. Does your skin spring back quickly, or does it remain pinched together? If it doesn’t spring back, your tissues need more water. Another common sign of dehydration is low blood pressure and a rapid rise in heart rate when you stand up accompanied by lightheadedness and/or faintness.
A good strategy is to drink about a glass of water each hour while you are awake. Drink more if you consume caffeine, alcohol, or other dehydrating substances; drink more when you eat high fiber foods; and drink more when you are exercising or spending time in the sun. Waiting until the end of the day and chugging a gallon of water is not a good strategy; a constant trickle of water in as your body is constantly trickling it out is a much healthier, more sustainable, and more effective way to stay hydrated.
If you are on diuretic therapy for a medical condition, talk with your doctor and healthcare team to get specific hydration recommendations for your individual needs.
Do We Have Enough Water and Is It at Risk?
This is a topic that is getting much more attention each year. Stories of water rationing may seem far away, but we have neighbors in our country facing a lack of water right now. Flint Michigan was without safe drinking water for five years. More recently, areas of Texas and Alabama are facing issues with access to clean water as a result of the historic Winter storms they endured earlier in 2021.
Here in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., each year brings tales of toxic algae blooms, low water levels in reservoirs, boil water notices, and other problems. Communities such as the Warm Spring reservation have chronic issues of access to clean water and even in Portland, lead in the drinking water of schools and homes is still an issue.
According to the USGS all geographical areas of the U.S. face water challenges. Some areas lack supply, and others have plenty of water, but the quality of water is at risk. (2) Research into the US water supply only shows this situation worsening over the coming decades. (3)
What Can We Do to Protect Our Water?
As important as water is, our efforts to protect our water are equally so. The Environmental Protection Agency has a great website resource full of guidance on protecting your community’s water at its source. A few highlights include:
Clean up streams and riverbanks of trash. You can do this on a walk of your own or with a group like SOLVE.
Dispose of harmful substances such as motor oil, pesticides, household cleaners, flea collars and more in an appropriate manner that keeps them out of our water. The EPA’s Household Hazardous Waste page is a great resource for this!
Limit the amount of chemicals you spray in your yard.
Don’t flush your medications. Visit this website for more information on how to get rid of expired or unwanted medications.
Check with your local water utility board to see if they have any current projects underway that could use some additional public support.
Consider joining your local water board.
If you are on social media, consider following your local watershed council to better understand the water in your area.
We can also take steps to reduce our water waste, such as turning off the faucet when we brush our teeth, not rinsing our dishes under running water before putting them in the dishwasher (4), choosing low-flow toilets and showerheads, abandoning the Victorian concept of lush green lawns in favor of more drought-tolerant native cover crops, collecting rainwater to use in the watering of plants, using drip irrigation for our gardens along with companion planting, and so much more.
Additionally, if you are so moved and able, consider supporting the actions of water protectors near and far.
Finally, if you agree that access to water is a right and not a privilege, consider withdrawing your financial support from corporations who feel otherwise. Sometimes it can be tricky to know which brands belong to which corporations. Here is a list of the brands included under just one corporation.
Part of making this world a better place for us all and securing a future for our younger generations and those yet to come includes using our dollars to support companies who share our values and denying our funds from those who do not. We may feel like giving up at times, but do we really want to be those ancestors?
Applications:
Drink water. Drink enough so that your tissues are well hydrated, your urine is clear to pale yellow, and you don't find yourself thirsty too often. Drink through the day instead of trying to get it all in at the end of your day.
Protect the water. Do this through your daily actions, how you dispose of unwanted harmful substances, and through your relationship with the sources of your water and the people who protect it. If you can, support those who are protecting the water on our behalf, especially those who end up putting themselves in harm's way. If possible, withhold your dollars from companies who are compromising our water supply instead of protecting it.
Next Week:
Next week we will take a little break from our journey through nutrition to talk a bit more about craniosacral therapy, what it is, what it does, how I practice it, and how you can support your own healing with craniosacral therapy.
Then we will start talking about specific foods that are nutritionally dense and great sources of the macronutrients we have covered thus far.
To our health!
References:
USGS, “The Water in You: Water and the Human Body, https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-you-water-and-human-body?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects, Accessed 4/5/2021
Heejun Chang, Il-Won Jung, Angela Strecker, Daniel Wise, Martin Lafrenz, Vivek Shandas, Hamid Moradkhani, Alan Yeakley, Yangdong Pan, Robert Bean, Gunnar Johnson & Mike Psaris (2013) Water Supply, Demand, and Quality Indicators for Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Water Resource Vulnerability in the Columbia River Basin, Atmosphere-Ocean, 51:4, 339-356, DOI: 10.1080/07055900.2013.777896
Brown, T. C., Mahat, V., & Ramirez, J. A. (2019). Adaptation to future water shortages in the United States caused by population growth and climate change. Earth's Future, 7, 219– 234. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018EF001091
Heggie, Jon, “Why is America Running out of Water”, 8/11/2020 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/partner-content-americas-looming-water-crisis Accessed 4/5/2021
