Water. Most of us take it for granted. But have you every taken a moment to stop and think just how important water is to you? For the human body, water is truly a vital resource. You can go weeks without food but only 5-7 days without water. When the water in your body is reduced by just 1 percent, you become thirsty. At 5 percent, muscle strength and endurance declines significantly and you become hot and tired. When the loss reaches 10 percent, delirium and blurred vision occur. A 20 percent reduction results in death. There is no more important nutrient for our bodies than water. No other substance is as widely involved in the processes and make up of the body. A man’s body is about 60 percent water, and a woman’s is approximately 50 percent. Did you know that the human brain is about 75 percent water? Every day, we lose 2-3 quarts of water through urination, sweating and breathing. Since many of the processes within the body rely greatly on water, it is important we replace our fluids regularly to compensate for this loss.
So make sure you drink at least 6-8 glasses of water per day!
| Tissue |
Percent Water |
| Blood |
83.0 |
| Heart |
79.2 |
| Muscle |
75.6 |
| Brain |
74.8 |
| Skin |
72.0 |
| Bone |
22.0 |
