Drinking clean water daily is one of the most important things you can do for your health. In fact, clean water is one of the most important nutrients we can consume on a daily basis. According to Dr. Jeffrey Utz, about 60% of a man’s body is water. Similarly in women, fat makes up more of the body than men, so they have about 55% of their bodies made of water.
Some Benefits of Drinking Clean Water
Water helps our body perform essential functions all day long. Therefore, if we do not consume enough clean water, our bodies can become sluggish and not perform optimally. As a result, water serves a number of essential functions in our body and here are just a few:
- Lubricates joints
- Assistant flushing waste through urination
- Acts as a shock absorber for the brain and spinal cord.
- Form saliva
- Helps regulate our internal body temperature by sweating and respiration
- Helps deliver oxygen all over the body
- Keeps mucosal membranes moist
- Water is the major component of most body parts
- Needed by the brain to manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters
- Regulates body temperature (sweating and respiration).
- Aids in digestion
At any rate, here are a couple of fun facts:
- Individuals can live 3 minutes without air
- People have three hours to survive without shelter
- You have approximately 3 days to live without water or you will perish (although some people have made it 8 to 10 days
- You have approximately 3 weeks to live without food.
It is clear to see that water is vital for overall health. In fact, we must maintain water balance, which means that water losses must be made up for by increasing water intake. Therefore, we get water from food and drink and lose it as urine, sweat, and exhaling as we breathe.
How Much Clean Water Should You Drink Per Day?
Next, you might ask “how much water should I consume, daily?” I’m glad you ask, let’s take a closer look. There is no set rule as to exactly how much clean water each person should drink per day.
You might have heard of the 8 x 8 rule which suggests that individuals drink “eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.” That’s approximately 1.9 L of water. Accordingly, The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake for men is roughly about 13 cups (3 L) of total beverages a day. The adequate intake for women is about nine cups (2.2 L) of total beverages a day.
A Second Popular Formula to Determine How Much Clean Water To Consume Each Day
Another formula that is popular today is to take your body weight (in pounds), divide it in half, and drink that many ounces of clean water per day.
Given the circumstances; this should only be used as a general guideline. For instance, everyone is different in their clean water intake needs and may vary depending on many distinct factors. Some factors may include, how active you are, where you live, and your level of health.
Although there is no single correct formula for each person, knowing more about your body’s needs for fluids will help you estimate how much water you should drink each day.
What’s In Your Tap Water
Next, we need to look at what is in our tap water. The chemicals used in the treatment of tap water may vary depending on where you live. Also, what your local government has approved to treat your local tap water. But here is a list of just a few of the chemicals routinely added to our water supply:
- Liquefied chlorine
- Calcium hydroxide
- Fluorosilicic acid
- Sodium silicofluoride
- Aluminum sulfate
Once the water leaves the source in a relatively clean state, don’t forget that your water travels through pipes, which may have been underground for an extended period. It is nearly impossible for the water not to become contaminated with something undesirable. Consequently, A glass of water from your tab can contain any of 2,100 contaminants. These include known and probable carcinogens, toxins that affect your endocrine and nervous system. They may also contain chemicals that are known risks to babies in the womb.
Contaminants that have been found in Tap Water:
Therefore, our tap water is being treated with large numbers of chemicals to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. In addition, it may contain other dangerous, undesirable contaminants such as:
- Toxic metal salts
- Hormones
- Pesticides
- It may also become contaminated by chemicals or microbes within pipes (e.g., lead, bacteria, protozoa).
Typical Tap Water Contents:
- Chlorine
- Fluorine compounds
- Trihalomethanes (THMs)
- Salts of:
- Mercury
- Arsenic
- Radium
- Cadmium
- Aluminum
- Copper
- Lead
- Barium
- Pesticides
- Hormones
- Nitrates
In fact, the EPA has been awarded a grant, grant number: R825384, titled: Health Risk of the Trihalomethanes Found in Drinking Water Carcinogenic Activity and Interactions. For this reason, alone, it is imperative that we not only consume enough water a day but to make sure it is clean water. So, how do we get clean water?
Bottled Water Is Less Regulated Than Your Local Water Supply Company
Well, you might say that I’ll just pick up a case of bottled water the next time I go to the grocery store. The bottled water industry is LESS regulated than your local water system.
For instance, your local community’s public water plants are required to test for contaminants. This is more often than bottled water companies do. These public utilities must give consumers a report specifying what contaminants are in the water. Water bottling companies don’t have to do that.
In fact, there is little evidence to suggest the bottled water is any cleaner or safer for you, than its tap water equivalent.
Dangers Of Some Bottled Water
It’s also known that if you purchase water in plastic containers, you’re at a higher risk of consuming BPA. BPA stands for bisphenol and is considered toxic and a carcinogen.
Therefore, if you are concerned or would like to learn more about your municipal water, you can learn about your supplier’s water quality from the “Consumer Confidence Report.” This is published by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Clean Water Filtering
In any case, finding the right way to filter your water can be hard and costly. At any rate, here are a few of the filters you might want to investigate further.
- Activated carbon filters
- Reverse osmosis
- Distiller
- Ultraviolet light (UV) light
- KDF F (kinetic degradation plug station) with redox may be a major water perfect Haitian breakthrough
- Ion exchange water softener
- Activated of alumina – a major breakthrough in fluoride and arsenic removal
- Copper-zinc systems
- Ceramic filters
- Bone char filtration
In conclusion, we can see the importance of drinking clean water and our bodies cannot survive without this vital nutrient. Furthermore, find the right amount of water that your body needs. Be sure to consume that amount each day. Your body will thank you!
Regrettably, you may have to do some research to find a quality way of getting clean water where you live. But the benefits you can receive by drinking clean water are well worth it. If you don’t have your health, what do you really have?
Resources:
- https://water.usgs.gov/edu/propertyyou.html
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256
- https://www.livescience.com/32320-how-long-can-a-person-survive-without-water.html
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-the-average/
- https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.highlight/abstract/22
- https://www.nrdc.org/stories/4-ways-avoid-toxic-chemicals-food-packaging
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/bpa/faq-20058331
- https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water 1
- https://www.drdavidwilliams.com/how-to-purify-water/
- https://www.engineeringforchange.org/ten-low-cost-ways-to-treat-water/
Leave a Reply