Water is one of the main constituting elements of living matter and is the vehicle for all exchanges in the body.
Over 60% of the body is made up of water, which means that a man who weighs 70 kg is made of 42 kg of water.
Water is eliminated in different ways. The daily assessment of water in the body includes losses through:
- the skin (vapour) and lungs (0.5 %),
- in excrements (4.5 %),
- and in urine (approximately 1 litre or 95 %).
The body requires a daily supply of 2.5 to 3 litres of water to compensate for losses (drinking water and water contained in food). A good way to determine how much drinking water we should have per day, would be to divide our body weight (in pounds) and drink that amount in ounces. (Ex: you weight 150 lbs – you should drink 75 ounces of water.)
Digestive secretions (including water and what we have eaten) amount to nearly 10 litres per day and are reabsorbed by the small intestine and the colon.
A small amount of this water is formed within the cells and results from the oxidation that occurs there; however, most of the water in the body comes from beverages and food.
VERY IMPORTANT: Water can also be absorbed by the skin while taking a shower or bath. This questions the soaking therapy in bath water and mineral salts. While soaking, you are not only absorbing the salts and the water, but also what is in the water. Chlorinated water is not necessarily the best water to be absorbed by your skin. Whatever benefit that you get from the salt, will be counteracted by the harm that the chlorinated water is doing to your body. Soaking in chlorinated water is not a healthy solution. Having a massage to activate the lymphatic system and drinking water would be more beneficial than soaking in chlorinated water.
- Total water = 60 to 70% of body weight.
- Plasma water (water contained in the blood vessels) = 4.5%.
- Extracellular water = 16% of body weight.
- Total fasting can lead to a 9% weight loss in two days, 5% on the third day, and then 1.5% the following days. (However, this should not be done without the consultation of your practitioner).
- Two elements are necessary for the body to cleanse itself:
- Plant fibre – To accelerate digestion and help form stools.
- Water – To help produce urine.
- The amount of water contained in the food we eat varies. For instance, hazelnuts contain 5% water and cucumbers contain 75%.
