Lewis County Herald - Serving Hohenwald, Lewis County Tennessee Since 1898

No one on this planet can live without this precious liquid for more than a few days. After all, we’re made mostly of water. Sixty percent of most adult bodies are water. Infants are true “water babies,” weighing in at eighty percent water. By retirement age, the ratio drops to around fifty percent. There is water in every cell of the body and in every type of body tissue.

Water in the body helps digest the sandwich you had for lunch and loads the blood with the dissolved nutrients, which it carries to each living cells. In the process, water helps carry toxins and waste products away from cells, to the lungs, skin or kidneys to be excreted. Water also helps solid wastes move through the intestines. Water is the major transporter for the body.

A healthy body’s temperature hovers at 98.60 F, regardless of the weather outside or the great amount of heat generated inside us, thanks to self-adjusting blood vessel thermostats and the cooling effects of perspiration evaporating from the skin. Water is our temperature regulator.

Without water to lubricate our joints, they would stop moving and we would stiffen up like statues. Our lungs would not be able to inflate or deflate. Water is the essential lubricator for our body.

Taking water in, but how much is needed? An active person may need more than non-active person. Increase water intake as the activity is increased. The guideline for a healthy body is “drink one-half of your body weight in ounces of water daily.” For example, a 140 pounds person needs to go for 70 ounces. Don’t fret with trying to measure the amount. Just remember that an average swallow will be about one ounce, therefore, you could count your swallows instead of your ounces. This will make your daily water intake much easier to keep up with. Meeting this guideline will also help keep your skin well hydrated. This will always be a plus for us as we get older. Drink before you get thirsty.

Plain water is the best toast to our health. Drink it up and notice the improvements in the functions of your body, inside and out.

For more information, call Lewis County Senior Health and Fitness at 796-5564.