Water for Health

Water and Children

Children need water to convert food to energy quickly and efficiently. If deprived of it their physical and mental responses rapidly slow down. Conditions linked to under-hydration in children include constipation, bedwetting, urinary tract infections and kidney stones as well as fatigue and irritability.

Dehydration is a particular problem amongst primary school children. A recent Government survey found that fewer than half of primary children (half of secondary children) drank water at school. The prescribed amount of water is 1.5 litres per day.

Several studies have shown that dehydration adversely affects mental performance. One of the most recent of these found that children's cognitive ability deteriorated by 10 per cent when they were thirsty and that this was more apparent in the afternoon.

Children's bodies contain a higher percentage of water than those of adults – and tend to lose it more quickly through sweat. By drinking more water their physical activity also improves. Dehydrated children will be less physically active. They will feel lethargic and won't want to exercise.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/medical-facts/chidren

Water and Adults

Water is the most important nutrient of life. It is the main constituent of the body and in adults forms 50-60% of body weight. The exact amount varies with age and sex and also depends on body fat content. Men have around 60% of body weight as water and women, 52% of body weight. The lower figure for women is because they have more body fat.

Water is vital to many functions in the body. These include maintaining cell structure, forming a solvent within which chemical reactions in the body can take place, physically transporting other nutrients and oxygen through the body via the bloodstream, transporting white blood cells to fight infection via the lymphatic system, and enabling the body to get rid of waste products via the excretory systems, such as through the formation of urine.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/medical-facts/adults

Water and Older People

Water can make a valuable contribution to health in old age. As we age, our body's needs and health concerns change but the requirement for water as an essential element of good health remains constant. Unfortunately many older people do not drink adequate amounts of water leaving them susceptible to the risk of serious dehydration and other complications.

The human body is composed of at least 50% water, of which 2-3 quarts are lost on a daily basis. Even bones are over 20% water! Apart from replenishing what is lost in order to hydrate the blood and tissues, water also lubricates joints, regulates temperature, and moistens the lungs to allow for breathing. Inadequate water intake over time prevents these processes from occurring, leading to arthritis, sore muscles, heavy breathing, and a higher body temperature. This means that not drinking enough water over time can result in more severe effects at an older age, which means preventable problems during what should be the 'golden years'.

Senior citizens can be at particular risk of dehydration because their kidney function may have diminished to some degree. Symptoms of dehydration, which can cause death in extreme circumstances, include confusion, drowsiness, labored speech, dry mouth, and sunken eyeballs. Side effects for seniors who do not drink enough water, however, extend far beyond dehydration. Even short-term water deprivation has been known to cause chronic pain. Over time, lack of water causes loss of muscle tone, excess weight gain, slow metabolism, increased toxicity, and even organ failure. Other negative effects include arthritis, dry skin, migraines, hypertension, digestive complications, and persistent constipation.

In order to maintain health, the kidneys must excrete a minimum of ten ounces of waste per day. When water is not available, there is nothing present in which to dissolve the body's waste products (uric acid and urea) for expulsion. As a result, they build up within the body, leading to kidney stones, while putting additional strain on the kidneys to find adequate liquid with which to expel toxins.

Considering the abundance of water in our environment, the fact that most senior citizens are consistently dehydrated to some degree is alarming. All foods contain water - fruits and vegetables around 75%, bread around 30%. Yet with the abundance of water in their diet, the average senior citizen still requires around 1.6 litres of pure water every day to maintain good health.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/medical-facts/older-people

Tap Vs Bottled

Both tap water and bottled water make an important contribution to health. Both are required to meet stringent standards - but there are a number of important differences.

Most notably, when measured by volume bottled water costs around 400 to 1000 times that of tap water (where charges for tap water have been applied). Bottled water has to be carried home ; tap water appears at the sink. Tap water is required to meet more quality standards than bottled water. Tap water quality is monitored at the point of consumption; some bottled waters are monitored at retail outlets. The results of tap water quality checks are required by law to be placed on public record; those of bottled water checks are not.

Tap water is tested at every stage of its treatment. Tap water usually comes from reservoirs or other surface water sources – all of which are tested daily. It is pumped from these sources to filter beds where layers of graded sand or carbon filters remove all particles of matter or microbes – and it is tested again. At this stage the water is checked in laboratories against 57 parameters which can detect 80 to 90 different substances. After this the water is chlorinated to ensure that any remaining bacteria are killed. If any unwanted substances get through these tests and processes they will be in such small quantities as to be harmless.

Northern Ireland tap water achieved a compliance level with new rigorous EC water quality standards of 99.23% in 2006. We believe that tap water, as opposed to bottled water, is as good as it gets.

 

Medical Facts

Much research has been done into the links between hydration and health. A resource of published information is available at http://www.water.org.uk/home/water-for-health/medical-facts.