Beat the heat with water
(By Lisa Sarah John, Courtesy Bangalore Times,
March 12, 2007)
With temperatures rising, there’s increased thirst,
too. There’s the tempting option of juices and colas, but remember though juices are refreshing they also bring 4-5
teaspoons of natural fruit sugar into the body, increasing your calorie intake. Colas contain sugar plus several other additives
which can be harmful to the body. The sugar content is 7 teaspoons sugar in every 300 ml of cola and other aerated drinks.
Earlier, it was recommended that eight glasses of water must be consumed daily. Recent research says
8-10 glasses is the minimum requirement. This is not counting coffee, tea, juices or buttermilk; there is a certain proportion
of plain water required by the body to maintain the dilution of the blood, motility of the digestive tract and flushing of
the kidneys. When you add sugar, milk, salt, squash, juice, etc. to the water it becomes concentrated and is not available
to actually dilute the blood and body fluids.
Drinking adequate water helps relieve constipation, acidity and acne problems. It’s only in cases
of patients suffering from any kidney ailment that the doctor may restrict water intake.
Water is almost medicinal. Sixty per cent of the human body is made up of water. We lose water every
day as perspiration, urine, saliva and enzymes. And this has to be replaced. One of the leading causes of fatigue is poor
water intake. Recent research shows that a person’s mental capacity to work with figures and numbers is much higher
when the body is fully hydrated. When a person does not drink enough water we find that the saliva and perspiration gets very
concentrated and gives off an offensive odour.
If you are on a weight loss programme, then the fat being broken down in the body causes waste products
called ketone bodies to be formed and they have to be removed. Therefore if you are on a weight reduction programme you should
be drinking three litres of water a day. Sports people may require up to four litres. Beyond that may be taxing to the kidney.
With summer setting in make it a point to drink water correctly and keep both your body and mind fresh and active.
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