The Way of Water, Part 3, Water's Importance to Health

Water's importance to Health
Water is common, innocuous, and essential. Like love and health, it's easy to take water for granted until it's missing.

Water is the foundation fo each cell, of each organ, and of the body as a whole. Two-thirds of water in the body is intracellular, while the remaining one-third is extracellular. However, water's concentration within the various parts of the body differs. For example, according to studies, the brain and heart are made up of approximately 73 percent water, the skin is 64 percent water and the lungs are 83 percent water. Even the hardest parts of the body, the bones, contain 31 percent water.

In a way, water's simplicity is part of its potency. It's the ultimate enhancer and enabler. As such, it serves many functions in the body. It insulates the spinal cord, brain, and other organs, lubricates and acts as a shock absorber for the joints, heps to regulate body temperature through respiration and perspiration, flushes waste and toxins from the body, carries oxygen to the cells, and helps to break food down into nutrients that the body can absorb.

Anyone who's been in the ocean with a scrape or cut, or gargled with salt water to ease a sore throat, can attest to water's ability to heal. Keeping our bodies well-hydrated plays an essential role in memory and focus, in boosting our energy and mood levels, and in maintaining proper blood pressure. It also helps to reduce the effects of aging, helps to keep constipation and illnesses a bay, and improves our physical performance.

As with all things in life, balance is key. Too  much water in the body can lead to issues such as congestive heart failure, nausea, diarrhea, or low sodium and other electrolytes. Conversely, too little water, dehydration, can lead to things such as acute kidney failure, joint pain, muscle cramping, and an excess of sodium and electrolytes, to name just a few examples.

Clearly, water has a tremendous impacty on our physical health. But if we slow down long enough to appreciate the wonders of water- wonders that haven't been lost on the poets, philosophers, and spiritually enlightened of the world- the life lessons water has to teach can also have a significant impact on how we view the world, which can have a profound effect on our mental health. 
Remember to drink plenty of fresh clean Spring water. 
Stay tuned for Part 4, Lessons From Water: Let Go and Flow