Without water, no living thing can survive. The human body itself is composed of about 72 percent water, according to the Argonne National Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy. Drinking enough water on a daily basis is a necessary part of life and an essential part to maintaining proper health.
Medical Benefits of Water
Water is essential to maintaining optimal health and provides a wide range of health benefits. The Mayo Clinic reports that water performs such vital functions as protecting your organs and tissues, regulates your body temperature, dissolves nutrients to allow your body to use them and carries nutrients and oxygen to your cells. Water's other benefits include moistening the eyes, nose and throat, helping prevent constipation, lubricating joints and flushing waste products from your body.
Dehydration
Dehydration comes when you don't get enough water and can cause serious health problems. Mild to moderate dehydration can cause health effects such as dry mouth, sleepiness, dry skin, headache and dizziness or light-headedness, according to the Mayo Clinic. In severe cases of dehydration, people experience sunken eyes, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, loss of the ability to create sweat, delirium, unconsciousness and even death.
Getting Clean Water
While it's vital to get enough water every day, getting the right kinds of water is key. You can get a lot of water by eating foods that contain it, such as fruits, vegetables and most other non-dehydrated foods. Purified and treated water, such as bottled water and tap water, has gone through a process that removes harmful pathogens and contaminants. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, for example, treated tap water has decreased the number of typhoid fever incidents in the United States from about 45 per year in the early 1920s, to zero by 1960.
Getting Enough Water
You constantly use water, expelling it through perspiration, breathing and excreting it through your waste. The average person, according to the Mayo Clinic, needs about 8 or 9 cups of water per day, but this is from all sources, including food. You get about 20 percent of your daily water requirements from the food you eat, and the rest from the fluid you drink. While the "8 glasses of water per day" rule is widely known, it isn't supported by scientific evidence. In general you should drink enough so that you are not thirsty.
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