Know your water

Need for water

Next to air, water is the element most necessary for survival. Our body is 70% water.

Water intake helps us to flush out toxins from our body. Naturally inadequate water intake means accumulation of toxins in our body with added dryness and constipation.

Our kidneys remove uric acid and urea and it is necessary that these are dissolved in water for effective removal from our body. So, without water, we would get poisoned by the unremoved wastes. In addition, if we don’t consume adequate water, the kidney may receive no water for dissolving the uric acid and urea. It means kidney stones inside us.

Water has other uses. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells through the blood. Then it helps us cool the body through perspiration. Water also lubricates our joints. We also need water to breathe because our lungs must be moist to take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide. Lack of water inside our body means excess body fat, poor muscle tone and size, decreased digestive efficiency and organ function, increased toxicity in ithe body, joint and muscle soreness. If you don’t drink adequate water, your body retains the water in you without releasing it. And it has its own consequences.

Proper water intake is a key to weight loss. Take eight to ten glasses of water per day. In summer you would need more water. If you exercise, you would need more water. If you are over weight, you need additional water at the rate one glass extra for every ten kilos of extra weight you may have.

You need about 8 to 10 glasses of water every day including the other liquid intakes by you such as butter milk, coconut water, milk etc. In general, you should take 30 ml of water for every kilo of your weight. And this water consumption should be spread through out the day.



Water Contamination

Water contamination is the main source of infection and diseases like:

Jaundice
Diarrhoea
Gastroenteritis [vomitting, diarrhoea and fever]
Cholera [Severe gastroenteritis]

All these happen when our drinking water at some stage gets contaminated.

Water Resources

There was a time when our rivers and tanks were considered as holy and people who went to take bath there used to first worship the water and than take bath without applying on themselves any oil or soap. These traditions were prescribed with the sole intention that our life giving water sources need to be treated with respect and reverence and if treated that way these sources of water supply would remain pure.

But those days are long over and today in full view and participation of public, our water resources are polluted even in the name of worship. The way we pollute our own drinking water, it is very clear that we don’t need any other foreign enemy to destroy us and that we are totally self reliant in the matter.

Already people use the banks of our water resources for human defecation. They also pollute the water by washing clothes, applying detergents, and throw garbage into it. Many people religiously bring used puja flowers etc. in plastic bags and throw into the water of lake and rivers. Industries allow their effluents to flow into the nearby water resource and municipalities connect their drain to it.

It had been reported that more than twenty thousand idols of dieties are immersed into the water in each of our city water resources at the time of festivals like Ganesh Chathurthi and Kali pooja along with used puja materials in plastic bags. And what is notable is the local Governments make elaborate arrangements to oversee this planned and festive water contamination.

There were times when the immersed idols were only made of mud and it caused no water contamination at all. Today’s idols of small, big and huge sizes, are made by using tons of plaster of paris, manganese, chromium, sulphide, mercuric oxide, arsenic, cadmium, oil, grease, etc. Where does this water go ultimately? Into our stomach. I just can’t understand as to why the Governments can not prevent all this water contamination or at least start educating public through media advertisements and announcements. Every one is doing this murderous activity with all the festive celebrations and no one is bothered about our health implications including diseases and physical handicap in those who consume this water.

We all know there is plenty of pollution all around us. When rain falls on this earth, it naturally picks up the dust, germs, lead and other polluting minerals which we leave in the air. Now this water falls and gets accumulated in rivers and lakes. And when the river passes through our towns, our ground pollution and sewerage get added to it. Thus the water we have in our rivers and lakes today are all highly polluted. Possibly under this reason our elders stated that water from the house well is more good for health. Because the water in the well comes out of mother earth who gives us the spring after due cleaning and distillation. But these days well water is out of fashion and people do not provide for wells in houses. And the few old wells still remaining is unused collecting all dirt. Thus we have come a full circle and perfected the art of polluting our all water resources.

Water Supply points

Now let us move on to the next stage, i.e. to water treatment plants and water lines.

The water being consumed now a days by most of city dwellers come through a civic agency and through the pipes installed by the consumers. The water contamination in this network takes places at different levels as under:

Inadequate treatment and chlorinating at the treatment plant
Higher level of chlorine content in the water
Non-monitoring of water drawn from the source, say the wells
Complacency in testing samples
Corrosion in water lines
Pores and leakage in the distribution network allowing entry of bacteria
Aging and rusted pipes at the consumers’ place
Non-cleaning of storage tanks periodically

Mineral Water

In these days some people opt for mineral water believing they are very pure. It is said that the demand for bottled water has bloomed to over 400 million liters per year. It must certainly be true when we view the fierce competition in this field and availability of different brands in the market.

Based on the recommendation of the Central Committee of Food Standards, the Government it appears issued orders that mineral water should be sold in the market only under the ISI mark, but we find no bottled water bearing this mark. There was a newspaper reporting quoting a survey conducted by Consumer Education and Research Society that in many cases traces of arsenic, fluorides and aluminium were found in the bottled water. It has also been found that many operators in the field set up bottling plants and start marketing filtered and treated water as mineral water and exploit the huge market.

Natural Water

In this context, it would be interesting and useful to listen to what naturopaths advocate. They advice intake of more of vegetables and fruits in raw form, so that the water contained in them would meet our water needs and reduce the consumption of water from the municipal supply network. They advice consumption more of coconut water, kheera, water melon, etc. so that your need to take the pumped water gets reduced to the minimum.

Some people are even skeptic of even these vegetables, as they believe that these vegetables are grown with sewage water these days. It is true. As a resident of a metropolitan city, I had observed growing of palak etc along the railway tracks with all the sewage water. But naturopaths inform that whatever may the form of water that is fed to a coconut tree, it filters the same before consumption and its water is always sweet. Similarly, they say, all plants and trees, filter the water supplied to them and accordingly the water contained in these vegetables and fruits are distilled water. So, according to them, they are very safe for our consumption.

What can you do?

In case you are interested in getting pure drinking water, you need to boil the water and allow it evaporate leaving behind all the residues. And now you have to collect the residue free evaporated water and help it to condense. When you have done this well, you would have the hundred percent pure water for your drinking purposes. But do you have the needed time for doing this?

Well, we can’t avoid using the municipal tap water. In which case, we the consumers are to be careful of the above pitfalls and take all actions to safeguard our health against the water borne diseases. You are therefore advised to take the following actions to prevent water borne diseases:

Clean your overhead tank or the underground sump every fortnight
Check your service pipelines and attend to any damage, rusting or leakage
Replace them if they are more than 15 years old
Shift your service/water pipe line if it is passing through a drain or sewer
If you are using bore wells or tube wells for drinking water, get the water tested
Do not use the water of shallow hand pumps for drinking purposes
Do not use online booster as it increases the risk of contamination
Avoid the online booster as it affects your neighbors too
Do not use the water supplied by private tankers for drinking

Good habits

Drinking cool and plain water in the empty stomach right in the morning is generally practiced by many people. It is said that this cleanses the stomach and makes every organ function well. If you are one among those who follows this practice, make sure you also observe the following procedures:

The water you drink should be pure
It should be boiled the previous night and kept cooling till the next morning
You should have brushed your teeth prior to going to bed the previous night
The water is not more than 1.25 litres, say one water bottle
You don’t take tea or coffee or any other thing till an hour after drinking water

The best time to drink water is when you are thirsty. Drink water according to your body’s demand. Your body knows the best. But also be conscious of your bare minimum needs of 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. It is possible by your not taking adequate water you have made your body accustomed to less of water and hence you don’t feel the thirst. So you can start your day with drinking 2 to 3 glasses of water to cleanse your body of toxins and get yourself rid of any accumulated acidity and constipation.

Never drink water during meals as it would dilute the digestive juices coming up in your stomach. If they get diluted they would be unable to work effectively and consequently would not be able to absorb the nutrients from the food you take. Yes sometimes we may feel the need to take water while eating. It may be due to your intake of more of sugar, salt, spices or maida which always demand for more water. Avoid these enemies to your health and your body would not demand for water while you take food. You need too take water minimum half an hour before meals or one hour after meals.

When you go out in hot sun, take sugar candy along with you. That will serve as water for you