Why water is so important in our lives

Pay attention: as soon as you are dehydrated, that is running out of water, your energy levels drop, you feel tired and dizzy, your skin dries out and the headacheThese are the body's signals that indicate, if it were still necessary, how important water is in our lives, and above all for our health.

Water is life. In every sense, and not only from a symbolic point of view and for its extremely high value. The numbers speak for themselves and prove it. Human Body, for example, is made for the 70 percent water, and it's the same percentage (again 70 percent) that indicates the planet's surface covered by water. Obviously, in this case, the sea is important (97,5 percent of all the world's water is made up of seawater), but if you add a small percentage of frozen water (1,75 percent of the total), and therefore unavailable, a crucial reason becomes clear to you to avoid wasting this life-giving resource at all costs. Namely: water is there, even if it's not always abundant, it's just not well distributed, a key element of the injustices amplified by globalization, and in many parts of the world it's managed poorly. Very poorly. Even in Italy where we are specialists in waste of water through networks reduced to a sieve, with non-existent maintenance e losses greater than 50 percentWater leaks, ours, all of us. And not just those of the companies that do their job, sometimes well and sometimes poorly, managing the distribution of the water that then reaches our taps.

Index of topics

How much water should we drink?

Returning to the human body, and the importance of proper water use for our health, its importance is enshrined in two simple rules of sustainable living. Rule one: you need to drink a lot of water during the day, regularly, avoiding excesses such as drinking water that is too cold or even iced. How much water should you drink? The answer varies based on age, lifestyle, and individual health needs. It's clear that those who engage in sports activities as athletes need more water than others: they should drink approximately every 15-20 minutes. The same goes for people who suffer from kidney stones, for gold, water becomes essential for prevention. By drinking plenty and often (the exact amount, if you have kidney stone problems, ask your doctor) you can almost always avoid the formation of stones, and therefore the excruciating pain associated with this pathology, and the costs, not only financial, of treatment. In any case, Italians still consume very little water: 80 percent less than half a liter a day, according to a Censis survey.

Conclusion: Given that determining the right amount of water is complicated and depends on a number of factors, as we've said, you can simplify by calibrating your needs based on some fairly common guidelines. The first indicates the amount of water needed in two liters per day, also taking into account the amount of water present in foods. Then there's the ancient advice of "eight glasses," a general rule, which can nevertheless serve as a useful guide. And finally, drink according to the needs of your body, which, as usual, speaks to you.

How to quench thirst

To avoid dehydration, adopt some good habits that will help you quench your thirst. For example: always drink a glass of water in the morning, at room temperature, upon waking, and one in the evening, before going to bed. During the day, try to drink herbal teas and teas without sugar, or with a teaspoon of honey. Always keep a bottle of water handy: on your desk when you're working. On your bedside table, for morning and night. In your pocket if you're going on long, strenuous walks, which will certainly stimulate your thirst.

Water for digestion and respiration

Le rules of sustainable and responsible lifestyles, as we often write, should not become obsessions. This applies to food, and we've discussed it on more than one occasion, and it also applies to water. If you overdo it, you risk problems, and not minor ones. Too much water in the human body (never forget that fruits and vegetables, but foods in general, also contain water) dilutes sodium in the blood, worsening our body's functions, both muscular and cerebral. And from here, the least that can happen is to put excessive pressure on the kidneys, impairing their essential function. Once we've clarified the equation between water and life, and the crucial importance of drinking, we can take a step forward and reconstruct another aspect of the crucial importance of water in the sustainable world we dream of—with open eyes, with determination, with daily gestures and not just with beautiful theories. Water is a paradigm of the world turned upside down, of the waste that lurks within our cynical indifference.

Benefits of water for the body

Water is the most precious thing for our body. We could never do without it. But not only that: a number of things in our body function only thanks to water.

70-75 percent of muscles are made up of water, which lubricates them and ensures their proper functioning.
La leather hydrated it is not dry, and quickly becomes smooth, soft and luminous.
With little water the mouth becomes dry, we struggle to mix food with saliva and we have problems both with swallowing and with the digestion.
Water regulates body temperature, and if it is insufficient we can experience thermal stress.
Water helps the digestive system, the correct breathing, and protects the cornea and vitreous, which are also 90 percent water.
Prevents kidney problems and helps in weight loss: water is recommended in all diets that work.
Eliminates waste from the body through the sweat, urine and feces.
The benefits of water are particularly important for women, as proper hydration is essential for combating and alleviating the typical problems associated with cellulite.

Water against cellulite

When the lymphatic system fails to drain water properly and it stagnates in fat cells, the typical orange peel effect occurs. The benefit of water in cellulite treatment is explained by the fact that it helps move fluids from the extracellular space into the blood, thus reducing swelling and keeping the skin elastic and healthy. Several studies show that water also helps prevent cellulite. cystitis, and reduces the frequency of the most recurrent urinary tract infections.

Water shortage

We squander water , wasting it every day. And they, the inhabitants of countries where it's lacking, die from health problems or from wars to control it. The water that's wasted is the water that kills us.

Nothing more than water, not even food, tells us of an unjust world divided into two rooms, as Mother Teresa of Calcutta explained to me, where in one we die and in the other we waste. One billion people , a good portion concentrated in starving Africa, do not have access to drinking water . Another billion people squander water, squander it every day, including Italians, who consume 175 liters per capita per year and at the same time fill their bellies with mineral water at a rate of 192 liters per capita, a world record, after Saudi Arabia and Mexico.

In one part of the world where water is scarce and poorly used, only 8 percent of domestic and industrial wastewater is treated; in high-income countries, the richest group, the percentage rises to 70 percent. Rich and poor, people who waste and those who fail; families who live in food and health security, families who effectively live in sewers. Water, and its intolerable distribution, signals to us, like a skyrocketing thermometer, the tropical temperature that envelops major supranational organizations, from the UN to UNICEF, in helplessness in the face of this global problem. One more reason for us, as individuals and communities, to take responsibility for it daily, simply but also effectively.

Faced with this scenario, not wasting water —through everyday behavior, lifestyles that are not Franciscan but inspired by common sense and a modicum of responsibility—becomes a revolutionary gesture . Disruptive. A gesture that evokes a necessity (reducing water consumption), but also a responsibility (not being indifferent to those without access to water).

Water waste

Let's start with a number: 192 liters per capita . Our per capita consumption, equal to 70 liters per year, is one of the highest in the world. Definitely too much. A bulimia that also hides a lot of waste, including the most insidious ones that we no longer even notice.

On this site, we offer our readers a small, clear guide to avoiding water waste at home . After all, no one can tell you it's difficult to turn off a faucet while brushing your teeth, or to install a water softener that, by itself, saves thirty percent on the cost. And no one can tell us it's complicated to use the shower more than the bathtub, or not to wash the car every week. These are simple, but essential, actions. Think about them, and not just on World Water Day (March 22nd each year): it's good for you, and ultimately, it's good for the entire planet.

Water for plants

As for man, thewater It is also essential for plants. Thanks to thewater, in fact, all the nutrients that keep the plants alive and allow their growth circulate. Furthermore, thewater, contained in the soil, keeps the vital functions of plants active, allows their reproduction and development and allows enzymes to carry out their activity for cell turnover. For a plant withoutwater Its fate is sealed. First it changes color and becomes opaque, then it withers and finally dies.