The Human Water Cycle
In a sense, we are water containers but the water that enters us leaves us a very different kind of fluid than when it entered us. Understanding the human water cycle helps us to understand why we need to drink a lot more water and should be an encouragement to satisfy one of our body's most essential needs.
Water Intake You know that the water cycle begins with you absorbing water and ends with you eliminating some fluid. The cycle of water begins in either the mouth, the lungs or the skin. Obviously, most water is absorbed when we drink fluids hopefully usually water. But we can also inhale in water vapor through our lungs. In fact because much inhalation is unintentional, this is a good way of absorbing something that is not healthy and not being aware you just did so. Finally, you know our skin is an organ, like the brain or lungs or heart. It is our largest organ. We all have lots of skin. Our skin absorbs anything that makes contact with it. Liquids go from your skin and right into your blood. Remember that the next time you apply some lotion to your skin. Water's Path After the water, or the liquid made mostly of water, enters us it passes thru the body directed this way and that way according to what the body needs. Just like when we travel and feel tired, when water goes through our bodies it gets "worn out." That means it is stripped of most of nutrients like vitamins and minerals and becomes saddled with all kinds of toxins and impurities. That's good. It's working like it ought to work.
After the water has served it's purpose your body has to eliminate it. Depending on how long that water was in the human water cycle, it ranges from pretty clean and clear to very full of impurities and yellowish or orangy. When your urine color is some shade of citrus it is telling you to drink more water. There are 4 routes that elimination could take: 1)Kidneys: Eliminate approximately 1 to 1.5 quarts of liquid every day in the form of urine, 95% is water and 5% is waste. The kidneys purify your blood and keep check on the amount of liquid your body has available to it. If there is too little water in your body, the kidneys will eliminate wastes using less water. This is very bad for your kidneys and your overall health. 2)Skin: Your skin sweats, 99% water, 1% wastes. We all sweat much usually more than we are aware of. Throughout the day we sweat off about a half a quart of liquid. When exercising or feverish, you could sweat off a quart per hour. 3)Lungs:We also exhale water vapor. Just breath on a mirror and see the water film. You lose water with every breath you take and every move you make. A lot - at least a glass of liquid per day and much more if you work out. 4)Intestines: Bowel movements require about a glass or two of water per day. So what's the point? If you add up the amount of liquid you lose in a normal day it is about 2 to 2.5 quarts a day in just the normal human water cycle and that's if you do nothing but sit and meditate. Not likely. Most people do more than just rest and most of us do much much more. The water lost has to be replaced by water in foods and especially just plain gulps of water. Most people (80%)aren't replacing what is lost. And that is setting the stage for all kinds of health problems that will get worse as we get older. That's the point of understanding the human water cycle.
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