Why Water Works!!

Hello everyone,

Something to think about now that it is very hot outside. Let us all consider why staying hydrated is soo important. As our bodies are trying to cool, we are constantly producing sweat, which uses more water than you think! Also, all the process that are used to produce sweat and expel it from the body use water as part of the chemical reaction, including producing the energy molecule (ATP), which is used for energy for everything that the body does.

Now, lets follow water as it is taken into the body. As you swallow water, it is taken into the esophagus and transported into the stomach. From there it makes it way into the small intestine. From the small intestine, it is absorbed thru the wall of the small intestine and enters the blood flow. As the water is absorbed into the blood vessels surrounding the small intestine, the blood volume increases by that same amount!! This could be a large amount depending on how much you drank. As the blood volume increases, the blood pressure also increases, and this can be very helpful. During a very hot day, most of us do not drink enough, thus allowing our blood volume in turn to decrease, which lowers blood pressure somewhat. The increase in blood pressure causes blood flow to increase which moves particles in the blood thru the body more quickly. The most important for our discussion are oxygen within the red blood cells, and sugar as glucose. This is why on a very hot day when you are sweating a lot, it helps you to feel better if you consistently drink more water, keeping your blood pressure up and moving blood, and therefore oxygen and sugar thru the body more quickly and efficiently.

Water, of course, has many other important and life saving duties, but I though that this was a quick and simply way of explaining how simply put, water keeps you feeling better.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Mckim