Important Water Factors for the Human Body

The history of water dates back to the beginning of time as a form of many things including dependency, transportation, exploration, cultural ties, and is even a source of power for countries. Dating back to the beginning of time, humans have settled near convenient sources of water because most of the great ancient civilizations depended on a particular source of water to use for transportation. For example, the Egyptians centered their civilization on the Nile, while Chinese civilization was located primarily in the Yellow and Yangzi river basins (Richards, 2014).

Water was the main facilitator of rapid transportation prior to about 1850 C.E. but could also have been seen as a manner of protection or vehicle for trade. Water provided barriers that created a sense of differentiation between lands and peoples that do not get along.

During an attack, water causes a more difficult journey to a destination. In the era of exploration and discovery, the Europeans heavily explored all the major oceans to find new territories, land, and goods (Richards, 2014).

Not only did the focus on understanding the oceans connections to certain rivers and other bodies of water, but the water was also a means to the founding of other lands or goods to be used and traded. A more innovative take on the history of water shows how it ties together what might normally be distinct areas and provide the means for a common culture between them (Richards, 2014). If two groups of people are separated by a body of water, the water can be a vehicle for the creation of a morphed culture.

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Water was also an important source of power in the period before the Industrial Revolution (Richards, 2014).

Through the more modern eras, steam power made water necessary because water was an essential component in all kinds of manufacturing processes. Drinking enough water is commonly encouraged in weight loss regimens and are regarded as healthy (Boschmann et al., 2003). The effect of water drinking on adipose tissue metabolism was assessed throughout an experiment, produced through the Nutrition Today journal, through the microdialysis technique. The microdialysis technique is a minimally-invasive sampling technique that is used for continuous measurement of free concentrations in the extracellular fluid of virtually any tissue (Boschmann et al., 2003). The results concluded that, in men, lipids mainly fueled the increase in metabolic rate. In contrast, carbohydrates were the main energy source in women. The increase in energy expenditure with water was diminished.

This concludes that drinking two liters of water per day would augment energy expenditure by a great deal (Boschmann et al., 2003). The thermogenic effect of water should be considered when estimating energy expenditure, particularly during weight loss programs. This generally states that the more water you drink, the more energy your body burns which correlates directly to the adipose fat tissue. Talking more on the level of science and the body, life on earth has evolved as a consequence of the presence of water. Water has many properties that seem indispensable for the proper functioning of cells in the body. Water is an excellent solvent for ions, a requirement for nerve signaling, enzyme activity, mineralization of organic compounds, and the properties of DNA (Kavouras & Anastasiou, 2010).

Water also has weak intermolecular interactions, called hydrogen bonds, that is a necessity for protein binding in their substrates, which is necessary for protein structure. Another factor of water that makes it so influential in the body is the high specific heat of water, in relation to other substances, making it capable of absorbing or losing heat without a major temperature change (Kavouras & Anastasiou, 2010). This process protects the living cells from massive temperature changes that could cause cell disfigurement or death. Water plays an intricate and vital role in many processes of the body that can help to draw the line between a healthy, functioning system and one that is not. The fundamental powers of everything are based on the elements, while the object itself is a thing that only has a physical existence without the inclusion of the element (Hammacher, 1995).

Water is not necessarily elemental when looking at the chemical properties, but a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. This fact about water, though, does not conclude that water is not an element, even with its compound qualities because everything is made up of something else, even when it is a component of everything else. Even something that is the most basic unit and nonreducible, an atom, is made of electrons and quarks. It is fact that living things are made of cells and cells have their own smaller components but we still know of cells as the smallest unit of life (Hammacher, 1995). Related to water, water is made of other things but is still considered a major element. Water as an element actually has the smallest cosmic presence of the original four elements which brings to question whether water is actually the most important element (Hammacher, 1995). Even if water is the smallest in abundance, it plays an important role in the human body.

Water is one of the most essential elements for the human body, as it is present in every cell, tissue, and organ of the body (Salles, 2016). Good hydration enables nutrients to be carried by the bloodstream to all cells, nourishing these structures to regulate and control our functions (Salles, 2016). Body functions that depend on water include chemical reactions, breathing, circulation, kidney functions, detoxification, digestion, defense systems, and skin (Salles, 2016). Another benefit of adequate hydration is the proper function of the intestines. Water also helps regulate body temperature as well as aid our skin in performing exchanges with the outer environment and maintaining hydrated causes skin vitality (Salles, 2016). The human body is made of 70% water, and when the levels of liquid fall, we have threatening dehydration that causes the body to shut down leaving lasting, possibly detrimental results.