Day after day, day
after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a
painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.
Water, water, every
where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every
where,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot:
Oh Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did
crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea ...
Ah! well a-day! what
evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the
Albatross
About my neck was hung ...
Four times fifty living
men,
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a
lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.
The souls did
from their bodies fly,—
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every
soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my cross-bow!
(“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 1798)
The second part of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the famous poem by Samuel Talor Coleridge describes what happens after the Mariner kills the albatross with his cross bow. All the shipmates of the Ancient Mariner condemned his action of killing the Albatross, a bird of good omen. They said that he had done a devilish thing and it would bring them misfortune. And, something surely did.
Due to the commission of this hellish thing their ship got stuck in the middle of the hot and sultry silent sea. With no water to drink and no ray of hope to brighten them up, they went through a lot of physical and mental agony.
After a "weary time", the ship encounters a ghostly hulk. On board are “Death” (a skeleton) and the "Night-mare Life-in-Death,” (a deathly pale woman) who are playing dice for the souls of the crew. With a roll of the dice, Death wins the lives of the crew members and Life-in-Death the life of the mariner, a prize she considers more valuable. Her name is a clue to the mariner's fate: he will endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his killing of the albatross
Just like the famous line, “water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink,” in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” water is around us but is often not clean or safe enough to drink.
Water is needed for life to exist. Yet, only 2.5% of water on the Earth is fresh water, and over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Water demand already exceeds supply in many parts of the world, and many more areas are expected to experience this imbalance in the near future.
Why should we make water needs a number one priority? Globally, some 844 million people do not have any basic access to drinking water services and another two billion people are drinking water likely contaminated with feces according to the World Health Organization (2018). Within 5 years, half of the world's population is expected to live in a water-stressed region. That said, the lack of clear, consistent, and universally-accepted measures of water needs makes it difficult to clearly characterize the scale of the problem.The field of water insecurity research, which is quite new, is advancing a range of emerging methods to better assess and quantify human water needs.
The field of human biology has only recently engaged directly with fully-integrated research questions that address human water needs from environmental and biological perspectives. Water security, broadly defined, is “the ability to access and benefit from affordable, adequate, reliable, and safe water for wellbeing and a healthy life.” When people lack adequate water flows, water quality, and water services, water insecurity undermines health and well-being through several basic pathways.
“When the Well is Dry, We’ll Know the Worth of Water.”
– Benjamin Franklin
2.4 million deaths annually are believed to be preventable with improved water provision, sanitation, and hygiene. Water insecurity also has indirect effects on growth and development. Examples of such pathways include exposure to infectious diarrheas or other diseases either through consumption of unsafe water or insufficient sanitation, limits on child feeding options that require preparation with water, and switching to sugar-sweetened beverages when water is unsafe.
(Amber Wutich, Asher Y. Rosinger, Justin Stoler, Wendy Jepson, Alexandra Brewis. “Measuring Human Water Needs.” Human Biology Toolkit. Am J Hum Biol. November 08, 2019.)
Let's explore the human need of drinking water. Of course, the life-giving benefits of drinking fresh water has been studied and verifies. Water keeps every system in the body functioning properly. The “Harvard Medical School Special Health Report 6-Week Plan for Health Eating” notes that water has many important jobs, such as:
carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells
flushing bacteria from your bladder
aiding digestion
preventing constipation
normalizing blood pressure
stabilizing the heartbeat
cushioning joints
protecting organs and tissues
regulating body temperature
maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance.
How Much Water Do You Need?
Severe dehydration can produce serious health consequences, including delirium, renal failure, seizures, and death. Ingestion of contaminated water produces a range of viral (eg, hepatitis A), bacterial (eg, cholera), and protozoal (eg, amoebiasis) diseases.
Dehydration of as little as 2% loss of body weight results in impaired physiological and performance responses. New research indicates that fluid consumption in general and water consumption in particular can have an effect on the risk of urinary stone disease; cancers of the breast, colon, and urinary tract; childhood and adolescent obesity; mitral valve prolapse; salivary gland function; and overall health in the elderly. Dietitians should be encouraged to promote and monitor fluid and water intake among all of their clients and patients through education and to help them design a fluid intake plan. The influence of chronic mild dehydration on health and disease merits further research.
(S.M. Kleiner. Water: an essential but overlooked nutrient. J Am Diet Assoc. 1999 Feb;99(2):200-6.)
How much water should you drink each day? It's a simple question with no easy answer.
Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years. But your individual water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live. No single formula fits everyone. Your doctor or dietitian can help you determine the amount of water that's right for you every day.
The CDC reports: “Although there is no recommendation for how much plain water adults and youth should drink daily, there are recommendations for daily total water intake that can be obtained from a variety of beverages and foods.” (Refer to the 2005 Institute of Medicine publication.)
(“Get the Facts: Drinking Water and Intake. Centers for Disease Control. 2020. And Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Institute of Medicine. 2005)
Giving your body enough fluids to carry out its tasks means that you're staying hydrated. In 1945, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board recommended that people drink 2.5 liters (84.5 ounces) a day. We've all heard that amounts to drinking eight glasses of water a day.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
However, these recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20% of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks. Many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and spinach, are almost 100% water by weight. In addition, beverages such as milk, juice and herbal teas are composed mostly of water. Even caffeinated drinks – such as coffee and soda – can contribute to your daily water intake. But go easy on sugar-sweetened drinks. Regular soda, energy or sports drinks, and other sweet drinks usually contain a lot of added sugar, which may provide more calories than needed.
(Mayo Clinic Staff. “Water: How much should you drink every day?” Mayo Clinic. 1998-2021.)
Believe it or not, a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked at how the brain regulates the sensation of thirst and the reflex that allows you to swallow and found that the brain actually tamps down on that swallowing reflex once you’ve had enough to drink. Drinking when you’re not thirsty forces you to override that instinct.
(Pascal Saker, Michael J. Farrell, Faiz R. M. Adib, et al. “Regional brain responses associated with drinking water during thirst and after its satiation.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. February 24, 2014.)
This caused the Smithsonian to report …
“So, forget the strict thirteen glass water regimen, and stop forcing yourself to drink when you’re not thirsty. Your brain has many years of evolutionary training to help you figure out when to drink, and how much, and you should just listen to it.”
(Rose Eveleth. “New Rule: Just Drink When You’re Thirsty.” Smithsonian Magazine. March 27, 2014.)
Remember, you might need to modify your total fluid intake based on several factors:
Exercise. If you do any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to cover the fluid loss. It's important to drink water before, during and after a workout.
Environment. Hot or humid weather can make you sweat and requires additional fluid. Dehydration also can occur at high altitudes.
Overall health. Your body loses fluids when you have a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. Drink more water or follow a doctor's recommendation to drink oral rehydration solutions. Other conditions that might require increased fluid intake include bladder infections and urinary tract stones.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding, you may need additional fluids to stay hydrated.
Self-Checking Your Water Intake
You may think this is gross, but one good way of gauging if you drink enough water is to check the color of your urine. Sports-injury-physio.com says to look at the color of your urine after your first visit to the bathroom in the morning. Use the standardized urine color chart to assess your urine’s colour. You are very likely dehydrated if you score a 4 or higher. Remember, if you have been drinking too little fluid daily for a very long time, dark urine may be the only sign that you're dehydrated.
Some health experts say to grab a cool glass of H2O if you experience any of these signs: brain fog and exhaustion, hunger you just can't satisfy, bad breath, migraines, and dry skin.
Too Much Of a Good Thing
Can you drink too much water? Drinking too much water is rarely a problem for healthy, well-nourished adults. It is difficult to drink too much water by accident, but it can happen, usually as a result of overhydrating during sporting events or intense training. Every cell in the body needs water to function correctly. However, drinking too much can lead to water intoxication and serious health consequences.
When you drink too much water, your kidneys can't get rid of the excess water. The sodium content of your blood becomes diluted. This is called hyponatremia and it can be life-threatening. The symptoms of water intoxication are general — they can include confusion, disorientation, nausea, and vomiting. In rare cases, water intoxication can cause swelling in the brain and become fatal.
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.”
– W.H. Auden (1907-1973) Anglo-American poet
Research Reports On Consumption
In 2005-2010, U.S. youth drank an average of 15 ounces of water and in 2011-2014, U.S. adults drank an average of 39 ounces of water on a given day. Among U.S. adults, plain water intake is lower in older adults, lower-income adults, and those with lower education.
(Rosinger AY, Herrick KA, Wutich AY, Yoder JS, Ogden CL. Disparities in plain, tap and bottled water consumption among US adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2014. Public Health Nutr. 2018;21(8):1455-1464.)
A 2013 CDC study reported in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease found that 36% of adults report drinking less than 1-3 cups of water a day, and 7% report drinking no water at all – which is terrible for their health.
“Overall, 7% of adults reported no daily consumption of drinking water, 36% reported drinking 1 to 3 cups, 35% reported drinking 4 to 7 cups, and 22% reported drinking 8 cups or more. The likelihood of drinking less than 4 cups of water daily was significantly higher among participants aged 55 years or older than among those aged 18 to 34 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.3), among residents of the Northeast than among residents of the South (AOR, 1.4), among participants who consumed 1 cup or less of fruits or vegetables per day than among those who consumed 4.5 cups or more (AOR, 3.0), among participants who did not exercise than among those who exercised 150 minutes or more per week (AOR, 1.7), and among participants who were neither trying to gain nor lose weight than among those trying to lose weight (AOR, 1.3).”
(Goodman AB, Blanck HM, Sherry B, Park S, Nebeling L, Yaroch AL. Behaviors and Attitudes Associated With Low Drinking Water Intake Among US Adults, Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, 2007. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:120248.)
What H20 Should You Drink?
Sara Kiley Watson of NPR writes …
“You can buy water with electrolytes, minerals or completely "purified." You can buy it with the pH changed to make it alkaline. You can purify your own tap water or even add nutrients back into it. But after seeing a video of a pricey, high-tech filter (about $400 U.S. on sale) that you can monitor with your phone, we wondered, how much of our water filtration fixation is healthy, and how much of it is hype?
“As it turns out, scientists say that most tap water in the U.S. is just as good as the water in bottles or streaming out of a filter.
"'Assuming that the [tap] water satisfies all health and safety codes for the community, yeah, it's perfectly fine,' says Dan Heil, a professor of health and human performance at Montana State University.
(Sara Kiley Watson. “Which Water Is Best For Health? Hint: Don't Discount The Tap.” National Public Radio. July 27, 2018.)
U.S. tap water is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, which sets safety thresholds for the amount of microorganisms, chemicals and other contaminants in the water. "In general, the drinking water quality in the U.S. is very good," says Stuart Batterman, a professor of environmental health sciences at University of Michigan.
There are exceptions – everyone knows about the lead pollution of Flint, Michigan's water. But, Watson concludes: “At the end of the day, if you are trying to improve your health, help the planet, and save your wallet, filling up a reusable water bottle with tap water is a good way to start.”
"Assuming that the (tap) water satisfies all health and safety codes for the community, yeah, it's perfectly fine," says Dan Heil, a professor of health and human performance at Montana State University.
"Tap water has, I think, become underrated as a source of healthy water," says Heil. Not to mention that it's basically free and creates less waste than the alternatives.”
But water filter manufacturers urge a cautious approach. Faebian Bastiman, the chief technical officer of the high-tech water filter company Mitte argues that the water delivered to your house only has to legally comply with not having "significant amounts of bad stuff in it." He also says municipal governments don't regulate the pipes inside your house or apartment complex. Having a filter, he argues, could be a last line of defense if there's something gross hanging out in those pipes.
However, the University of Michigan's Batterman notes that water utilities design and operate their systems to maintain a residual level of disinfectants to be in the water at the tap that should prevent microbial growth or biofilms. A water filter should only provide the last treatment or "polishing," he says.
(Sara Kiley Watson. “Which Water Is Best For Health? Hint: Don't Discount The Tap.” National Public Radio. July 27, 2018.)
“The water system in this country is overwhelmed, and we aren't putting enough resources towards this essential resource. We simply can't continue to survive with toxic drinking water.”
– Erin Brockovich, American consumer advocate and environmental activist
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The information is not intended to constitute medical advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a physician or other health care provider. Individuals with specific complaints should seek immediate consultation from their personal physicians.
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