H2O. Water. Aqua. We give this substance a billion different names. We drink it every day of our lives. We usually start our days by pouring it all over ourselves. We even poop in it. It is everywhere and is involved in pretty much everything that we do. It is essential to our survival. We can only survive for three days without ingesting it, yet so often we set it aside and refuse to give it the respect that this nutrient deserves.
If you ask any licensed physician in America for dietary advice on how to improve overall health and quality of life, drinking more water and setting aside soda and other sugary and caffeinated beverages would be one of the most common answers. I guarantee if you asked any average Joe on the street the same question, you would more likely than not receive the same pro-water response. Because this is such common knowledge, it boggles me to no end as to why a very large percentage of the population consumes nowhere near the Institute of Medicine’s guideline of 13 cups a day for men and nine cups a day for women.
Health issues are much easier to treat before they arise. Drinking water is no different than a man in old age taking a baby aspirin every day to prevent his chances of suffering a stroke. The guidelines for water consumption serve as minimums of an amount necessary to provide your body the hydration it needs to carry out the specialized functions of each and every cell of the body. It is a medium that cleanses the liver, the second largest organ in the body next to the skin, and allows the kidneys to properly flush and filter out waste that in a high enough concentration will kill you.
Probably the most noticeable benefit and one that is often undersold is the effect that it provides for the complexion of the skin. As time takes its toll on the aging body your skin will begin to wrinkle. According to the good people at Ask.com, the average facelift will set you back $7,200 today. If you are a student now, I would suggest looking into the historical rate of inflation and factoring that figure about 25 years down the road. This is where one must ask himself or herself, is drinking a few more glasses of water each day worth less to you than nickel and diming your family around the holiday season of 2038 and attempting to reintroduce the whoopee cushion to future posterity as a gift?
As someone that once had to carry around a backpack filled with fluids that had to be administered through an IV in my arm for upwards of 16 hours a day, I can say with experience that life is so much easier without this being a part of my daily routine. I am a firm believer that there is a time and a place for everything, except acute kidney failure. Do yourself a favor and save yourself time, money and cramps and drink lots of water. Also, if, not when, you get diarrhea, always keep water on hand. It dehydrates you and I suspect that there has been at least one person in history that has had to call an ambulance for diarrhea induced dehydration and that just sounds like a nightmare.
Dan Maloney is a sophomore studying biological science and a columnist for The Post. Email him at dm933612@ohiou.edu.
