The Importance of Water and Why we Should Drink Plenty of It - Part 3
Large amounts of water is always held within compartments of your body. Every cell is not only filled with water but bathed in water. The water inside the cell is called extracellular fluid. The seventy-five trillion cells of the body are estimated to hold some 25 quarts about 23 liters–of water. The water outside the cells makes up another 15 quarts–about 15 liters.
The kidneys, just two small organs the size of your fists, handle extraordinary quantities of water. More than 45 gallons of blood are filtered through the kidneys each day. Of this more than 99 percent is reabsorbed, while the remainder is lost in urine.
As you can see the kidneys are efficient organs for recycling the water they handle. This is also true of the gastrointestinal tract. Of all the water in the digestive juices entering the stomach and intestines, only about 120ml (4 oz) is lost in the stool.
Lost of body water.
The body loses water primarily in four ways:
1. Through the kidneys in the form of urine.
2. From the skin as perspiration.
3. From the lungs as moistened breath.
4. From the colon as water-moistened stool.
Water is continually evaporating from the surface of the skin in two ways:
1. Invisible perspiration, which goes on constantly day and night.
2. Sweat, which helps cool the body when it is hot.
Both forms of evaporation help the body to maintain its normal temperature.
