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11 Tishrei 5767 - October 3, 2006 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Home and Family

Elixir of Life
by A. Ross

Summer is just about behind us, but we are still told to drink, and drink again; preferably water. However, in some places, (North East England, is one such place, I am told) summer comes for about two weeks a year. Moreover, most places of work and many homes now have air conditioning, which may cool the rooms but dries out the body (and vice versa for central heating, which also dries out the body)! Although there is less danger of dehydration, people still have to drink even in temperate climates, albeit in smaller amounts than in a tropical country.

The Torah is compared to fresh water (literally, living water). We cannot exist without the Torah, nor can we stay alive without water. The human body is composed of many components, and between 60% and 70% of its composition is water. Why is the regular intake of water so essential to our very existence?

Firstly, the human body cannot store water, yet it needs a constant supply for a number of functions. There is a common fallacy that we only need fluids at times when we are physically active, or when it is hot. On the contrary, we use water all the time. When we exhale, the breath is saturated with water. Our skin exudes water constantly, even if we do not feel that we are perspiring. Water is also eliminated by the kidneys and by the digestive system, together with all the waste material in the body. All the systems function more efficiently when they are 'lubricated' with enough fluids.

Much of the food we ingest contains water, even if we are not aware of it. For example, a slice of fresh bread is composed mainly of flour and about 40% water. A portion of meat, surprisingly, may contain up to 50% water after it is cooked. Soup is an obvious source of liquid, as is fruit. In fact about 40% of the fluids we need are supplied by our daily food and by our metabolism, that is, the burning up and dispersal of the food we eat.

Many parents declare that their children will not touch plain water. That is a fact, if they give their little babies syrup as a drink in the bottle in between feeds, almost from birth. Babies are not stupid, and take their cue from Mother. Perhaps, she too, is not very partial to plain H2O.

Older children however, will agree that water quenches thirst better than a sweet drink. More and more families are cutting down on sweet drinks nowadays, and drink water during the week. Sweet drinks are for Shabbos, Yomtov and maybe parties. These families are likely to have smaller grocery bills and healthier teeth!

Additionally, many of the sweet drinks contain food coloring and additives. If your children adamantly refuse to drink water, at least sweeten it with natural juices or sugar-free concentrates. Diet drinks are likely to contain Aspartame, which is not to be taken in large amounts, and definitely not by children. For adults who might not want to gain weight, it would be well to remember that fruit juices add many calories to the daily diet, as they contain natural sugar. Once again, water is the ideal drink! Women in particular are inclined to forget to drink. I find it a good idea to fill a large bottle with water every morning, which I leave on the counter in the kitchen, together with a big glass, so that I am bound to see it every time I go to the sink. It has become habitual to drink two glasses full before each meal, and also several times during the day, regardless of whether I feel thirsty or not. The bottle is always empty at the end of the day.

'They' say that the skin ages, i.e. it becomes wrinkled more quickly, when it does not get enough water from within. Whether the skin looks younger is a debatable point, but one certainly feels more fit when one drinks water regularly.

Extremes are never a good thing. Someone on a long hike under a blazing sun, might drink copious amounts of water on that particular day; he will not do any damage to his system. However, the kidneys cannot cope with 30 cups of water a day on a regular basis. So how much water should we be drinking?

As mentioned, we get about 40% of our needs through food. Thus, we have to supplement the remainder with about 1 to 2 liters a day, depending on the circumstances. A nursing mother for instance, needs a little extra, as does an athlete, or anyone involved in strenuous sports who perspires profusely. Furthermore, it is not a good idea to drink too much at one go; the intake needs to be spread throughout the day. Some people have to limit their fluid intake, because of some medical condition, but this short article is not addressed to them.

There is a wide range in the quality of drinking water, depending on where you live. There are still millions of people, in some areas of the world, who do not have access to clean tap water. There are millions of other people who do have access to purified tap water, with its essential minerals, but who do not trust its purity, and buy bottled water.

Hard water contains large quantities of calcium carbonate and magnesium (and ruins electrical appliances), while soft water has smaller amounts of minerals. Bottled mineral water varies from country to country and even from district to district as to the amount of minerals it holds. Interestingly, the body seems to absorb the calcium in water more easily than it absorbs the calcium in cheese or milk.

It is never too late to change one's eating and drinking habits. Let it become one of the standard rules in your home that water is not only for washing. In today's world, children are permitted, even encouraged, to bring small bottles to school. From now on, fill the bottles with water. In most cases the children will drink during the day, especially if everyone else does. Some children like very cold water, in which case you can half fill the bottle at night and put it in the freezer, then fill it to the top in the morning before sending the child off to school. The water will be deliciously cool for most of the day.

One final point: if you drink two cups of water every hour before a fast day, even if you are not in the least thirsty, the fast seems to pass much more easily, even though the body cannot store water for any length of time.

 

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