Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-30
DRINK WATER FREELY
AIDS IN ELIMINATING POISONs
FROM THE BODY.
Importance of Aqueous Fluid in the
Human Organism-Keeps the
System Clean.

| From the Health Culture Magazine.
| Few people realize the importance of free
| water drinking. Yet the large proportion
| of water, not only in the body, but else
| where throughout the earth, would of it
self indicate the Importance Of water. The
| human body contains about three-fourths
| water. while most of the articles used as
| food contain from three fourths to nine
| tenths water. In the human system there
| is no structure or organ which does not
contain water. The teeth. the hardest and
densest tissue in the body, contain 10 per
cent of water; the bones are Is per cent
water. the muscles are three-quarters wa
| ter and the blood is four-fifths water. Cas-
trio juice is "a per cent perspiration, 90 per
| cent saliva and 80 per cent water.
The blood stream consisting of about
| seven quarts of fluid. circulates through Its
| tubular conduits. the arteries. capillaries
and veins, at the speed of about seven miles
| an hour, 1853 miles per day. The blood is
| in reality only solution in water of GER
| tain matters out of which by complex
| system of filters all the other fluids of the
| body are formed In other words the blood
| holds, in solution, all the elements out of
which the gastric juice, the saliva. the in
| testinal fluids, the synovial fluid and
dozen other fluids are produced.
The Need for Water.
When it is mentioned that during TWEEN
| ty-four hours these wonderful little filter
| cells secrete from the blood about from
| four to eight quarts of gastric juice, about
/ one quart of saliva, about two quarts of
| intestinal and pancreatic juice, as well as
ksmaller quantities of many other fluids
when this is understood some idea may be
| gathered of the immense Importance of
| water which is, as has been said, the real
fluid of the body. great authority on
| physiology has said: Water is very i'm
| food element all DhySlOiOglc
| changes take place in a watery solution.
| Water is the medium through which the
| body is nourished."
| Water is constantly leaving the body
| through four avenues the skin, the lungs
| the bowels and the kidneys. OF the total
| amount of water leaving the body about .
per cent or one-twentieth is excreted
| through the alimentary tube One-ffth, or
| 20 per cent, is carried off by the lungs in
| the form of aqueous vapor. About one
| third leaves by way of the skin, the fluid
| known as perSpiratiOn, while nearly one
| half is voided by the kidneys. The water
| thus carried out of the body is heavily la
! den with various poisonous matters, the
| retention of which would be not. merely in
| furious, but fatal. For instance, the per-
| spiration contains about one-half of one
| per cent of urea, besides other poisons
| lactates, sudorates and inorganic salts The
| urine contains about per cent of urea
| also uric acid, creatin, creatinin eXanthin
| tyrosin. hyppuric acid leucin, cystin and
| taurin, besides many other excrementitious
| 0OiSonS
| Throw Off Poisons.
AS one of the greatest Psychologists now
| living said: THE body is a factory of
| poisons." And upon the ability to relieve
| itself of these posons-upon the incessant
| activity of the organs intrusted with such
| work of elimination depends not only the
| health, but the very life of the individual.
| There is a story to the effect that some
where great pageant was given, a feature
| of which was beautiful little boy who was
| to pose as a cherub. Somebody thought it
would be good idea to cover the little boy
| with gold paint. So the skin covered
| with the paint. and in less than an hour the
| little boy was real cherub, that is to say
| he was dead. The story may may not be
| true. The point is that it might have been
true. For to paint the skin and thus OBJ
! struct the pores would mean the retention
! of quantity of poison sufficient to cause
| death in a very short time.
| Now. from the foregoing see that all
| the vital processes take place in a watery
solution, and that the excretion of the waste
| poisons of the body is accomplished by a
process of washing out with water through
| the four avenues of elimination known as
| skin, lungs. bowels and kidneys.
| From what has been said it can readi-
| ly be understood why 1t is that although
| q man can live for from sixty to eighty
days without food. as has been proved on
several occasions yet if deprived of fluids
for six or eight days he dies a terrible
/ death. In these cases death would result
| from two causes; first. the retention of
| poisons for the elimination of which water
| iE the forms of sweat, vapor from the lungs
! urine, etc. was necessary, and second
] from a stoppage of those vital functions
| In which water is used
A Great Solvent.
The most striking and distinctive pecu-
/ liarity of water is that it is solvent-a
I cleanser. The function of water in the body
as elsewhere is to loosen dissolve and carry
i off such matters as can be detached from
| their environment-in other words dirt and
i impurities The water taken into the human
| system has peculiarly this effect: It goes in
clean; it comes out dirty.
In the prevention and treatment of disease