The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1909-03-12
Water, the Little Used Beverage
BY ]. 7. JOSEPH BIRD, M. D.


tity Of water. How many drink a
quart a day? How many says, "Oh,
l never touch it!'' Look about you
In the street car, if you will, and note
the rudy complexion, fair skin, vigor
OF body, mental force Of some individ-
uals, and the notified skin, sallow
complexion and listlessness of others.
such differences are not always tenn
peramental, nor are they entirely due
to mental and physical endowments.
The dissimilarity is due in many
cases to the care of the body by one
individual and to its neglect by an
other One man observes the obli-
cations of health as to diet, exercise
and fresh air; another man neglects
them.
All life demands water. Sixty per
cent. of all the tissues of the human
body is water. Hence it follows that,
without a free use Of good water
health is impossible. Blood, bone
and muscle demand it. The blood is
the vehicle by which nourishment is
carried to all the tissue Of the body,
but it does this only by reason of the
water it contains, which is the sol
vent of such nourishment. The mus
cles are rendered soft, pliable and
elastic by reason of the water enter
ing into their structure. And these
qualities must be sustained continu-
ally; for all that we do, every second
of our existence, depends upon some
form of muscular activity. For sim
pie demonstration Of this fact consid-
er the pumping action Of the heart,
the acts of mastication and swallow
ing of food, and the ordinary, though
wonderful, acts of speaking, reading
and writing.
In the processes of digestion and
absorption many Of the food elements
are dissolved by water. Likewise, in
the elimination of the numerous
waste products by the skin, lungs,
kidneys and bowels, water is the We
hicle holding them in solution. In
other words, water is necessary to
the life and perfect action of all the
body tissues, as well as for free
elimination of the waste products
forming in the same tissues. Thus it
follows that a constant supply of
water is our daily need.
But we don't drink enough water.
While this is true of all classes. it is
particularly true of the more leisured
classes. Labor produces thirst, and
thirst compels the drinking of water.
They who do not labor are apt to re-
duce their intake of water to small
allowances.
Now let US carry our observations
a little farther. The skin is one of
the most important organs of the hui
man body. BY the perfect function
of it's two millions and more of sweat
glands, man loses each twenty-four
hours one sixty-fourth of his body
weight. This loss, which is greater
than that sustained through the ac-
ton of the lungs, is the evaporation
of water surcharged with poisons
from body waste. And what is true
of the skin is equally true of the
lungs and kidneys. Each is an or
gan of elimination; each is casting off
waste, and the products Of combus-
ton and disintegration. This is the
problem of life, the problem Of our
existence: how we can favor or re-
tard the efforts of this wonderful
mechanism.
Without water there can be no life.
We know that it enters into every
structure of the human body. AS to
it's source-to be sure, we consume
large quantities of water with the in
take of fruits, vegetables, meat, tea
and coffee. But these should not be
the sole source of supply. Tea and
coffee are poisonous to some persons,
though others consume them appar-
emily without injury. Moderation
should be our habit in this particular,
as in everything that concerns right
living. ''How much water shall 1
drink in day." To such inquiry no
fixed allowance can be stated, since
our needs vary as our age, habits and
occupations vary, and the quantity
may reasonably vary between one
pint and three or four pints per indf-
yidual. The water may be taken cold
or moderately hot before meals, be-
tween meals or after meals. 1t may
be taken from the city's supply
(Which is usually good water I'M
der present methods of supervisory {,
or a natural spring water, preferred,
perhaps, because of its favor or abb
sence of flavor. Regarding ''medici-
na1' waters, we would sound word
of caution. Some are genuine, con-
tanning chemical elements of I'M
questionable value in certain condi-
lions Of the economy, and these may
IL