Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-10
WATER INroxIcATIoN.
copyrishti 1873

Here was new one. The idea OF
getting drunk on water! Well, there
IL some consolation for the man who
feels that he just must get intoai.
Gated. whether or no.
IL he must kill his fool self. he Il
neither compelled to 70 TO Cuba nor
TO repeal the Volstead act. Water
will do the stunt.
The symptoms Of water intoxica-
ton are nausea. vomiting, dizziness.
There are authenticated cases OF
death due 10 drinking water. This
We have on the authority of DIR.
Rowntree Of the Mayo clinic. Uniyer-
sity Of Minnesota.
IL man wishes to shuttle off by
means OF the water route, he has a
choice. Rubner tells us that II he
VIII take In no water. while he con-
tlnues to pass out that LIQUID, his
condition Will become serious when
he loses 10 per cent OF the water
from his tissues. and he will die
when the loss equals 20 per cent.
With this byplay In the way of an
introduction, let US settle down for a
few facts about water as a food.
The automatic. regulating apparatus
OF the body keeps us In a state of
water balance.
we need water to promote diges-
tion, to aid absorption. to keep tho
bowels regular. to act as a solvent
Tor substances needed by the tissues
themselves. to dissolve the wastes
out OF the tissues. to promote excre-
ton and make up the water losses OF
the body.
On the one hand we have a nerv-
GUS impulse called thirst to tell us
when We need water; on the other,
the kidneys. skin and lungs to get
rid Of the surplus water, while the
water regulating center In the brain
keeps the balance between the in.
take and the outgo.
We have always known that we
could drive horse to water, but we
couldn't make him drink. Science
has proved that we 60 that one bet
ter We can put an excessive amount
of water in the stomach, but we
can't make 1t absorb.
Even the process Of throwing
water from the body is beneficent,
or may be. When enough of It goes
off by the bowels there is not much
danger Of constipation. II enough
OF, 1t goes off by the kidneys there
Is less likelihood OF gravel and per-
haps stone.
There is some reason for thinking
that one reason. for the prevalence
OF coryza. sore throat, bronchitis
and pneumonia in winter is the ex-
cessive drying of the nose, throat and
lungs, when we live in dry houses.
And, finally, nobody gets heat
stroke, SO long as the sweat rolls off
freely.
Sweating is the ideal way to lose
heat, and a month from now the
losing Of heat will be very serious
business.
Rowntree says: Some one has
said we need nearly four pints Of
water day. OF this we take in 10
ounces as drinking water, 20 ounces
as coffee, milk and soup, "a ounces
in our solid foods. ~ ounces by the
oxidation Of proteids, ounces by
the oxidation of fats and nearly 4
ounces by the oxidation of starcf1es.
To balance this we get rid of a
pint and half in urine, 10 ounces in
feces and a pint and a half q day
through the skin and lungs.
1t strikes me that whatever ami.
NAL was under observation by this
man must have been a pretty dry
Fellow. The quantities are low,
though the proportions may be right.
In hot weather a man can lose a
quart an hour by the skin alone.
Some of the foods are high in
water content.
The following have more water per
pound of food than milk-starting
with the one highest in water,
cucumbers (95.4 per cent water,) and
going down to milk (s7 per cent
Water).
Cucumbers, lettuce, cranberries,
celery. asparagus, tomatoes. Brussels
sprouts, whey, watermelon, radishes,
onions, buttermilk, spinach, green's,
Strawberries, peaches, beets, oysters.
pineapple and squash. The reference
is to foods ready to serve. e
Among foods with more than 70
per cent water. but less than milk,
reading down, are oranges, whites of
eggs, peas, apples, oatmeal, fish,
clans, prunes, beans, macaroni, corn,
potatoes, bananas plums, cottage
cheese, veal and liver.
He'll Get Over Jaundice.