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Show What to Eat and Why &4jou5ton Goadlii "Pi5cu35e5 WATER- the Elixir of Life By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS ( Eait 39U St., New York. OF ALL the elements required to support life and maintain health and efficiency, water takes precedence. Without it, the protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins, which build and repair tissues, provide motive power for the body engine, and regulate the complex processes necessary to existence would be utterly useless. Water is the magic stream4 through which all nutritive elements are carried into and through the body and there held in suspension. It is the ever-ready messenger which distributes heat, moisture and body-building material, where and as it is needed. Man Is a Sponge Our bodies are like water-logged SDonees. for we carry water to There is evidence that the drink-' ing of a reasonable amount of wa-; ter with meals by normal individuals individ-uals stimulates the secretion of gastric Juice, thereby improving digestion. It has also been demonstrated dem-onstrated that it aids in the absorption ab-sorption of food by the body and retards the growth of Intestinal bacteria. i The homemaker should be just as conscientious in providing her family with sufficient water as with adequate amounts of the other oth-er food substances. For water, must be Included in the list of essential es-sential food constituents. It is la truth, the ELIXIR of LIFE. j the limit of our capacity. ca-pacity. A human being Is more than two thirds water, and this proportion must be maintained, main-tained, If health and strength are to be preserved. There Is enough water in a person weighing 150 pounds to fill a 15- gallon barrel. Muscles, liver and kidneys are about 80 per cent water, wa-ter, the brain 85 per cent. Even bone is made up of more than one-third water, so you can see that the old adage "dry as a bone" is not strictly accurate. No cell can function unless It is constantly bathed In fluid. Furthermore, Fur-thermore, the cells depend upon water to transport their foods through the blood. This alone requires re-quires ten pounds of water in constant circulation. We may term these functions an incoming service. But it is equally important as an outgoing stream. The cells need water to flush away their waste products. And if the surface of the lungs is not kept moist, there can be no intake in-take of oxygen, no output of carbon car-bon dioxide. Without water, no waste would be carried out of the body. Poisonous Poi-sonous substances would remain to wreck the system within a short time. Water flushes the countless channels of physical existence-even existence-even while we sleep, for it constantly con-stantly passes from the body through the lungs and skin, as well as through the bowels and kidneys. Water Starvation Where do we get all this water? When we are thirsty, we take a drink and there the interest of most people ends. Few individuals give proper consideration to supplying the body with all the water it needs. Yet, when the water content of the body diminishes, health and life are in danger. A loss of 10 per cent of body water Is a serious matter and a loss of 20 per cent is usually fatal. It is only in rare Instances such as when lost in a desert-that desert-that man actually dies of thirst, for even when no fluids are drunk, water is consumed with food. But all about us we see men and women wom-en suffering from the effects of water starvation. Some Indications Indica-tions of this are dryness of the skin and lips, mucous membranes and scalp. There is also danger of damaging the kidneys which require re-quire water to flush away the acid products of metabolism. And very often constipation can be traced to a deficiency of water, which is necessary to soften the contents of the intestinal canal. None of these 111 effects may be feared if you take enough water. How Much Is Enough? A healthy, normal Individual requires re-quires about four quarts of water every 24 hours. That requirement varies somewhat with the season. In hot weather there is a greater elimination of water through perspiration per-spiration and that loss must be replaced. However, it Is not necessary to drink four quarts of water a day. For part of our needs are supplied sup-plied by food. The body draws upon three sources for its water: First, water taken as a drink or in other liquids; second, water supplied by foods, especially fruits and vegetables, for although solid foods appear dry, most of them are in fact from 75 to 95 per cent water; third, water formed In the tissues in the combustion of fuel foods. Fat gives the most water when burned. In fact, it produces more water than the weight of the original fat. Sugar gives the least. Foods Rich in Water A half-pound potato contains nearly a full glass of water. Some other foods that are more than 70 per cent water are asparagus, berries, string beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggs, citrus fruits, cherries, grapes, melons, apples, raw and cooked greens, milk, onions, cooked green peas, boiled potatoes, pota-toes, sauerkraut, shell fish, meat stews, tomatoes and squash. Foods containing less than 30 per cent water include butter, cakes, candies, ready-to-eat cereals, cere-als, crackers, dried fruits, nuts, potato chips, sausage, bacon, syrups syr-ups and zwieback. k -k -k Avoid the Dry Habit In addition to the water consumed con-sumed with food, every normal Individual should drink about six glasses of liquid daily as water, milk, coffee, tea or other beverages. bever-ages. I Most people drink far too little water. Women often have the mistaken mis-taken notion that water will make them fat. To demonstrate the fallacy fal-lacy of this idea, a world-famous physician once remarked that if that were true, poor people would long ago have adopted the practice. prac-tice. It is possible to drink too much water and those who are suffering from disease should be guided by their physician in determining the amount required. But most normal nor-mal people could increase both mental and physical efficiency by taking more of this magic fluid. Drink Water with Meals The question is often asked "Is it wise to drink water with meals?" The answer is "Yes." 1 |