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Show J Mr4 Doctor in the Kitchen J by W.W. Bauer, M.D. Lff Consultant, National Dairy Council WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE ? ? ? Remember the grim and dreary poem of the Ancient Mariner, with "water, everywhere, and not any drop to drink"? Remember how you used to have to memorize it, or even horrorsl recite It? Two thirds of the earth's surface is covered with water, and yet right now the 19th century poetic fantasy is facing us as a menacing truth. There is a growing shortage of fresh water in many areas, including such populous metropolitan centers as New York, where you have to ask for a drink in a restaurant Worse, much of our water is poor in color, clarity, taste or odor, and somo of it actually contains chemical wastes, filth and bacterial growth. Among the most serious of water pollutants are the growing amounts of detergents in use in home and industry. Water in Our Bodies The human body Is composed of about two-thirds water, by weight. This high water content of the body has been called "the sea within you." It is, literally, salt water plus other essential substances in solution. One of Six Nutrients Water is included among, the six essential nutrients, the other five being proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins. All foods contain a percentage of water, and some Valuable ones, like whole milk (87) percent) and tomatoes (93 percent) con-tain a great deal. Water is essential to all chemical processes in the body, which must take place in solution. The water used in bur bodies dally must be replaced as the used water is excreted. The interchange represents several pinti a day by kidneys, bowels, perspiration and exhaled breath. Variations occur depending on activity, temperature, salt balance, illness, and drugs which may causo increased loss through bowels, kidneys or skin. Mineral Elements Most drinking water contains traces of minerals elements from the soil through which it passed on its way to your kitchen. Some oi these, like iodine which prevents simple goiter or fluoride which lessons dental decay, are important nutrients which must be supplied in the total diet if they are not naturally present in proper quantities. City Supplies Protected City water supplies, as a rule, are now adequately protected against contamination; rural supplies must be protected by the owner's own initiative. It is important not to waste water, which is no longer cheap and plentiful. Dripping faucets and unmetered supplies waste millions of gallons annually. You are lucky if you have a reliable stream of cold, clean, fresh and safe water when you turn your kitchen faucet. |