Expert Haprs On Use Of Water

A specialist in family
medicine in Rivers State, Dr Okechukwu Chukwuka, has restated the importance of water in the proper functioning of the body in the process of digestion and elimination of wastes.
Chukwuka, who stated this in a chat in Port Harcourt, also said, depending on the individuals status, “a dehydrated person can only survive water deprivation for 72 hours to seven days before the brain starts to suffer”.
“Every metabolic process in the body requires water, even fat requires water for its breakdown to glucose, before assimilation”, he added.
Dr Chukwuka also said that those interested in weight loss would find drinking a lot water helpful, explaining that water helps to eliminate waste from the body especially, waste generated during fat metabolism. “This waste, if not eliminated can become toxic to the body”, he added.
He noted that dehydration or lack of water could cause some complications to the individual, saying that when a person is not properly hydrated, “the cells, which composition is basically water, start dying which could lead to complications, some of which may not be reversible. When the nerve tissues die the damage is irreversible”.
He further explained that the complication manifest as weakness of the body, being drowsy and dizzy, reduction in brain functions poor coordination, incoherent communication and even delinum.
On the average water needs of an individual, Dr Chukwuka, said, this might be affected by a number of things including diet, climate, body make-up and physical activity.
He said, to maintain a good supply of water for a sedentary individuals a daily in take three litres of water would be adequate.
He further said, consumption of foods, fruits and vegetables with high water content would be helpful and warned against consuming foods laden with high calories, saying that these would only serve to increase the body weight.

Tonye Nria-Dappa

L-R Consultant Paediatrician, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Kikelomo Osinusi, Vice Chancellor, Umaru Yar’adua University, Prof. Muuta Ibrahim and Consultant Pediatrician, Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital London, and Founder of SCORE, Dr Baba Inusa, during the launch of Sickle Cell Cohort Research (SCORE) in Abuja last Monday. Photo: NAN