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Water and the Body It is essential to drink water for every aspect of your health, vigour and appearance. Not enough consumption of daily water can affect your internal organs, such as your kidney and liver, affect your energy levels and awareness and will show in the appearance of your skin and hair. Did you know that your brain is 75-85% water and plays a vital role in your body's response to dehydration? The reason is the brain controls water intake through altering thirst which in turn varies the water passed through from your kidneys. If you are dehydrated it will adversely affect your mental performance and concentration. Early warning signs that you are mildly dehydrated can include light-headedness, dizziness, irritability and headaches. Your blood is 80% water and blood is vital for the transportation of nutrients and oxygen through your blood stream around your body. The maintenance of cell structure is reliant on the efficient circulation of your bloodstream. Because the main organ that pumps your blood around the body is the heart, it follows that water is necessary for a healthy heart.   Dehydration causes your blood to become thicker and your body (and your heart) has to work much too hard to cause it to circulate. Loss of fluid through the lungs. Your body loses water every time you breathe; every day you lose the equivalent of a can of drink just by breathing! High temperatures and altitude and dry air increase the loss of fluid (water) and the body becomes dehydrated. The advice while travelling in aircraft is to drink more, preferably water. Alcohol is no substitute.  What does water do apart from satisfying a thirst for your mouth? By the time you feel thirsty your body has lost between 2 and 5 cups of water! If you become dehydrated it affects the production of saliva that helps keep your mouth and teeth clean and neutralises acids created by bacteria which will cause tooth decay and gum disease.  Your kidneys control the amount of water in your body; filtering your blood and passing waste products in your urine, leaving nutrients in the bloodstream. Your kidneys require a certain amount of water daily in order for them to function properly in excreting waste products. The colour of urine is a good indication if you are drinking sufficient water. It should be a light straw coloured yellow. The kidneys play an important part in the control of blood pressure. If kidneys are affected by dehydration it can lead to high blood pressure. Most of the body's water is lost as urine. The Bladder is the reservoir where all the waste liquid is held. If you drink plenty of water it will help prevent urinary infections and the build up of “stones” in the bladder, caused by a build up of calcium. Your muscles need water. Muscles absorb nutrition and get rid of potentially harmful waste matter with the aid of water. Everyone exercising is encouraged to drink plenty because during prolonged exercise our muscles overheat. This releases potassium that in turn widens the veins to allow maximum hot blood-flow from muscle to skin, which is why you sweat or perspire. The perspiration is loss of hydration so you need to drink plenty of water to re-hydrate. So, drink a glass of water before and every 15 minutes during your exercise session. Even when swimming this same rule applies. Keep a bottle of water on the pool side to drink from. Your skin helps with the fluid regulation of your whole body; therefore it is important it stays hydrated. During moderate exercise sweating rates can be between 1-2 litres per hour, and with a loss of just 1 litre of water, you will start to feel fatigued and your performance will become impaired. Most bottles of water people take to the gym are 500ml, so you can see that you have lost 2 bottles of fluid whilst exercising.  Dehydration can also alter the appearance of your skin. Even mild dehydration may make your skin appear dry and unhealthy. Remember, to be able to work and play at your optimum levels you need to drink plenty of water during the day, especially not forgetting when you awake and go to bed, for the bodies needs stay the same when you are asleep.