While reading Water: For Health, for Healing, for Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty! by F. Batmanghelidj M.D., I came across this list of forty-six reasons why your body needs water every day. It certainly makes a case for drinking more water on a daily basis.

1. Without water, nothing lives.
2. Comparative shortage of water first suppresses and eventually kills some aspects of the body.
3. Water is the main source of energy - it is the “cash flow” of the body.
4. Water generates electrical and magnetic energy inside each and every cell of the body - it provides the power to live.
5. Water is the bonding adhesive in the architectural design of the cell structure.
6. Water prevents DNA damage and makes its repair mechanisms more efficient - less abnormal DNA is made.
7. Water increases greatly the efficiency of the immune system in the bone marrow, where the immune system is formed (all its mechanisms) - including its efficiency against cancer.
8. Water is the main solvent for all foods, vitamins, and minerals. It is used in the breakdown of food into smaller particles and their eventual metabolism and assimilation.
9. Water energizes food, and food particles are then able to supply the body with this energy during digestion. This is why food without water has absolutely no energy value for the body.
10. Water increases the body’s rate of absorption of essential substances in food.
11. Water is used to transport all substances inside the body.
12. Water increases the efficiency of red blood cells in collecting oxygen in the lungs.
13. When water reaches a cell, it brings the cell oxygen and takes the water gases to the lungs for disposal.
14. Water clears toxic waste from different parts of the body and takes it to the liver and kidneys for disposal.
15. Water is the main lubricant in the joint spaces and helps prevents arthritis and back pain.
16. Water is used in the spinal discs to make them "shock-absorbing water cushions."
17. Water is the best lubricating laxative and prevents constipation.
18. Water helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
19. Water prevents clogging of arteries in the heart and the brain.
20. Water is essential for the body’s cooling (sweat) and heating (electrical) systems.
21. Water give us power and electrical energy for all brain functions, most particularly thinking.
22. Water is directly needed for the efficient manufacture of all neurotransmitters, including serotonin.
23. Water is directly needed for the production of all hormones made by the brain, including melatonin.
24. Water can help prevent attention deficit disorder in children and adults.
25. Water increases efficiency at work; it expands your attention span.
26. Water is a better pick-me-up than any other beverage in the world - and it has no side effects.
27. Water helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
28. Water restores normal sleep rhythms.
29. Water helps reduce fatigue - it gives us the energy of youth.
30. Water makes the skin smoother and helps decrease the effects of aging.
31. Water gives luster and shine to the eyes.
32. Water helps prevent glaucoma.
33. Water normalizes the blood-manufacturing systems in the bone marrow - it helps prevent leukemia and lymphoma.
34. Water is absolutely vital for making the immune system more efficient in different regions to fight infections and cancer cells where they are formed.
35. Water dilutes the blood and prevents it from clotting during circulation.
36. Water decreases premenstrual pains and hot flashes.
37. Water and heartbeats create the dilution and waves that keep things from sedimenting in the bloodstream.
38. The human body has no stored water to draw on during dehydration. This is why you must drink water regularly and throughout the day.
39. Dehydration prevents sex hormone production - one of the primary causes of impotence and loss of libido.
40. Drinking water separates the sensations of thirst and hunger.
41. To lose weight, water is the best way to go - drink water on time and lose weight without much dieting. Also, you will not eat excessively when you feel hungry but are in fact only thirsty for water.
42. Dehydration causes deposits of toxic sediments in the tissue spaces, joints, kidneys, liver, brain and skin. Water will clear these deposits.
43. Water reduces the incidence of morning sickness in pregnancy.
44. Water integrates mind and body functions. It increases ability to realize goals and purpose.
45. Water helps prevent the loss of memory as we age. It helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease.
46. Water helps reverse addictive urges, including those for caffeine, alcohol and some drugs.

Rule of Thumb: On average, you need at least .5 ounces of water for every pound of body weight on a daily basis.

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