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A Crucial Ingredient

No matter how Young a prune may be, it’s always full of wrinkles.
A prune is a plum with the water removed. Similarly, as humans age, they become less
and less liquid. Without that liquid to fill out the skin (and its loss of elasticity due to
aging), it’s no wonder people get those creases and folds called wrinkles.
Aside from your unwrinkled skin, what else do you have to thank water for? As you have
already seen, all of your body’s nutrients must be in solution before your body can use
them. None of your metabolic processes could take place without water. When they are
in solution, nutrients can be carried to the cells and diffused through the cell membrane.
When the concentration of water in the cell (or the surrounding fluids that bathe the cell)
changes, changes in the cell occur. The concentration of salts and glucose, especially,
must be kept constant. Recall that glucose or salt draws water by osmosis into the cells if
glucose or salt is in a higher concentration inside the cells. The cell’s metabolic reactions
must adjust the flow of water in and out of the cell. Your body can cope with too much
water by excreting the excess. However, problems result when the intake of water is too
low. Without water, an average adult can live for only a few days.
Blow on a mirror, a window, or the side of a beaker. What do you see? Even breathing
causes, you to lose moisture. Sweating and urination also cause water loss that has to be
replaced. You should drink four glasses of water a day. If that doesn’t appeal to you, you
have to find some other ways of replacing lost water.

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