When to Drink Water?
– maximize its effectiveness
Essential to the survival of all organisms, water has always been an
important and life-sustaining drink to humans. Excluding fat, water
composes approximately 70% of the human body by mass. It is a crucial
component of metabolic processes and serves as a solvent for many bodily
solutes. Health authorities have historically suggested at least eight
glasses, eight fluid ounces each (168 ml), of water per day (64 fluid
ounces, or 1.89 litres), and the British Dietetic Association recommends
1.8 litres. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has
determined that the average adult actually ingests 2.0 litres per day.
Correct timing to drink water, will maximise its effectiveness on the Human Body.
a) Two glasses of water – After waking up – Helps activate Internal organs.
b) One glass of water – 30 Minutes before meal – Help Digestion
c) One glass of water – Before taking a bath – Helps lower Blood Pressure
d) One glass of water – Before Sleep – To avoid Stroke or Heart attack.
Improving the availability of drinking water
One of the Millennium Development Goals set by the UN includes
environmental sustainability. In 2004, only forty-two percent of people
in rural areas had access to clean water.
Solar water disinfection is a low-cost method of purifying water that
can often be implemented with locally available materials. Unlike
methods that rely on firewood, it has low impact on the environment.
One program developed to help people gain access to safe drinking
water is the Water Aid program. Working in 17 countries to help provide
water, Water Aid international in helping the sanitation and hygiene
education to some of the world’s poorest people.
The Global Framework for Action is a organization that brings
together stakeholders, national governments, donors and NGOs (such as
Water aid) to define manageable targets and deadlines. 23 Countries are
off-track to meet the MDG goals for improved water availability.
However, not all efforts to increase availability of safe drinking
water have been effective, and some have been damaging. The 1980s was
declared the International Decade of water by the UN. However, the
assumption was made that groundwater is inherently safer than water from
rivers, ponds and canals. While instances of cholera, typhoid and
diarrhea were reduced toxic level of fluoride were found. Borehole wells
were either not tested or not tested thoroughly. Fluoride slowly
dissolved from the granite rocks underneath India and slowly poisoned
the population, particularly evident in the bone deformations of
children. Further, in Bangladesh, it is estimated that half of the
countries 12 million tube wells have unacceptable levels of arsenic due
to the wells not being dug deep enough (past 100 M). The Bangladeshi
government had spent less than $7 million of the 34 million allocated
for solving the problem by the World Bank in 1998. Natural arsenic
poisoning is a global threat, 140 million people affected in 70
countries on all continents. These examples illustrate the need to
examine each location on a case by case basis and not assume what works
in one area will work in another
