Water is an important part of health and life. It’s crucial to survival. In the summertime, even as many of us spend a great deal of time in the water, we also forget to drink enough of it. Why is it so important? Why, really, should we focus on getting enough of it at this time of year? And what do water and your spine have to do with each other?
Water and Your Body
The body is made up of 60 to 65 percent water. Many of the body’s functions depend on proper hydration to function — and certainly to function optimally. Every cell in the body requires water. Water also does many other things, including:
Regulates body temperature
Transports nutrients to the body
Removes harmful toxins
Serves as a natural lubricant to the body and joints
Your Spine
The health and functioning of your spine require proper hydration as well. The discs don’t have a direct nutritional supply, they lose it just before the teen years. So the discs receive nutrition, including water, through a process called imbibition. Imbibition results only when there is proper motion between the joints above and below the specific disc. The proper motion creates a pump-like effect and the nutrients are moved in and out of the disc. Adequate hydration is required for it is essential for nutrient delivery.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
It is recommended that you drink 64 oz of water a day. That’s eight 8 oz glasses. Another recommendation for those who are active is to drink at least half to all of your body weight in ounces of water. So if a person weighed 160 pounds they would drink 80-160 oz of water a day. Every person is different, but be sure to at least get your 64 ounces a day.
Chiropractic Care
Misalignment impairs the imbibition process and the nutrient supply to the disc. The lack of water in the spinal disc can lead to disc degeneration. Disc degeneration leads to spinal decay and instability. This decline in spinal health may decrease the functioning of the nervous system — which affects every system, organ, structure, and cell in your body. Chiropractic adjustments correct misalignment, thereby improving the imbibition process.
As summer enters the home stretch, remember that heat pulls water from your body. Make sure you are getting adequate water, and make sure to see your chiropractor so you’ll be able to absorb it to the greatest degree for your overall health!
