The blood carries the water to the various secreting and excreting glands and its increased pressure aids both the secreting and excreting activity. The digestive organs secrete their juices more freely, digestion is aided, more nutriment is rendered absorbable, more carbon dioxid is liberated, and more oxygen is taken into the blood which thereby is made richer and more life-giving.
One engrossed in business or household cares may forget to take water between meals. In such a case, the blood, in order to preserve its volume, must draw the water from the tissues, which, in consequence, become less moist. The mouth becomes dry, saliva is scanty, appetite fails, the digestion is not so active, the digestive and other secretions are lessened in quantity, the food in process of digestion becomes more solid, its absorption in the intestine is more difficult, it moves slowly along the intestinal canal, and constipation results. The body is not so well nourished and falls a more ready prey to disease.
The supply of fluid furnished to the kidneys is not sufficient, the urine becomes more concentrated and irritation may result. The foundation is thus laid for derangements of the kidney function.
To maintain the equilibrium of the body forces, water drinking should be established as a permanent habit and be firmly adhered to as a part of the daily program.
Many claim that one’s thirst, as in the desire for food, is the only safe guide to the amount and time of drinking, but these desires are largely matters of habit, and tastes are often perverted. Unless the condition is abnormal or the mind becomes so intensely active that one fails to listen to the call of Nature, the system calls for what it has been in the habit of receiving and at the stated times it has been in the habit of receiving it. It does not always call for what is good for it.
Plants thrive after a shower because the falling water brings down the impurities in the air which constitute plant food. Rain-water for household use, therefore, should never be collected during the early part of a shower or rain storm.
Spring water, from its filtration through earth rich in mineral deposits, usually contains a certain percentage of those minerals, as salt, sulphur, or iron, dissolved through the action of the carbon dioxid contained in the water. Some of these springs have become famous health resorts. The contained carbon dioxid gives spring water its pleasant, sparkling taste. Spring water is remarkably free from organic life.
Water as used in cities usually needs careful filtration and purification to rid it of its contained sand and other impurities. The housewife whose water supply is derived from rivers does this on a small scale when she strains out the mud and sand from the water which she is often compelled to use when the river is in flood and full of impurities.
Drinking water should be perfectly clear and without odor. Even a small amount of decomposing vegetable or animal matter can be detected by its odor, if the water is confined for a short time in a bottle or closed jar.
The health of the body depends to a large degree on the purity of the water. Contaminated water is a menace to health.