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Water and Waste Warm Greetings, In our last newsletter we concentrated mainly on how the water distributes nutrients to the cells. Water plays an equally significant role in removing the wastes of the body. One of the more persistently produced wastes by humans and animals alike is carbon dioxide. The body has uses for a small amount of carbon dioxide, but would expire could it not expel its excesses. In the process of carbon dioxide expulsion, the cells firstly allow their excess carbon dioxide to diffuse into the extra cellular fluid. Later the lungs exhale the unneeded carbon dioxide. Blood is able to carry carbon dioxide because it is easily dissolved in the blood’s water. Another waste that the body continually produces is nitrogen. Nitrogen is basically a by-product of protein metabolism. The elimination of nitrogen is not as simple as that of carbon dioxide. It cannot merely be discharged as nitrogen gas. If nitrogen were combined with hydrogen in the bloodstream, it would form the extremely toxic substance ammonia and would poison the body. Therefore ammonia combines with carbon dioxide, itself a waste product of humans, to form urea. Urea would quickly reach toxic level within the body were it not for the functioning of kidneys. It is the job of the kidneys to filter the blood. The waste products, including urea, are not reabsorbed but are mixed with water to form urine, which is afterwards expelled through the bladder. The body needs water for the proper functioning of its glandular systems. The salivary glands in the mouth and the glands in the tongue help prepare food for digestion and keep the mouth moist. The hypothalamus, located within the brain, regulates the conservation, replenishment and elimination of water. The type of water you drink can affect it, since inorganic mineral deposits can impair it’s functioning. Also easily damaged by impure water are the thyroid, the adrenals and the pituitary glands. The pancreas has as its function to manufacture of digestive juices and insulin, and it utilizes water in their manufacturing. The uses of water in the body are so multifarious that we can’t begin to list them all here! There are no hard and fast rules as to how much water a person needs. People who are vegetarians and who’s diet consists mostly of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will certainly need less water than a person eating a conventional diet of meats, breads, cooked foods etc. The high salt and seasoning content also contribute to the need of drinking water in order to keep in order to keep the salt in solution so that it won’t harm the body tissues. Most insidious food additives such as Monosodium Glutamate must also be kept away from the cells in a highly diluted form so that they are not immediately toxic. Obliviously those salts are considered poisonous by the body, or else why keep them in diluted solution? Next week we will look at the various ways of purifying water, Until then, The Crazy Nut Team