Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Water is perhaps one of the most important but overlooked macronutrients in nutritional sciences today 6,7 .As a vital component of all cells, tissues, and organs, water is necessary for human life.While humans may survive several weeks without food (depending on energy stores), survival is reduced without water 8 .Water acts as a structural component of our bodies, is essential for proper growth and development, solvates ions and hydrophilic metabolites (e.g.amino acids, glucose, vitamins), and ensures transport of these important molecules throughout the body 9 .Water is required for all hydrolytic reactions in the body with one molecule required to liberate a glucose residue from a polysaccharide, an amino acid from a polypeptide, and a phosphate group from ATP. Water constitutes the majority of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) maintaining cardiovascular and neurologic function 10 .Without water, human cells would not be able to maintain turgor, receive nutrients, excrete waste, or metabolize energy, rendering human life impossible 4 .Water intake moderates metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurological functions, and impacts chronic health across the world.As the rates of diet-related metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases continue to rise 11 , it is important to improve our understanding of how lifestyle modifications like nutritional intake can prevent or delay these conditions.Water, as one of the most pervasive nutrients in the human body, is vital in this conversation.While severe dehydration can be life threatening, recent work has demonstrated how even chronic mild hypohydration contributes to disruptions in neurovascular, psychological, and cognitive functions [12][13][14] , and metabolic regulation 2,15,16 .With 60% of adults suffering from chronic hypohydration 1 , and at greater risk for these decrements in physiological and cognitive functions; water is poised as a unifying component of human health.
Author: Willis, Nathaniel
Language: English
Subfield: Gastroenterology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G3849549935, G4346438678
OpenAlex ID: W7220766421