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Health Tips for September
Staying Hydrated
How do vitamins and minerals work?
In order to be effective, vitamins and minerals work with he other nutrients found in food. They are known as micronutrients because they are required in very small quantities, macronutrients, which include oxygen, water, carbohydrates, proteins and fats are needed in large quantities.
What are the functions of macronutrients?
Macronutrients provide energy and help maintain and repair the body.
Water
Your cells and organs depend on the involvement of water in all body processes, including digestion, absorption, circulation and excretion. Water surrounds and fills cells and tissues, forms the basis of body fluids, acts as a lubricant, transports oxygen and nutrients, keeps food moving through your gut, helps to regulate your body temperature and keeps your skin moist. Without food you could probably survive for several weeks; without water you would die in a few days.
Water makes up around 60 percent of body weight and the average person needs two to three quarts (liters) of water per day to replace what I lost through the skin, urine, bowels and lungs. You obtain water from food, as a by-product of metabolism, and from drinking. Making sure you drink enough water is vital to maintaining good health. Many people do not drink enough.
Nicola Reavley, with a foreword by Stephen Holt, M.D.
The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals Supplements, & Herbs.
New York: M. Evans and Company Inc., 1998.
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