Water

More then 50% of our bodies is made of water, the ratio is even up-to 80% when we were just a new born baby.

Water plays a critical role in every living creature; no one can live without water as well as the air which I mentioned last week.

Scientists have been trying to figure out whether there's any living thing on the other planets, and water is one of the most important signs to tell whether the planet has the slightest possibility of the existence of organism.

It is indeed a vital nutrient to keep our lives going, as our bodies depend on a huge variety of chemical reactions, and water is the key substance in common to enable the whole process. Lack of water would cause dehydration, and even slight dehydration would also make you feel fatigued.

Daily recommended water intake for adult is around 2~3 liters, however the amount of water one should drink daily varies by individual depends on age, sex, body weight, the amount of exercise, and other biological requirements. Also, much of the food contains water, and it should be taken into account.

But remember, excessive water intake could cause water intoxication. It’s advised not to drink more than 5 liters of water per day, and immediately supplements sport drink after a workout to prevent overhydration or hyponatremia.

First & Most Vital Nutrient for Lives

I mean Oxygen.

It's no doubt that humans and many other animals on the planet earth rely on the air (especially the oxygen within) to live.

It is so vital that normally no-one would able to live without oxygen for more than 5 minutes.

However, oxygen is NOT defined as a nutrient alone traditionally. Yet, despite of the oxygen gas, oxygen occurs in a wide variety of compounds, such as protein, lipids, carbohydrates, water, oxides, etc.

Learning to breathe more efficiently is the upper most important task leading all of us to the state of both physical and mental well-being. And that’s no wonder why exercises like Yoga and Qi-Gong emphasize on breathing techniques.

The basis of those techniques is “Diaphragmatic Breathing” (also known as Abdominal Breathing, Belly Breathing, etc.)! It’s a manner of deep natural breathing in humans, in which the lungs expand due to the lowering of the diaphragm rather than the expansion of the chest. (Reference: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/diaphragmatic_breathing)

A common diaphragmatic breathing exercise is as follows:

1. Sit or lie comfortably, with loose garments.
2. Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach.
3. Slowly inhale through your nose or through pursed lips (to slow down the intake of breath).
4. As you inhale, feel your stomach expand with your hand.
5. Slowly exhale through pursed lips to regulate the release of air.
6. Rest and repeat.

(Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaphragmatic_breathing)

Let’s integrate this breathing exercise into your daily life, and hope this would help to improve your health in any manner. See you next week! ^^


P/S: For those who have breathing problems (e.g. COPD), please inquire your doctor and get regular medical treatment.

My very first blog!

Welcome to my blog! I'm Eric Toh and I'll share and discuss on what I find interesting about the recent studies in Nutrition and Personal Health Care.

Hope this blog would be maintained regularly ^^