Water is the most prominent element of the human body, since it represents about 60% of body weight, depending on the different ages or sex of the person. This volume of body water is higher in infants and children and is declining with age.
Within a healthy diet for children, the foods that make it up are as important as the drinks included in the diet. In this sense, it can be said that Water is one of the most suitable drinks in childhood.
Breastfed babies receive the amount of water needed through breast milk, and those fed with formula milk as well. Then, when they start the complementary feeding after six months, it is convenient to start offering them water.
Water, together with milk (maternal, recommended up to two years or more and composed mainly of water), is the drink that children should consume both at meals and outside them as a healthy lifestyle habit strategy, which It will help, among other things, to prevent overweight.
The functions of water in our bodies They are numerous. These are some of the most important that help keep the body healthy, even from childhood:
- Water is the universal basic solvent. In its bosom all chemical reactions occur and, for that reason, without water life cannot occur. Nor when water is not available, such as when it freezes.
- It also has a function of nutrient transport, making possible its dissolution, digestion and absorption. For this reason, water is the substance responsible for the metabolism of all cells.
- Water is the medium in which body substances dissolve: blood, lymph, secretions, urine, feces ...
- We also need water for the proper disposal of waste products from cells and their metabolism.
- Water is essential for thermoregulation. Thanks to it, adequate body temperature is maintained through complex mechanisms such as evaporation and sweating. That is why it is essential to be well hydrated in summer when the heat squeezes.
- The structures of living beings contain water, which is therefore a basic element of them. It is what happens in the muscles or in the viscera.
- Water is necessary for proper lubrication of joints and other tissues.
We should be clear about the quality characteristics of the running water provided by the network, or opt for a natural mineral water, but do not give up including it as an indispensable part of infant feeding.
And, as we see, Water is essential for a healthy and balanced diet, especially for children, although also during pregnancy and lactation and in general for children and adults.
