Water is essential requirement in our life. After air, the importance of water takes the second place as an essential requirement for survival. It comprises an approximate of 70 to 80% of body mass. There is no cell or tissue in the body where you don’t find water. It is very hard to survive a single day without drinking water while we can do so without food. As we know, it is necessary for the growth of plants which supply food for us. The importance and benefits of water can be discussed as under.

Importance of water in human body:

● It is the mediator of all the principal and minor biochemical events in the body including cell survival, birth and death.

● It also helps in all major functions of the body like circulation, excretion, absorption, nerve conduction, respiration, reproduction etc.

● Water forms the blood, lymph and also cerebro-spinal fluid (fluid in the brain) along with other substances.

● It facilitates absorption of food from intestine by the process of diffusion and sink condition. The absorbed food is carried by blood, lymph and supplied to all organs and tissues.

● It helps in collection of the waste materials from all the cells, tissues and send to kidneys, skin, lungs for excretion.

● In reproduction, it helps in forming media for transport of sperms and ova. The baby in the womb is also surrounded by fluid made of water.

● Water helps in loss of excess heat from the body in the form of sweat through skin and respiration.

 

Importance of water for plants:

Plants are the prime source of food, clothing etc to humans and other animals. Water is of prominent importance to their nutrition, growth and formation of food which we consume. The importance of water for plants is as follows.

♠ Plants can  make up their own food material especially Starch a form of carbohydrate using water (from soil), Carbon-dioxide (from air) in presence of sunlight.

♠ Water helps in movement of nutrients and other substances like hormones through the plant body where there is no circulatory system like in animals.

♠ Germination of seeds is facilitated by water. In most cases as seed gives birth to a plant or tree. The seed is an inert or dormant form of plant cell with sufficient reserve of food material enclosed in a hard seed coat. When dropped into soil, seed absorbs water by imbibition process. The food material and other contents swell due to water and the coat ruptures revealing the growth and germination of seedling.  The process of enzyme activity, energy production are initiated due to water presence and the seedling germinates out of the seed into a big plant.

♠ It helps in loss of heat from plants by the process of transpiration.

Amazing facts about water:

♣ Water is absorbed to a large extent from the stomach itself and less from intestine. Hence when water is consumed  the thirst is quenched immediately as the body water level rises due to rapid absorbtion from stomach.

♣ Water helps in breakup of tablets , capsules of drugs and other health supplements we take and help in easy absorption in to the body. So even tonics and other liquid dosage forms are prescribed for old age patients because of faster and complete absorption of drugs in water made solution.

♣ Water carries carbon-dioxide in the dissolved form from tissues to excrete by lungs. And also to some extent supplies oxygen to remote areas of cell.

♣ Water is also formed in the body directly by the process of combustion of carbohydrates with oxygen.

♣ Most of the body waste materials are water-soluble and any water insoluble materials are converted to water-soluble form for easy excretion through water.

♣ Water levels in the cell and body compartments are maintained by ions of salts. That’s the reason why increase in salt intake increases water levels in body. There by there is rise in blood volume and associated rise in blood pressure. Also there are chances of edema due to water accumulation for prolonged period in the body.