Читать книгу The Mother and Her Child - Lena K. Sadler - Страница 40

Water is the circulating medium of the body, from which the digestive secretions are formed, and by which the food is assimilated and distributed to individual cells. And, finally, water is the agent for dissolving and removing waste products from the body through the various eliminating organs. We literally live, think, and have our being, as it were, under water. The tiny cell creatures of our bodies, from the humble bile workers of the liver to the exalted thinking cells of the brain, all carry on their work submerged. Accordingly, the amount of water we drink each day, determines whether the liquids circulating through our tissues shall be pure, fresh, and life-giving, or stagnant, stale, and death-dealing.

Thirst is the expression of the nervous system, constituting a call for water, the same as hunger represents a call for food. Pure water, free from all foreign substances, is the best liquid with which to quench this thirst.

It is just as important to supply abundance of water for the proper bathing and cleansing of the internal parts of the body, as it is to wash and bathe the external skin frequently. The living tissues are just as literally soiled and dirtied by their life action and their poisonous excretions, as is the skin soiled by its excretions of sweat and poisonous solids. Thus the regular drinking of water is absolutely necessary to enable the body to enjoy its internal bath, and this internal cleansing is just as grateful and refreshing to the cells and tissues, as is the external bath to the nerves which exist in the skin.

The total amount of water necessary varies according to the nature of one's work, the amount of sweating from the skin, the moisture of the atmosphere, the amount of water in the food, etc. We believe the average person requires about eight glasses of liquid a day; that is, about two quarts. By the word "glass" we refer to the ordinary glass or goblet, two of which equal one pint. This amount of water should be increased, if anything, throughout pregnancy; while, during the later months, the amount of water taken each day should be at least doubled.

In the condemnation of so-called artificial beverages, an exception should be made of the fruit juices. The fresh, unfermented juices of various fruits come very near being pure, distilled water, as they consist of only a little fruit sugar and acid, together with small amounts of flavoring and coloring substances, dissolved in pure water. None of these substances contained in pure fruit juice needs to be digested.

Lemonade not too sweet, and taken in moderate quantities, is certainly a beverage free from objection when used by the average pregnant woman. Unripe or overripe fruits frequently cause bowel disturbances; as also do the millions of germs which lurk upon the outside of fruits, and which find their way into the stomach and bowels when these fruits are eaten raw without washing or paring. Otherwise, the juices of fruits and melons are wholesome food beverages when consumed in moderation.