Dietary Water
Water is the most abundant and most frequently overlooked component of food. The water content of solid foods is variable, ranging from ‘wet’ foods such as fruits and vegetables at 80–95% water content through raw lean meat at about 60% to ‘dry’ foods such as nuts at about 5%.
Water is lost from the body through breathing, perspiration and waste removal. These losses are counterbalanced by consumption of water via beverages, water present in solid food and water production via respiration (metabolic water).
Water is essential to the functioning of every cell and organ system in the body. It plays a key role in all of the chemical processes that occur in the body. For example, in the digestion of foods such as carbohydrates and proteins, water is involved in the chemical breakdown of the bonds holding the basic building blocks of these macronutrients together. This process is called hydrolysis
Water is the most abundant and most frequently overlooked component of food. The water content of solid foods is variable, ranging from ‘wet’ foods such as fruits and vegetables at 80–95% water content through raw lean meat at about 60% to ‘dry’ foods such as nuts at about 5%.
Water is lost from the body through breathing, perspiration and waste removal. These losses are counterbalanced by consumption of water via beverages, water present in solid food and water production via respiration (metabolic water).
Water is essential to the functioning of every cell and organ system in the body. It plays a key role in all of the chemical processes that occur in the body. For example, in the digestion of foods such as carbohydrates and proteins, water is involved in the chemical breakdown of the bonds holding the basic building blocks of these macronutrients together. This process is called hydrolysis
