THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLE

The role of water in digestion of food: Starch, the most abundant natural nutritive carbohydrate in our food, breaks down into simpler  glucose in our digestive tract with the help of water and enzymes generically called amylases. (Amylose = starch, ‘ase’ indicates ‘ability to breakdown’). Such water-mediated chemical breakdown is called ‘hydrolysis’ – hydro = water and lysis = breakdown. All digestion is hydrolysis. Proteins digest into constituent amino acids and oils, into glycerol (or glycerine) and different fatty acids.

Digestion leads to formation of simpler and smaller molecules which are easily absorbed into the blood across the wall of digestive tract. Without water, the eaten food would remain undigested and unabsorbable and hence meaningless.

(Note: Oils and fats are compounds of glycerol and fatty acids and are immiscible with water. Their hydrolysis (or digestion) in the small intestine is aided by bile juice which helps intimately mix water and oil so that lipase sent in by the pancreas can aid the hydrolysis.  After digestion in the small intestine, most of them are recombined into original triglycerides in the intestinal wall and reach the blood indirectly thru a complex mechanism.

Oil- or fat-soluble vitamins and other food constituents like many plant pigments that are ‘anti-oxidants’ – are not digested but reach the blood similarly. Coconut oil, and the lesser known palm kernel oil, are absorbed straight into blood after digestion and reach the liver for quick energy release. Their fatty acids are smaller or simpler.)

In the large intestine or colon, most of the water is absorbed into blood after having performed its digestion- and flow-aiding role. Here some smartly arranged water-retention can help keep stools ‘moist’ and pliable and help ease constipation which is one of the reasons why water drinking is encouraged. This creates a real possibility of developing a formulation that can ensure efficient and liberating evacuation softly without habit formation, apart from lowering serious  disease possibilities.

Water in distribution of nutrients and oxygen in the body: Roughly 5 litres of blood in our body (with over 50 % water-content) carries the nutrients picked up from the digestive tract throughout our body including the liver. Of course, blood also contains many other constituents. The nutrients reach the individual cells of our tissues, are metabolized and the wastes are reabsorbed into the blood for eventual disposal out of our body thru urine, sweat and, sometimes, breath.  That blood is a mobile or pumpable tissue carrying extremely diverse constituents is the essence of life itself and this it owes to water.

Blood also picks up oxygen inhaled in the form of air in our lungs and similarly carries it to all tissues. Carbon dioxide produced by ‘combustion’ of simple sugars in the cells is similarly carried by blood to be expelled from our body thru lungs when we exhale. Of course, all these awe-inspiring functionalities of water would not be possible without the untiring mobilization of the blood by the workhorse called the heart.

THE DARK SIDE OF WATER

The role of water in spoilage of food: Just as water makes the nutritive value of food available to our tissues, it also makes it available to microorganisms which are everywhere. This enables microorganisms to consume food constituents and release their metabolic products. Simply stated, it means that water makes the microbial spoilage of food possible and hence milk, sugarcane juice, fruit and vegetable juices, watery dishes like daals and soups etc. spoil easily. This is at the heart of preservation thru drying (making water unavailable) or heating (killing of microorganisms).

Interestingly, air-aided drying uses heat and hence the food gets double protection; no wonder drying remains a mainstream preservation technique.  Ironically, water-aided spoilage resembles digestion in our body with the difference that (i) this happens outside our body, (ii) is unplanned, undirected and uncontrolled and hence produces strange-smelling products and, often, gases and (iii) is mediated by microbial enzymes.

Water as carrier of diseases: Covid was caused and spread by an air-borne virus because of the natural fact that we sneeze and breath into air. Water carries bacteria and virus that cause many diseases – most of them rooted in the digestive system; hepatitis, cholera, typhoid and gastro-enteritis are some examples. These are usually carried by watery nutritive dishes like un-processed juices, milk and its unheated dishes, sugarcane juice, badly handled dishes like daals and soups etc. Here water forms a nutritive medium with food components and encourages the growth of these pathogens.

Juices of fruits and vegetables, sugarcane juice, lassi, chhachh, dahi (curd) milk-shakes and mattha’s, platters of chopped assorted fruits, served on the street-side receive no heat processing. Hence pathogens that are wide-spread can sneak in thru careless handling or contaminated cleaning water and survive, grow in number and reach your stomach. Ironically, these are all attractive and nutritive items; it is best to prepare them carefully at home.

When a thoroughly processed, safe food accidentally gets contaminated thru careless handling (typically unwashed, dirty hands or utensils), it suffers ‘post-processing contamination’. Open your food packages with clean hands and chop stuff with clean knives. Combine this with cleaning all bought-out naturals before chopping; you don’t want surface dirt transferred within during chopping. Note that the presence of water wherever there is food and the fact that it encourages proliferation of pathogens is the cause of this problem.

Chemical spoilage by water: When water chemically reacts with food constituents, it can cause chemical spoilage, e.g. by hydrolyzing (obviously, outside or body) coconut oil leading to a ‘soapy’ odour. In separation of water in mayonnaise, margarines, spreads, some dressings, ketchups and sauces, etc. faulty formulation and/or processing fails to hold the water in.

WATER – THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT AND CLEANING AGENT

Note that the pesticides and insecticides carried by cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, spices etc. are harmful in a purely ‘chemical’ way. They can additionally carry pathogens on their surface. Washing or cleaning, therefore, significantly improves its safety.

Water molecules carry fairly strong electrical charges on them and hence all the contaminants that similarly carry such charges, tend to be dragged out by water by electrical attraction during washing. It would be of little use with charge-less molecules. The contaminants come in all types and hence, while water will take care of most of contaminants, more needs to be done for a greater (not 100 %) safety. Therefore, we will some day talk in detail about various cleaning protocols for bought-out natural produce. For now, combine physico-chemical cleaning (with water), physical cleaning (thru thorough wiping with clean cloth) and mechanical cleaning (e.g. thru scraping of cinnamon sticks) judiciously for your cleaning needs. And thank water for shouldering the lion’s share of cleaning load.

Conclusion: Water mediates life. Be aware that it support lives of harmful life-forms also and take precautions. Expect it everywhere, including in processed and natural foods. It is a great cleaning agent. Respect water and conserve it.

Next post: Oxygen, food and life

Oxygen is life, for the most part! 

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