Question: why do u need food and water to live

Helen Gath answered on 16 Jun 2014:

It’s crucial for our bodies to get a good supply of water and nutrients because it’s our fuel! A bit like a car needs petrol in order to run, except our bodies are a lot more complicated than that. But essentially our bodies cleverly convert food into energy, and not just for running, playing and working hard in the classroom. All the time there are cells in our body which are dying, and they need replacing, or we damage cells and they need repairing. Like the car, you could go to Halfords and get new parts to help it run properly. Our bodies however, take the food that we have eaten and breaks it down into all it’s very basic components (vitamins and minerals, fats, carbohydrates etc). It then sends these little building blocks all around the body to where they are needed, and replaces nutrients which have been used, cells which have been damaged or dies. If we didn’t provide these replacements, our body wouldn’t function very well at all. The skin, bones, organs, muscles, blood, everything that makes up our body, are maintained by breaking down food to get vitamins and minerals, so eat a balanced, healthy diet and you’ll be in tip top shape.
Water is perhaps even more important than food. It is crucial because we are always using it and losing it;
– It is used in the chemical reactions that are constantly occurring in our body.
– Dissolves mineral and nutrients found in food so that our body can use them easily.
– We lose water when we exhale (breathe), go to the toilet, when we blink to keep our eyes moist with small tears, and sweating can use a lot of water…an average adult can lose 1.5 litres of sweat in one day alone! Hmm, quite gross actually, but very important, as sweating helps regulate our body temperature so we don’t over heat.
So all this water needs replacing, other wise we would totally dehydrate which is VERY bad.