Chapter

Regulation of Water Balance

From Human Nutrition by Human Nutrition

Concepts

1. Water Balance

   "As you eat a bite of food, the salivary glands secrete saliva. As the food enters your stomach, gastric juice is secreted. As it enters the small intestine, pancreatic juice is secreted. Each of thes

2. Water Intake

   "The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has set the Adequate Intake (AI) for water for adult males at 3.7 liters (15.6 cups) and at 2.7 liters (11 cups) for adult females. The

3. Water Output

   "Daily water output averages 2.5 liters. There are two types of outputs. The first type is insensible water loss, meaning we are unaware of it. The body loses about 400 milliliters of its daily water

4. Hormonal Control

   "Sodium and fluid balance are intertwined. Osmoreceptors, specialized protein receptors in the hypothalamus, detect sodium concentration in the blood. In response to a high sodium level, the hypothala