According to About.com, water makes up between 65 and 90 percent of all cells in the human body. Fourteen gallons of water. Babies and children have the highest percentage of water. But humans are also not entirely, well, human. Even though water consists of two hydrogen atoms for every oxygen, hydrogen has much less mass. And if there's a difference between men and women, then that'd be helpful too. “The human body is made up of a long list of ‘ingredients’, with the most abundant being oxygen (65% by mass), carbon (18%), hydrogen (10%), nitrogen (3%), calcium (1.4%) and phosphorous (1.1%),” Elisabeth Ratcliffe, of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) wrote in an email. About 70 percent of the human body is made up of water and, coincidentally, more than 70 percent of Earth is covered in water. Only one in twenty-three million people are allergic to water, so you probably don't have much to worry about, but over 1 in 4 people in the developed world have an allergic condition, including hay fever, food allergies, asthma, and eczema. Human body, the physical substance of the human organism. Overall your body weight can be 45-65% water. Electronic signals move through our bodies along a series of biological wires called neurons, and make us scratch our nose, wink – they even give us our memories.”. How Much Does a Bottle of Water Cost in the U.S.? On average the human body is roughly 65%. How Much of Your Body Is Water? The adult male body is about 60% water for a total water content of some 42 litres (9.2 imp gal; 11 US gal). Understanding what body fluids are made of and simulation of these body fluids can have therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Accordingly, percentage of basal water doesn't vary unless a person has serious health related problems. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How Much of Your Body Is Water?" We are made of water, calcium, iron, and so forth. Just think, long ago someone may have wished upon a star that you are made of. Photo: Mark A. Vargas, Flickr Creative Commons . The percentages of body water contained in various fluid compartments add up to total body water (TBW). Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, August 27). 31, no. In this article we explain the composition of the human body and its various subtle bodies. Apparently. The body is a whole bunch of stuff covered in skin. In physiology, body water is the water content of an animal body that is contained in the tissues, the blood, the bones and elsewhere. Modern science has gone in some depth into understanding the physical body. Water insulates the brain, spinal cord, organs, and fetus. Adult men contain the next highest level of water. All that water has a long list of duties, from insulating your organs and lubricating your joints to forming the very building blocks of cells.And of course, the water that escapes you in sweat and urine helps to cool you off and rid your body of waste (although sweat isn't as detoxifying as you might think). Only one in twenty-three million people are allergic to water, so you probably don't have much to worry about, but over 1 in 4 people in the developed world have an allergic condition, including hay fever, food allergies, asthma, and eczema. Water is essential for human survival. It dissolves minerals, soluble vitamins, and certain nutrients. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2019. Body water percentage depends on age, body structure and gender of the person. The typical human body contains miniscule amounts of poisonous materials like mercury, arsenic and even selenium. It makes up saliva and the fluids surrounding the joints. Professor Shirley Hodgson, a fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an expert in the genetics of cancer at St George’s University of London, explained: “The human body is made up of trillions of cells. Water regulates the body temperature through perspiration. The remaining elements by mass include oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, chlorine, sodium, magnesium and trace amounts of iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, iodine, selenium and fluorine. You've probably heard that the human body is made up of over 70 percent water, and that drinking enough every day is essential for everything from maintaining a healthy weight to energy levels and flushing toxins out of the body. So what exactly is the human body made of? Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Without water, humans would die in a few days. Much of the water is in blood plasma (20% of the body's total). 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