Cell Health: Importance of Water and Oxygen

Water's Importance to Cell Health

• Water transports items throughout the cell.
• It maintains cell shape and structure by creating internal pressure.
• Water is a major component of blood, enabling transport of substances throughout the organism.
• It dissolves nutrients and minerals, making them more accessible.
• Water is crucial for forming proteins and DNA.
• It plays a vital role in photosynthesis, the process by which plants produce their food.
• Water is essential for cellular respiration.
• It helps create cell membranes that surround cells.
• Water facilitates chemical reactions within cells.
• It is critical for regulating temperature, through mechanisms like sweating.
• Water is present in the cytoplasm, enabling movement of substances within the cell.

Oxygen's Importance to Cell Health

• Oxygen is crucial for cellular respiration, the process that provides energy to the cell.
• Inhaled air contains approximately 20% oxygen and 79% nitrogen.
• Oxygen enters the lungs and diffuses into capillaries.
• Hemoglobin in red blood cells transports oxygen throughout the body.
• Oxygen is used by cells to break down sugar molecules in cellular respiration, releasing energy.
• Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of this process.
• Cellular respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis.