Water for your skin?
You know the mantra: drink 8 glasses of water a day. But does drinking all that water really keep your skin supple and smooth?
Yes and no.
We need water to live. If we don’t drink enough, our bodies cannot function. Water is part of our skin’s structure, and it is to this that the key component of hyaluronic acid binds, allowing the skin to remain supple and resilient. If you don’t have enough water (or hyaluronic acid) in your skin, then wrinkles, creases, sags and bags are guaranteed to develop and remain. However, British scientists have found that drinking 8 glasses of water a day is not the best way to keep your skin smooth. While it may help to optimize bodily functions and facilitate the elimination of waste (after all, drinking so much water does make you go to the bathroom more often!), it doesn’t have the same beneficial impact on your skin as practicing other healthy lifestyle habits.
Healthy Lifestyle Habits:
The scientists found that protecting your skin from prolonged sun exposure and eating healthy foods is far more beneficial than just drinking a ton of water. Of course a shot of BOTOX can’t hurt either – but anyway!
Limiting sun exposure:
UV rays are incredibly damaging to your skin. The cumulative effects of exposure over time directly cause the destruction of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, three components of healthy skin structure that contribute to suppleness, elasticity, firmness and moisture. If you don’t protect your skin from the sun, you’ll see wrinkles, dryness, roughness and pigmentation problems develop at a faster rate.
Healthy foods:
Sure, water is essential for our wellbeing, but you also need a whole range of nutrients, vitamins and minerals that support health. Load your diet up with fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein as well as fibre to keep your skin supple, vibrant and glowing. A healthy diet is far more important. Look at it this way: your skin will be beautiful if you don’t drink any water but eat a lot of healthy foods, but it won’t be if you eat sugary, fatty junk food but drink 8 glasses of water a day. After all, you can still get plenty of water through the foods you eat.
But having said that, don’t just stop drinking water altogether. According to the Institute of Medicine, you should actually be drinking at least 9 cups, but that’s of ANY fluid. That means even milk or beer count – although the majority of your consumption should still be fresh water. Furthermore, more water should be consumed if you’re exercising, have an existing health condition that causes you to become dehydrated easily (such as diarrhea or a fever), or are breastfeeding.
So, drinking lots of water isn’t the best way to get smooth skin. Remember to follow a healthy diet and protect your skin from the sun!
Stacie Morris is an aficionado of all things related to beauty and is a writer for Botox Ottawa. Her primary goal is to keep her skin as smooth and flawless as long as possible – which is why she studies so much about it.
Image credits: WomenStyling