Drinking plenti water good for your skin?

Di idea say you go get correct complexion if you drink plenty water na tok wey dey common but e go shock you say evidence no dey to back dis tok.

If you be pesin wey want smooth skin wey dey glow wit youth, den di chances say at some point you go don hear say to drink plenty water go flush out bad toxins and say e go keep your skin healthy.

Di exact amount pipo dey suggest different. US - based advice recommend eight glasses a day, while for hotter climates, pipo dey advised to drink more to compensate for di higher rates of sweating. But regardless of di exact volume wey dem suggest, di principle behind di advice na di same- to drink extra water go keep your skin hydrated. Wetin dem dey try tok be say, water dey work like moisturiser, but from inside out.

Dis very common idea go surprise you say e lack evidence to back am up. You go expect to see plenty research wia dem go separate pipo into two groups, one group wey dem go assign to sip water all day, while di oda group go drink normal amount. Den dem go check di smoothness of di skin a month or so later to establish whether to sip more go lead to smoother skin.

In fact, dis kain research dey rare, di reason na becos you no fit trademark water, so e go hard to find anybody wey go one put money to fund dat kain research wen u no go get new melecin or cosmetic to sell wey go fit repay for di cost.

One review by one dermatologist Ronni Wolf for di Kaplan Medical centre for Israel find just one study wey bin look di effect of long- term water intake for di skin. But di results bin dey clash. Afta four weeks, di group wey drink extra mineral water bin show decrease in skin density, wey some believe say di skin dey retain more moisture, while those wey drink tap water bin show increase in skin density. But regardless of di type of water wey dem drink, e no make any difference to dia wrinkles or to di smoothness of dia skin.

Dis one no mean say dehydration no go get effect on pesin skin. We fit measure some effect through di assessment of skin turgor. Dis one na how fast e dey take di skin to return to normal if you pinch some skin and lift am up. If you dey dehydrated your skin go take longer to get in shape back.

But e no dey follow dat becos to drink small water dey bad for di skin, to drink above average quantities dey good. Na like make pesin say becos lack of food dey lead to malnutrition, overeating dey good for us. Or as Wolf put am, sake of say car need petrol, therefore di more petrol di better.

Mystery advice

Anoda common belief na say if you drink extra water, di body somehow go store am. But e depend on how fast you dey drink di water. Drink several glasses within a fifteen minute period and you go just dey pass extra urine. If you spend more dan two hours dey sip di same amount u go retain more liquid.

E get one study wey suggest say drinking 500ml of water go increase blood flow through di capillaries for di skin. But di skin bin dey evaluated thirty minutes afta you drink di water.

One counterargument na say di skin contain up to 30% water, na di tin wey dey help am to look plump. Dis fit be true, but di skin youthful appearance dey affected more by factors like genetics, exposure to di sun and damage from smoking.

So dis mystery of eight-glasses-a-day recommendation for good skin wia e dey come from?Few of di official guidelines even refer to di skin. Water no doubt na di most important nutrient for di body. Without am, we go die in a matter of days, and of course oda health benefits dey from staying hydrated.

One review for 2010 bin find good evidence say e dey reduce di recurrence of kidney stones for those wey already get am, but evidence for oda specific benefits dey weaker.

Arguments dey ova di eight glasses a day rule, wit disagreement ova how much dey needed to clear di kidneys of toxins and whether or not water dey help stop appetite. E depend on how high di temperature dey and how much you dey physically stress yourself. Na also myth say oda liquids no dey count. E no need to be water. Even food contain more liquid dan we expect. Pizza na 40-49% water, for instance. Di percentage of water we get from food for diet depend on where you live. For US na 22%. For Greece, wia pipo dey eat more fruit and vegetables e dey much higher.

So di problem na general lack of evidence say drinking more water go make any difference to your skin. We no fit say e no dey work, but evidence no dey say e dey work. E leave us wit di question of how much water you suppose drink. Since e depend on di weather and wetin you dey do, then one very good internal guideline wey all of us get wey fit help. Na thirst.

Disclaimer

All di content wey dey within dis column dey provided for general information only, you no suppose follow am as substitute for di medical advice of your own doctor or any oda health care professional.

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