IT'S a proven medical fact that we should drink more water but unfortunately most of us are dehydrated without even realising it; and often we mistake it for being hungry which leads us to eat more food. Water plays a bigger part in the functioning of our bodies than most of us are aware of; it keeps us energised throughout the day helping with our digestion and it can even affect our blood pressure. In an experiment reported in the Daily Mail newspaper, Sarah Smith from Hebden Bridge, in West Yorkshire, drank three litres of water a day for a month and ended up with people telling her she looked 10 years younger. Headaches However, her trial was not about trying to look and feel younger; she wanted to solve her headaches and poor digestion. The 42-year-old was typical of many men and women; she_d start her day with a cup of tea, then she might have a glass of water with her lunch and one with dinner; which is about a litre of liquid in 24 hours. She began her 28-day quest after speaking to a neurologist and a nutritionist who both said she should be drinking up to three litres of liquid a day for her body to function at its best. Aside from the headaches and poor digestion she was also showing the classic signs of dehydration such as dark shadows under and around her eyes, which made her look exhausted, plus wrinkles and reddish blotches, and a general lack of lustre in her skin. Even her lips looked shrivelled. Toxins Every system and function in our body depends on water; it flushes toxins from the vital organs, carries nutrients to cells, provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues, and eliminates waste. Week one was very much a period of transition as her body adapted to the influx of water, but by the second week the blotches on her face started diminishing and the shadows around her eyes were looking less pronounced. And she hadn_t had a headache for more than a week. By week three the dark rings and wrinkles under her eyes had virtually disappeared, while her skin looked plumper and more nourished; which is because water helps the skin cells to regenerate more efficiently. 
After a long train journey, Sarah said she had felt more productive and had found it easier to concentrate which Dr Emma Derbyshire, a senior lecturer in nutritional physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University and adviser to the Natural Hydration Council, said is because the brain is 73 per cent water, so poor hydration can affect how it functions. By the final week the dark shadows around her eyes had all but disappeared and the blotches had gone, and she added that her skin was almost as dewy as it was when she was a child. She was also feeling leaner and fitter, while her husband and friends told her she looked 10 years younger. Who in their right mind would not want to try something which gets such incredible results? It_s time to get drinking (water) this January!