According to Colbert, “water does rejuvenate your skin, which can make you look years younger”. So the whole “fountain of youth” thing is kinda true!
If you compare your skin to fruit, what happens when you dehydrate grapes? Raisins? What about plums? You get prunes right? Thinking about it that way makes it pretty clear that keeping your body hydrated would be very important to slowing the aging process.
Colbert also says drinking enough water, “keeps your skin supple, your eyes bright, and your body spry.”
A few things I learned from this chapter were…
- A dehydrated body actually increases fat deposits
- Dehydration slows down metabolism – since when you are dehydrated your body temperature drops, so fat deposits increase in order to help maintain the proper temp.
- Also, as we all know, drinking a lot of water helps decrease appetite as well – which is always helpful when trying to lose weight.
Apparently there is also research to suggest that damaged brains can grow new cells, which means that we can improve our memories. The best way to facilitate this is by having a fully hydrated body/brain! Since brain cells are made up of 85% water, it would do us good to make sure they aren’t experiencing a drought!
On the opposite side of the coin, it is believed by some professionals that dehydration can increase the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Colbert it is increasingly important to drink more water as we age. Babies are made up of 80% water and elderly are often as little as 50% water. So drink up!
This article is part of the 50 Day Health Challenge from Don Colbert’s Seven Pillars of Health.