Introduction
Drinking eight glasses of water a day is popularly believed to improve the general well-being of human beings. Among the reasons given for this practice is that it improves the condition of one’s hair and skin. However, the recommendation is not common in mainstream medicine, because of the lack of scientific data to support it. In this research, I sought to find out if increasing the uptake of water to eight glasses (or two liters) per day had any strengthening effect on the condition of the skin.
In my research, I discovered that for good health, human beings have to maintain a fluid balance in their body, by only taking fluids when necessary. I also learned that while water helps make the skin turgid, excess water does not have any confirmed benefits on the skin of healthy people. Starting this research, I was convinced that the number of fluids ingested in regular daily meals was enough to keep the body (and skin) replenished at all times.
I hypothesize that increasing the daily intake of water alone does not have any beneficial impact on the health of an individual. The null hypothesis would be that increasing the daily intake of water to eight glasses a day has a positive effect on the body, especially on the skin. The proposed research would study the effects of high consumption of water without a change in the uptake of other foods and drinks. In addition, the test candidates for the research will be required to maintain their daily routines, such that if one was not exercising daily, they should not start doing so during the duration of the experiment.
Proposed experiment
Ten test subjects between the ages of 18 and 50, with no kidney and liver issues, will be selected. The subjects will be divided into two groups, with one being required to consume eight glasses of water, in addition to their regular uptake of fluids, for 90 days. Other lifestyle routines and dietary habits will be maintained. 90 days (three months) is an ideal length of time for any physical changes in the body of an individual to be noticed.
The other group will increase the daily uptake of water by one glass a day, for the same period. They will also be required to maintain other lifestyle routines and dietary habits. This group will serve as the control group. My prediction is that no change will be noticed on the test candidates’ skins, in comparison to those of the control group. If there is a relationship between the amount of water taken and the quality of the skin, then the test group candidates will have noticeable skin changes.
The experiment is based on the assumption one additional glass of water to the daily intake of fluids will not have any noticeable impact. However, should the skins of individuals from the control group improve at the same rate as those from the test group, then the test results will be discarded and another experiment that has individuals in the control group not taking any additional water be done? This will be used as a confirmatory test, which will in effect disapprove my hypothesis.
Results
For this project, I went through three articles on the effect of water and the general health of the skin. The authors of all four articles concluded that there is no correlation between an increased intake of water and the general health of the individual. Whilst the authors of all four articles found that water was a key element in maintaining healthy skin, they could not confirm exactly how much water one needs to take in a day, in addition to other fluids, to keep the skin healthy.
Physiologist Henry Valtin from the Dartmouth Medical School, in New Hampshire, UK, tried to find any evidence confirming that drinking eight glasses of water a day was beneficial to the body. His extensive research covers a wide range of peer-reviewed literature from online databases, and some from books and other print journals (Valtin, 2002).
He also spoke to several nutritionists, who specialize in the fields of ‘thirst’ and the ‘drinking of fluids’ (Valtin, 2002). In all the research he did, he could not find a single scientific publication that advocated for the drinking of eight glasses. He concluded that unless further studies are conducted on the topic, and proper evidence found, to show that increased uptake of water had beneficial effects on the body of an individual, it should be regarded as a myth (Valtin, 2002).
Skin specialist Ronni Wolf and colleagues from the Kaplan Medical Centre in Israel also did a similar study as Valtin and he only found one study that assessed the effect of increased consumption of water on the skin (2010). However, the results of the study contradicted each other because, after a four-week review, a group that took in extra mineral water confirmed a reduction in the density of the skin, an indication that the skin was retaining more moisture (Wolf et al. 2010).
In the same study, test subjects who consumed increased amounts of tap water reported an increase in the density of the skin (Wolf, 2010). However, regardless of the type of water that individuals from the two groups drank, there was no reduction in the wrinkles on their faces, nor a visible difference in the smoothness of their skin (Wolf et al. 2010).
Dan Negoianu and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, in their paper Just add Water, cited a study suggesting that consuming 500ml of water increases the amount of blood flowing into the skin through the capillaries (Negoianu et al. 2010).
However, the scholars concluded that it is unclear whether these changes are clinically significant to sustain any recommendation on dietary habits. They could also not come to a proper conclusion on how to relate the findings of the study to the potential impact of water on the sympathetic tone of the skin. In addition, the researchers noted that they were unable to find any other studies that assessed the impact of increased water on the skin of otherwise healthy individuals (Negoianu et al. 2010).
Dr. Lawrence Gibson, in the research for his paper Hydrated skin: Does drinking water help? could not find a single study that recommended drinking eight glasses of water a day (Gibson 2012). Gibson concluded that dehydration had the effect of making the skin appear less plump and healthy, but he could not find any scientific evidence to suggest that an increase in the uptake of water helps maintain a youthful appearance (Gibson 2012).
Discussion
The four articles I went through supported my hypothesis that excessive intake of water had no benefits on the skin of a healthy individual. All the researchers whose work I studied confirmed that there was no evidence to support the popular eight-glass recommendation especially concerning healthy skin.
However, all the articles I reviewed were based on reports by other researchers, most of whom did not specifically focus on the impact of increased uptake of water on the skin. I, therefore, plan to go ahead with my experiment and publish the findings for the benefit of future researchers on the topic.
It is worth noting that this initial experiment only has ten test candidates, and the findings may not be used to offer a generalized picture. However, subject to the availability of funds and any support from the scientific community, I will set up a bigger experiment, with more test subjects and control groups.
This will be to confirm my hypothesis beyond any doubt. Another point to note is the fact that the results of the suggested experiment are only measurable by evaluating the physical appearance of the skin tone. However, getting the test subjects to maintain consistency will be a challenge, because human beings don’t do things the same way every time.
This, unfortunately, might lead to the experiment’s failure to offer a solid confirmation of facts because other uncontrollable factors such as hormones and the weather might play a role in changing it at different times. However, for the scope of this research, the findings might still be strong enough to warrant the recommendation for further studies on the same topic.
References
Lawrence G. 2012. Does drinking water cause hydrated skin? Mayo Clinic. Web.
Negoianu D, Goldfarb S. 2008. Just add water. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Web.
Valtin H. 2002. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Really? Is there scientific evidence for “8 x 8”? Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. Web.
Wolf R, Parish LC, Davidovici B, Rudikoff D. 2010. Nutrition and water: Drinking eight glasses of water a day ensures proper skin hydration-myth or reality? Clinics in Dermatology. Web.