COMING CLEAN

There were some subtle changes. Friends and colleagues noticed that my skin appeared more lustrous Dr Lapsys shed some light on some queries regarding water. What is hyponatremia? It is a condition of having low sodium concentrations in the blood. Becau

from workouts more quickly than I usually did. Food wise, I found myself developing a cleaner palate, while my appetite was suppressed from feeling full with water. By the end of the experiment, I had lost 1.1kg.

Could this be a placebo effect, though?

Beneath The Surface

“Water has various functions,” said Dr Naras Lapsys, the nutrition and longevity specialist at The Wellness Clinic, when I spoke to him about this. “For active people, it prevents overheating during and after training by keeping the body cool. It also helps with lubricating the joints. As for fine lines appearing less pronounced, it’s because the skin cells are plump with moisture. And if you’re feeling full from water, and thus eating less junk food, it’s only natural to notice some weight loss,” he pointed out.

The Final Drop

According to Dr Lapsys, excess water is generally safe, apart from those who are prone to hyponatremia, such as athletes. “It doesn’t matter if you’re drinking eight or 15 glasses of water a day. The kidneys will remove any excess,” he said.

Does this mean that we should be changing the daily recommended intake to 15 glasses a day?

“There is no particular benefit in consuming excess water,” Dr Lapsys admitted. “Although some individuals have experienced positive effects, there isn’t enough scientific evidence to back it up,” he explained. That is good news: I must admit it wasn’t easy to drink at least 15 glasses of water a day, so I’m just going to listen to my body and drink when I’m thirsty. AM