Eat for better skin: your questions answered

Is it true that drinking water helps with skin complexion and if so how much should we drink daily?

Water is the second most important nutrient for the body after air. Your body uses it for many different purposes including hydrating skin cells, speeding up the elimination process and helping to prevent the build of toxins that can lead to problem skin. For these reasons water certainly helps the skin’s complexion by rejuvenating and cleansing the skin cells.

I would recommend a minimum of 1.5 litres - equivalent of 6 glasses of water a day - adding another glass per caffeine drink or unit of alcohol that you drink. If you exercise that day or work in air-conditioned atmosphere then water becomes even more important as these too can dehydrate the body.

However the trick is not just to ensure you drink sufficient amounts of water but also to be conscious of the source of your water intake. Although tap water is deemed safe to drink, many of our waterways may have been exposed to agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical waste. Chemicals such as chlorine, pesticides, herbicides and heavy metals can leach into the soil and from there into the water supply. Another potential problem with tap water is the level of hormone residues that may be in it. There is an increase in women taking the contraceptive pill and HRT and residues from these synthetic hormones can be found in the water via human waste, as well as pharmaceutical waste. It is possible that ingesting these waste products through our water supply is causing hormone imbalances in men and women.

I would recommend investing in a good quality jug filter to filter your tap water through or install a more permanent filter system on your kitchen sink. Bottled water is also good choice but can be more expensive.