As a dermatologist, pharmacist and researcher, I have always rooted my practice
in the idea that skin care can lead to overall health.
The skin, after all, is a microcosm of the entire body – it reflects what is going on inside.
The key to vibrant health from the inside out lies in maintaining strong cells that can retain water the way younger cells do.
If you can repair your cells’ membranes (from brain cells and heart cells to connective tissue and your outermost skin cells) while attracting water and nutrients to them, you can fight ageing and disease.
The future is organge: The water contained in carrots is surrounded by molecules that help it seep into cells easily, which slows down the ageing process
You can help your body to heal and rejuvenate itself, so you not only look fantastic but you also feel healthier and revitalised.
Most people I know accept signs of ageing such as weight gain, fatigue and familial patterns of disease as inevitable. The truth: upwards of 80 per cent of longevity is attributed to lifestyle, not genes.
WHY YOU’RE ONLY HALF WATERContrary to popular belief, you are not 75 to 80 per cent water. You were once – when you were fresh from your mother’s womb. But now you’re closer to 50 per cent water.
Since those early years, internal and external factors have damaged your cells and weakened their ability to retain water. This explains the signs of ageing that
probably emerged in your early 30s: your skin began to become drier, sleep
patterns changed, digestion slowed and your energy wavered.
WASTE WATER AND WELLNESS WATERThere are two types of water in your body – wellness water inside your cells, and waste water floating between your cells, the kind that will age you and make you feel fat and sluggish.
Puffy eyes, swollen ankles and a bloated stomach are all signs that the body is not
handling water efficiently. This damage can occur anywhere, including in the blood vessels, heart, skin and liver. Wellness water sustains cellular activity and allows you to remain healthy.
SO NOT ALL WATER IS EQUAL?Why is water from a berry better than plain water? The water in fruits and vegetables
is surrounded by molecules that help it get into cells easily. For this reason, I encourage patients to eat – not drink – water.
Fruit and vegetables are rich in healing antioxidants. They also contain trace
minerals and B vitamins your body uses to metabolise carbohydrates, fat and protein.
EAT TO KEEP HYDRATEDIt’s easy to get 2.5 litres of water a day without drinking copious amounts of water.
Almost all food has some water in it, but natural whole foods have the most. Colourful fruits and vegetables concentrate their water with nutrients – this is the best form of water for you, because it stays in your system long enough for you to put it to good use.
THE WATER TABLE● Watermelon, cucumbers, 97 per cent wate
● Tomatoes, 95 per cent
● Aubergine, 92 per cent
● Peaches, 87 per cent
● Carrots, 88 per cent
● Wholewheat bread, 33 per cent
● Cooked kidney beans, 77 per cent
● Roast chicken breast, 65 per cent
● Baked salmon, 62 per cent
● Cheddar and blue cheese, 40 per cent
GO RAWBoiling vegetables breaks down their cell membranes and allows water to leak out
from cells. This is why vegetables weigh less after being boiled and why I recommend eating as many raw vegetables as possible.
Most people get about 70 per cent of their calories from animal products, processed
food and junk food. Only about 30 per cent of their calories come from plants. Nearly
everyone in nutritional science believes that these percentages should be reversed.
MY CELLULAR WATER SECRET SMOOTHIE½ cup of pomegranate juice (unsweetened)
½ cup soy, non-fat milk
½ cup of blueberries (fresh or unsweetened frozen)
1 tablespoon lecithin granules
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
2 tablespoons of dried goji berries
3-4 ice cubes or crushed ice (optional)
Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Every ingredient in this antiageing power smoothie contains the key nutrients and phytochemicals to optimise the water content in cells and strengthen connective tissue.
Amino acids, to encourage the formation of collagen and elastin tissue, are in the soy
milk. Lecithin maintains cell membranes. Antioxidants in the pomegranate juice,
blueberries and goji berries protect against free radical damage to cell walls.
Essential fatty acids in the flaxseed lock moisture into the cell. Anti-inflammatory
compounds in the ingredients of this smoothie soothe skin irritation.
This drink helps increase the water content of cells, reduce wrinkles and increase skin elasticity.
FAT FILEFat tissue is about 10-20 per cent water, while lean tissue (which includes muscle, bone and water outside muscles) averages 70-75 per cent water.
Because muscle is much heavier due to the water, those who gain muscle mass and
lose fat may not see the numbers tick down so fast on the scales, but their clothes
become much looser.
● www.murad.co.uk. The Water Secret, by Dr Howard Murad, is published by Wiley, priced £12.99. To order your copy at the special price of £10.49 with free p&p, call the Review Bookstore on 0845 155 0713 or visit MailLife.co.uk/Books
What is the water secret?When our cells are not fully hydrated they deteriorate and cannot function at their peak level. This leads to the tissue damage we refer to as ageing.
And as we age, we naturally lose water. It’s this water loss that makes it harder for our bodies to heal, to defend against invading bacteria and pathogens and keep the effects of hormonal imbalance in check.
But here’s the catch. You can’t just drink to replenish.
Healing power: Retaining water in our cells is vital
Many people believe drinking eight to ten glasses of water a day is the answer to hydration.
The Water Secret is not just about drinking water, it is about getting it into the cells and connective tissue and keeping it there so that every cell functions at full capacity.
If we want to make cell membranes stronger, encourage connective tissue regeneration and keep the immune response intact, we have to flood the body with nutrients.
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