It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have. We all desire it and chase it with wild abandon. It is…

Youth.

It’s no wonder then that celebrities like Cameron Diaz would follow the siren’s call. After all, their style and good looks are their brands. One of the latest buzzwords swirling around Hollywood and the internet is the link between hydration and youth.

Have we discovered the proverbial fountain of youth?

The Beginning of An Adage

You’ve probably grown up believing that you must drink eight glasses of water a day, the so-called 8×8 rule or 64 ounces a day.

Where did this advice get started?

You have to get back to the 19th century, and a practice called hydropathy. The belief was that water “brings bad stuff out of the system.” It’s true—in part.

Water or fluids will help your body rid itself of waste. You couldn’t survive going more than four days without it, either.

Fast forward to 1945 and a publication by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. It provides the first mention of how much based on the number of calories you consume. Its recommendation was 1 ML per calorie.

If you ate 2,500 calories a day, that would mean 2,500 ML or just over 84 ounces. That’s a lot more than the eight glasses we grew up believing.

What Does Staying Hydrated Do for You?

Celebrities tout water with praise that it makes them feel better and their bodies happy. What happens if you don’t get enough fluids?

Bad things.

Remember that fluids are the engine that makes everything work in your body. If you start to get dehydrated, you’ll feel irritable and tired. You may experience dizziness. If you’re thirsty, you’re up to 2 percent of the way there.

That’s a problem.

If you drink water and feel better, it’s natural to draw a conclusion between intake as many celebrities have doubtlessly discovered. We understand that getting enough fluids is a must-have.

What about your skin’s appearance?

Hydration and Your Skin

The essence of youth is wrinkle-free. Can water help keep your skin smooth? A study by Dartmouth Medical School may have the answer.

Researchers looked at the effects of drinking either mineral or tap water on several skin measurements such as density. What they found may surprise you…

Participants drank 2.5 L of either fluid for two weeks to how each works. The mineral group showed a decrease in skin density, or how full your face would look. It was the opposite case for the tap water group. There is one important caveat.

Your face may look more youthful if you were low on fluids already.

In other words, it’s temporary. Your body gets rid of what it doesn’t need. Drinking water, as it turns out, is a quick fix but not a be-all-end-all solution.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Let’s go back to the start of the conventional wisdom about fluids. There is one glaring omission for the 1-ML-to-1-calorie concept.

It doesn’t take into account:

● What you’re eating
● What other fluids you’re drinking
● Your activity level
● Your environment

Foods like lettuce are almost all water. Your morning coffee also counts toward your intake. If you’re exercising, you’re burning lots of calories and exhaling a lot of moisture in your breath. And if you’re in a hot gym, you’re sweating buckets.

Celebrities who work out to stay fit have come to this conclusion too. You feel better if you hydrate after spending energy. The two go hand-in-hand to making someone experience a rush of youth.

The takeaway is that there isn’t a golden rule about how much you should drink for whatever reason, except one…

Your body has got it covered. If you are thirsty, drink water. Going to the gym? Bring along a bottle of H2O. An even better barometer is the color of your urine.

If it’s pale like, well, water, you’ve been hitting it too hard. If it’s dark yellow, it’s time to get hydrated. Some people start to feel sleepy when the tank is getting low. Pay attention to the signs.

Can You Drink Too Much Water?

Oscar Wilde once said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” That’s sound advice when it comes to hydration too. You can drink too much water. The consequences are just as serious.

When your intake is too high, it starts to mess with the chemical balance in your body’s fluids. Your cells start to swell, to keep in balance with the watery environment around them. You may notice your fingers swelling. But it doesn’t stop there.

All of your cells may bloat up, including the ones in your brain. Ironically, it causes similar symptoms like dehydration, such as confusion and fatigue. You may also feel nauseated.

The best advice we can give you is to listen to your body. It knows what it needs.

Final Thoughts About Hydration and Youth

The fact remains that none of get out of here alive. We grow up and age, celebrity or the girl down the street. However, youth isn’t just about what you see in the mirror. It’s also what is deep inside of you.

Perhaps Aristotle summed it up best when he said, “Youth has no age.” It’s how you feel that matters.