How I became a water advocate

Sometimes it’s the little discoveries that bring about the big changes in life. That’s how it was for me with water. I can clearly remember the day I was sitting at a friend’s house in New York, looking through a children’s book she’d bought for her daughter.

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On one of the pages was a drawing showing how much of the human body is made up of water. It was illustrated by the body being blue from the feet right up to the chest, and I remember sitting there gaping a little, struggling to grasp the idea. After all, the body seems so solid.

We’re made up mainly of water – between 55 per cent when we’re oldest and 75 per cent when we’re newborns. The exact percentage varies slightly depending on which reliable sources you consult, but it’s around that figure.

Leafing through that book changed something inside me, and I sat there on the sofa thinking how uncomfortable you must feel if you’re dehydrated. If such a significant part of us is out of balance.

And so I became a ‘water pusher’. My closest friends often tease me about it. When we’re on the dance floor or heading out for a hike in the mountains, they count on me being the one who’s remembered to bring the water.

 

Skin care rule no. 1 – stay hydrated

A well-hydrated body is the number one rule of skincare. The best comparison is between a grape and a raisin. Which would you rather your skin look like?

But hydration is so much more than that. Together with oxygen, it’s the very foundation of life for us humans. We can survive for a long time without food, but without water, the brain deteriorates and our organs fail.

We write ‘STAY HYDRATED – DRINK WATER’ on many Karmameju products. It’s not a message you usually see on skincare products, but it’s so important to me that we always inspire one another to make the most of everyday life, and I hope it serves as a reminder of just how important it is to drink water. Every day.

A dehydrated body suffers. The symptoms are many: tiredness, problems with concentration and memory, headaches, high blood pressure, aching muscles, a build-up of waste products, sugar and salt cravings, sagging skin, poor digestion – the list is long and goes on much further.

If beautiful skin is important to you, it’s worth bearing in mind that the body is designed in such a way that the vital organs take water from the skin if it’s lacking – so the skin is the last to ‘get’ what it needs. If you’ve been dehydrated for a long time and start making a conscious effort to drink water, the improvements will be both physical and noticeable.

 

My top tips for remembering to drink water

Decide how much non-diuretic fluid you’d like to consume each day. This includes water, infused water, sassy water, herbal tea and the like. Opinions differ on what’s best from a health perspective, and it also depends a lot on your size, the climate you live in, and how physically active you are during the day. Around 1½ litres is my best guess.

Buy a glass water bottle; if it holds, say, 500 ml, wrap three rubber bands around the ‘waist’ of the bottle. Every time you’ve emptied the bottle and refilled it, remove one rubber band. By the end of the day, all the rubber bands should ideally have been removed from the bottle.

Always carry water with you – that way, you’ll drink more. People often say to me, “Isn’t it annoying that I have to go to the loo so much more often?” My answer is: remember that your body is flushing out toxins, and think about how good it is for us to move around. If you have a sedentary job, it’s essential that you get up and move around often. Think of it as a little break during the day.

STAY HYDRATED – DRINK WATER.