How to Drink More Water Effortlessly for Glowing Skin
Getting in enough water each day is important for increasing overall energy, lubricating your joints, digestive tract, and respiratory tract, regulating your body temperature, carrying nutrients and waste around the body. Hydration is also important when it comes to your skin’s health. Dehydrated skin looks dull and is more prone to acne. The skin will overcompensate for the dehydration by producing more oil that clogs up the pores.
Disclaimer: the information provided in this blog post is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat. Make sure you contact your doctor if you think you have a medical problem.
In this blog post we’ll cover:
Why optimizing your water intake is important
How to increase your water intake
Creative ways to get more water in
Staying hydrated all year around is important, but with warmer weather, you may find yourself sweating more often.
Getting in enough water each day is helpful for many different aspects of health, not only for the purposes of “hydration.”
Hydration for Detoxification
Your liver needs water to do it’s job of detoxification. There are 3 phases your body goes through for detoxification. Phase 1 starts to break down the toxins into smaller bits. Then Phase 2 makes sure these toxins are water-soluble so they can be released from the body. Being water soluble is important because these toxins are usually released from sweat, urine, water vapor from breath, or in the stool. Water is needed for these processes to run smoothly, not only to go through the nitty gritty phases of detoxification, but to excrete the toxins from the body as well through emunctory organs.
Emunctory organs are organs that release toxins from the body including the digesetive tract, your lungs, skin, and kidneys
Phase 3 detoxification is the act of getting these toxins out of the body through the emunctory organs. If you aren’t properly hydrated, you may notice you’re more constipated, not sweating as much, or urinating as much and the process of phase 3 can’t happen as well. Those toxins can then enter back into circulation in the body, trying to find a place to get out. This build up of toxins in the body can come up as symptoms like acne, an irritated scalp, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, brain fog, poor immune system.
Your Lymphatic System
Another important organ is your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels all around the body that carry waste from the cells. The lymphatic system is basically like your neighborhood garbage man. The cells bring out the garbage (toxins and other cellular waste) and the lymphatic system picks it up, brings it to blood circulation so it can be released through the urine or stool.
The lymphatic system can become sluggish or stagnant, meaning it’s not moving like it should. At those times, we see more swelling, cellulite, a lowered immune system, bloating, and acne can even be a consequence.
I often find that the lymphatic system isn’t moving properly in those who are dealing with acne. One of my first steps with my patients is to address the lymphatic system through movement, hydration, gentle message and using various herbs.
Tips to Stay Hydrated
Water Bottles
A cute reusable water bottle is a great way to start drinking more water. And you notice that the bigger ones makes it easier to reach your water goals because you don’t have to refill it as much. They’re also easier to carry around with you making it easier to stay hydrated on the run.
I also find that when a water bottle has a straw, people drink more water. It’s more accessible to you and you’ll end up drinking more throughout the day. I love the tumbler trend for this!
Make sure to have a reusable water bottle that is plastic-free. Chemicals used to make plastic can disrupt hormones like estrogen, causing an imbalance that triggers acne. Even if the plastic says “BPA-free” it contains chemicals that are of similar structure (BPS, BPF) and can still mimic your body’s estrogen. High estrogen can be a culprit to your breakouts.
Add in some flavor
Sometimes plain old water is just plain old boring. Add in some flavors to make your water more enjoyable. I recommend adding in herbs like mint or basil. You can also add in fruits like cucumbers, strawberries, or blueberries.
Some great combinations:
Strawberry + lemon + basil
Cucumber + mint
Watermelon + basil
Blueberries + basil
Clove + orange
Lime + raspberries
Lemon + mint
You can also add in herbal tea bags to your water to help enhance the flavor. You can try tea like hibiscus, chamomile, ginger, dandelion, fennel, spearmint, and more.
Some herbs like hibiscus can help support the skin by reducing inflammation in the body that can be driving acne.
Get bubbly with it
Drink mineral or sparkling water instead of soda. Soda is full of sugar that can end up causing blood sugar issues and inflammation in the body that could be the cause to your acne. Sometimes it’s just the bubbliness of the soda that draws us in.
Try to swap out soda for just some bubbly water. And if it’s the sweetness of soda, you can even get fancy and add in some fruits and herbs listed above that enhance the flavor of seltzer.
Great brands like Spindrift have filtered water and are made with natural ingredients that make them an amazing option for your skin.
I love to recommend Soda Streams because if you love a good seltzer like me, this will end up saving you some money in the long run by making your seltzers at home. You can make your seltzer and flavor it accordingly.
If you just can’t seem to give up the soda, try new popular soda brands like Poppi that contain less sugar and contain inulin (a fiber) to support your gut.
Start Off Your Day with Water
Put the caffeine on hold for a sec! Starting your mornings off with coffee, especially if you’re adding in a sugary creamer, sets you up for blood sugar mayhem for the rest of the day. This can cause a huge blood sugar spike and then crash later on, leading to lower energy.
I always recommend starting your day off with water and a high protein breakfast before reaching for that coffee.
Drink a room temp glass of water with lemon and a pinch of sea salt when you wake up in the morning. If you’re constipated, this can help you stimulate your gastrocolic reflex. This reflex helps to get things moving in the morning to bring on a bowel movement. Remember what we said about constipation hindering detoxification and what it can do to your skin?
And by drinking this glass of water in the morning, you’re starting off the day with 1 cup under your belt! By doing this you may even notice more energy throughout the day. Your replenishing water and electrolytes through the salt to help your body absorb the water you’re drinking. You’ll notice your skin will thank you for this.
Pro Tip: Mornings can be pretty busy and my patients express this to me a lot. They don’t have time to prep this in the morning with their busy schedule. This is why I recommend to prepare this cup of water at night and keep it on your nightstand so it’s ready to go when you wake in the morning.
Track Your Water Intake
Use an app to track your water. If you have a Fitbit, you have a water tracker built into your app. You can go in and set your standard size (your water bottle) and just click a button every time you finish your water bottle, it’s that easy. Other apps like Apple Health and Daily Water can be a good option to track your water intake.
This is a good visual to see where you are throughout the day and how much more you have to go.
Other forms of water
Add in some coconut water to your day. Coconut water is full of electrolytes like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. Coconut water is also a great source of antioxidants, helping to fight oxidative damage in the body, which your skin will love.
Eat your water! Eating foods that are rich in water like melons, oranges, peaches, grapefruits, tomatoes, bell peppers, cabbage, celery, blueberries, plums, cucumber, spinach. Note that when you cook some of these foods, the water content will decrease. To get the full effect, eat these foods raw.
Healing from acne can be a tough journey, but you don’t have to go about it alone. Every day I work with women to help them overcome breakouts and give them the glowing skin they’ve been waiting for. If you’re looking for a holistic approach, schedule a free discovery call with me where we can discuss how I can help you with your skin goals.
Talk soon!
xx Dr. Alyssa
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