[Lifestyle] Is drinking warm water the secret to glowing, healthy skin?

[Mr.Hacker]

 

While scrolling social media recently, a post claiming that warm water is effective against any skin issue, and also makes it glow, caught our attention. An Instagram page Indian_Veg_Diet noted, “Medical experts say that warm water is most beneficial if there is a skin problem or to bring a natural glow to the face. In fact, in a few days, your skin will start glowing and become pimple-free too.” But, does it actually help?

Dr Jaishree Sharad, a cosmetic dermatologist, told this portal that drinking warm water leads to sweating, which is a natural mechanism of releasing toxins from the body. “Warm water also improves sinus congestion thereby reducing puffiness or swelling around the eyes. Lukewarm water also speeds up digestion by helping better absorption of nutrients. And if the gut is clean, the skin remains clean too,” Dr Sharad said.

However, the expert added that there is very little scientific evidence of any direct benefit of drinking warm water to the skin except that it releases nasal congestion and causes “a little extra sweating which can also be obtained by other methods such as taking steam or exercising respectively”. But there is no denying the fact that warm water helps detoxify the body naturally.

“Warm water hydrates the skin, avoids dryness and flakiness, and naturally moisturises the skin, which aids the skin to glow naturally,” Dr Rinky Kapoor, consultant dermatologist, cosmetic dermatologist and dermato-surgeon, The Esthetic Clinics told indianexpress.com.

Dr Kapoor added that drinking warm water enhances blood circulation in the body. “Proper blood flow will make sure that adequate nutrients are delivered to the skin cells, and that is how you will get healthy skin too,” she mentioned.

Dr Sharad went on to state that “if the gut is clean, the skin remains clean”. “When your body is dehydrated, the skin gets dehydrated and loses its turgor. So, it is important to drink about two and a half to three litres of water per day, unless you have certain kidney or heart conditions where you are not supposed to drink too much water. The upper layers of the skin do not get their water from the deeper skin cells. Instead, they draw their water from the environment. Hence it is also important to moisturise the skin along with drinking water,” said Dr Sharad