英國女記者:日飲3升水 4週年輕10歲大綱
You might think I'd have little in common with a camel, but we do share one useful skill: both of us can go for a very long time without water.
你也許覺得自己和駱駝沒有什麼相同點,但其實我們確實和駱駝有一種共同的技能:我們和駱駝一樣可以長時間不喝水。Usually I start my day with a cup of tea, then I might have a glass of water with my lunch and one with dinner - that's about a litre of liquid in 24 hours. It feels like plenty, but apparently it's not nearly enough.
通常我會早上喝一杯茶,然後可能中午吃飯的時候喝一杯水,晚上吃飯的時候再喝一杯水——也就是大約24小時內喝1升水。這似乎夠多了,但實際上遠遠不夠。After years of suffering headaches and poor digestion I spoke to a neurologist about my regular headaches and a nutritionist about my poor digestion, and both told me I should be drinking up to three litres of liquid a day for my body to function at its best.
在常年受到頭疼和消化問題的困擾之後,我和一位神經科醫生談到我的頭痛症,又和一位營養科醫生談到我消化功能差的問題,兩位醫生都建議我,必須一天喝多至3升的水,身體才能運轉正常。
I decided to conduct an experiment. What would happen if I drank the recommended amount every day for a month?
我決定進行一項實驗,看看如果我按醫生的建議每天喝足量的水,會發生怎樣的變化?The photograph of me taken the day I started this trial demonstrates perfectly - and rather frighteningly - what a lack of hydration does to a face.
在開始實驗前一天我給自己拍了一張照片,這張照片清楚——並且令人恐懼的——證實了缺水對面部面板帶來的損害。I am 42, but have to admit I look more like 52 in this picture, which is shocking. There are dark shadows under and around my eyes, which make me look exhausted, a profusion of wrinkles and strange reddish blotches, and my skin lacks any lustre. It looks dead.
我現年42歲,但可怕的是,我必須承認在這張照片裡我看起來更像是52歲了。我的眼部周圍有黑眼圈,看起來十分疲憊,臉上還有許多皺紋和奇怪的紅斑。我的面板看起來毫無光澤,死氣沉沉。Even my lips look shrivelled. This is all classic evidence of poor hydration, apparently. Every system and function in our body depends on water.
甚至我的嘴脣看起來都很乾癟。很明顯,這些都是典型的缺水症狀。我們身體中的所有系統和功能都離不開水。It flushes toxins from the vital organs, carries nutrients to cells, provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues, and eliminates waste.
水能疏散重要器官中的毒素,將營養運輸到細胞裡,為耳部、鼻部和咽喉組織提供溼潤健康的生態環境,還能排洩廢物。Not drinking enough means all these functions become impaired. So I decided to see how I would look and feel if I drank three litres of water every day for 28 days. The results were astonishing.
如果飲水量不足,則意味著這些功能都將受損。所有我決定考察一下,如果我連續28天每天都喝下3升的水,那麼我的面板和身體感覺將有些什麼變化。結果是驚人的。