3 liters of water daily: Look 10 years younger?

It turns out humans have more in common with camels than one might think and that similarity could be a reason why some of us are missing out on a fountain of youth.

Camels can go for a long period of time without water and under the right conditions so can humans. Experts say this can make it really easy for some people to skip out on getting the healthy amount of water they need daily to keep the body functioning optimally.

Now a 42-year-old woman claims the right amount of water each day is not only good for the body but could help you take as much as 10 years off your face.

We all know that H2O is good for us. Water makes up about 60 percent of the human body and is essential for the removal of waste and the protection of our body tissue. It also helps to lubricate your joints and keeps your body temperature stabilized. At every moment water escapes from the body through sweat and other routes so replenishing it is very important.

Sarah Smith chronicled her water journey for the UK’s Daily Mail. She said she started her commitment to drinking up to six bottles of water a day as a way to help stave off poor digestion and headaches. But after four weeks of sticking to her daily hydration regimen, she noticed a drastic change in her looks.

The before and after photo shots were recently published in the paper. And you can actually see all of the changes Smith said occurred as a result of her simply drinking H2O, including a reduction in dark shadows around her eyes and clearer less blotchy skin.

She also said she now feels much healthier and leaner. So who wouldn’t want to follow in Smith’s footsteps? Medical experts who have been weighing in on the dramatic transformation say the results are not so untypical for someone who is dehydrated.

They say when the body does not get enough water, it pulls it from your skin and body tissue, which doctors say can make your eyes more sunken and your skin less elastic—adding unwanted years to your looks. But it means if you are not dehydrated, drinking more H2O will only yield more trips to the bathroom.

In fact, physician experts say drinking excessive amounts of water can be dangerous and fatal in some cases. When a person drinks too much water they can develop what’s known as hyponatremia a dilution of the blood. This can occur when your kidneys cannot flush out the water your drinking fast enough.

The key experts say is knowing your body. The Institute of Medicine says an adequate intake of water for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) a day and for women 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) a day. Yes, that’s different than the popular advice of drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, which only adds up to about 1.9 liters.