“I get up around 7:30 a.m. I always try to have a cereal bar or cookies even though sometimes I forget or don't have time. Then I take the metro and arrive at work. At lunchtime, we all eat in the cafeteria, at that time it depends on what's on offer but generally I have fries with a steak or something like that. In the evening, I return home around 6-7 p.m. For dinner I make pasta or rice. When I'm too tired, I sometimes order. »
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Emma is 28 years old. She is a junior project manager in a communications agency in Paris. Her days resemble the daily lives of many young women her age except for one detail: Emma never drinks water, or almost never. “It started during my exchange in the United States,” she says, “when I was 24 years old. There, it was often simpler or more accessible to consume soft drinks. At first, I didn't even realize it. » Over time, the young woman got used to this way of life, and completely abandoned water, which she now has difficulty drinking. “At home, I often drink iced tea, or a can of soda. I know it's bad, but it's mainly that I don't really like the taste of water anymore. So it’s difficult for me to drink it every day, explains Emma. It's like telling someone who doesn't like bananas that they have to eat them every day. This might be complicated. For me it is the same. »
The harmful consequences of lack of water
The first months of this unique diet, Emma noticed no particular consequences. “I wasn’t really paying attention. It was only when I returned to France that my sister pointed out my weight. » On the scale: 82kg, or 6 more than before his departure. Nothing alarming, and it was only a year after her return that Emma had to face the evidence.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed a lot of little wrinkles that I had never paid attention to.
“We were in line to go clubbing for a friend’s birthday. At the entrance to the club, the bouncer asked for our IDs. I was the last to go, when my turn came, he looked at my card and when he saw my age, he looked at me in a very surprised look, Emma remembers. At the time I just smiled, I was a little embarrassed. » The next day, the bouncer's insistent gaze was still felt. “When I looked at myself in the mirror, I noticed a lot of little wrinkles that I had never paid attention to. Especially at eye level, the young woman tells us. But I didn't immediately make the connection with my distaste for water. »
Indeed, on a dermatological level, one of the first consequences of lack of water intake is skin aging. “People who don't drink enough water will quickly have skin that is less plump, and generally marked with wrinkles, with stretched features,” explains Doctor Nina Roos, specialist in dermatology. “The skin will thin, and the body will get tired. »
Today, it's been about two months since Emma last swallowed pure water. Her last contact with the vital drink took place in a pharmacy when she had just bought a doliprane. “I had a really bad headache and I was in a big hurry. At the time, that’s all there was,” she confides. According to Dr. Roos, the harmful consequences on the body really appear when too few liquids are consumed, or in the case where water is completely replaced by unhealthy drinks, such as sodas or alcoholic drinks. “People who consume herbal teas or teas, for example, will see very few consequences,” she says.
Adapted consumption and effective solutions
If water needs vary according to weight, height, age or even the frequency of physical activities of each person, it is still recommended to consume on average between 1 and 2l per day, or per 24 hours, insists Doctor Roos. “They say you should drink 1 and a half liters a day, but that's not entirely true. You should know that the body regulates itself, and that it is made to support restrictions in water intake or food. » In other words, if the liter and a half has not been drunk during the day, there is no reason to worry. It is in the long term that the balance will be achieved. As explained previously, these liters can also be compensated by water from food or even water from drinks such as herbal teas, teas or flavored waters. Indeed, if water remains the best source of hydration for the body, certain drinks such as milk, soups or even fruit juices contain 90% water, and can therefore participate in this process suggests Violette Petroj , dietitian nutritionist. “You can also drink sparkling water from time to time. Rich in small bubbles, it stimulates the palate more (..), so you will have less of the impression of drinking something neutral and tasteless,” continues the doctor. “At the cosmetic level, the only way to compensate for the lack of water intake is to use treatments with hyaluronic acid” explains the dermatologist. This molecule, which retains water, will make it possible to better store the little hydration provided to the body.
It is also important to note that the temperature of the water has no impact on the quality of hydration, says Dr. Roos: “it is up to each person's pleasure. I would say that you have to go in the direction of your pleasure, to consume the right quantity of liquid without experiencing it as a constraint. » On condition of course that you avoid hot liquids, which could damage the esophagus.
For Emma, however, the major problem remains taste. “Looking back, I would have preferred never to start consuming sodas on a daily basis, for example. It's hard to break a habit. Especially since the taste of the water is so different and neutral. At the time, I didn't even ask myself the question. I was just drinking water, like everyone else. »
Thanks to Doctor Nina Roos, specialist in dermatology, and to doctor Violette Petroj, dietitian nutritionist 80 rue Boissière, Paris 16th.
*Some names have been changed.
