Bio Mythbusters

Drinking More Water Clears The Skin of Unwanted Blemishes

Bio Mythbusters

III- Potassium

Water is a vital source of minerals and energy needed for life. It is a pure and simple substance that could be easily used by the human body. So easy in fact that our body is made up of 60% water.

Our body consists of 60% water. We use this water for many purposes, to keep our systems supplied with enough fluids, to help regulate the temperature within our bodies, to increase the rate of transfer of substances through fluids, and many more. Water is undeniably necessary for life, and it is sure that we humans carry a lot of it around

Recent surveys show that the average person drinks 1.4 – 2.2 liters of water a day ( rougly around 5-9 glasses) . And that the average person consumes 2 – 2.5 liters of fluids every day ( 8 – 10 glasses of fluids). This just says that in a normal lifestyle a person only consumes 5-10 glasses of water daily.

One major part of our body is the skin, or our Integumentary System. It is the largest organ in our body as it covers all the parts that are exposed to the outside environment and makes sure that our muscles and organs would not get infected that easily. Therefore it is safe to assume that a large amount of water is also present in this system.

Water, because of it's pure and simple form, is often associated with purity, clarity and cleanliness. Some "specialists" even say that drinking plenty of water would actually help make your skin silky smooth and clear and soft. This assumption now leads to our groups myth

Our Myth is to check whether or not drinking a large volume of water would have an effect in our bodies. More specifically, to check if drinking larger amounts of water (as compared to the average person) would help in cleansing the skin in any way.

To test for the validity of this myth, our group shall be performing a simple task. Some of the members of the group shall drink 4-8 glasses of water(1-2 liters) more than the average amount consumed by a person for 5 days. Then, we shall compare our skin before the increased intake of water with our skin after.

Our group will also have a "control" person, who would not partake in the extra amounts of water intake. Then after the 5 days of testing, all of the members, including the control, shall grade their skin based on texture, number of pimples and rough spots, oiliness, softness of skin, and skin tone. And compare it with their skin before.

Introducing the Myth Labrats!

Paul Alcos

Nelson Capila

Vic Ochave

Jin Osorio

Carl Satorre

And Tim Caliguid ( Control )

These people (except Tim) were tasked to drink at least 10 glasses of water per day in a period of 5 days. Also, in order to limit the variables, these people are refrained from doing activities not related to the mythbuster project that might distrupt the regular amount water they consume , like joining water drinking contests and the like.

Also, the test subjects are required to live the same lifestyle before and during the testing period, this means sleeping at the same times and eating the same kinds of food as before, in order to limit the variables and to keep a concrete set of results for the tests.

This test will also focus on the skin covering the face, and the upper and lower extremeties of the test subject. Due to the fact that change in the skin can be easily sought out in these areas. Hopefully, our team would get significant results in these areas, that would confirm the myth or not.

So, Bottoms Up!

We all can agree that seeing the test subjects drinking water is kinda boring, so instead, here's a picture of a bunny with a pancake on it's head…

*ehem*… Now, after the 5 day testing each subject will be taken a photograph and will be compared to his picture 5 days ago. Here we could hopefully see the change in skin texture, color, oiliness and number of pimples present. Softness of skin can only be compared by the test subject itself due to limited equipment for objective testing. We shall just assume that the subject is telling the truth.

And now, the next slides shown shall compare each subjects picture before and after the myth testing.

Before

Paul Alcos

Now

BeforeSkin Tone – Light

brown.Texture – semi-

smoothOiliness- oily on

some parts, dry on others

Amount of Pimples – few (2 – 5 )

Skin Tone – Light brown

Texture – semi-smooth

Oiliness – less oil in face, but other parts still dry.

Amount of Pimples – few (2 – 5)

Comparison

After

Overall : No drastic change in skin condition.

Before

Nelson Capila

Now

BeforeSkin Tone – Light

brown.Texture – semi-

smoothOiliness- oily on

some parts.Amount of Pimples –

several (6 - 9)

Skin Tone – Light brown

Texture – semi-smooth

Oiliness – oily on some parts.

Amount of Pimples – several (6-9)

Comparison

After

Overall : Little to no difference at all

Before

Jin Osorio

Now

BeforeSkin Tone – Pale

brown.Texture – semi-

smoothOiliness- a little oily.Amount of Pimples –

several (6 - 9)

Skin Tone – Pale brown

Texture – smoothOiliness – a little oily.Amount of Pimples –

several (6-9)

Comparison

After

Overall : small difference in skin texture, but that’s it

Before

Vic Ochave

Now

BeforeSkin Tone –Light

brown.Texture – smoothOiliness - Oily.Amount of Pimples –

several (6 - 9)

Skin Tone – Light brown

Texture – smoothOiliness – Less Oily.Amount of Pimples –

several (6-9)

Comparison

After

Overall : Little to no difference at all

Before

Carl Satorre

After

BeforeSkin Tone – Yellow

brown.Texture – smoothOiliness – not very

oilyAmount of Pimples –

minimal (0-2)

Skin Tone – Light brown

Texture – smoothOiliness – not very

oilyAmount of Pimples –

minimal (0-2)

Comparison

After

Overall : Little to no difference at all

Before

Tim Caliguid

Now

BeforeSkin Tone – brown.Texture – smoothOiliness- A little Oily.Amount of Pimples –

few (2-5)

Skin Tone – paler brown

Texture – smoothOiliness – A little

Oily.Amount of Pimples –

few (2-5)

Comparison (Control)

After

Overall : Little to no difference, but this is due to the fact that he’s the control subject.

Based on the data gathered. The changes occurring in the skin between before and after the testing seem to be minimal at best. Also, no special characteristic was born from the extra intake of water, no stronger resistance to sickness, no happier outlook on life, nothing.

Also, comparison using pictures and physical changes do not give solid results for better skin. And can be highly affected by variables such as lighting.

Interpretation of Data:

ConclusionIt seems that drinking extra amounts of water would have no immediate effect onto the condition of our skin observable after 5 days. Even though more than half of the human body consists of water, drinking greater amounts of it would not instantly make our skin clearer. Although, we do not know whether drinking a large amount of water helps keep our skin clean and smooth in the long run, and whether or not comparing by observing is enough for a solid conclusion, therefore we cannot say that this myth is completely false just yet.

The myth needs a longer amount of time to be tested before we are able to reach a better conclusion. But as of now, this myth is just plausible.

Bibliography

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (n.d.) Water. Retrieved Sept 21 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water

 Aubrey, A. (2008) Five Myths About Drinking Water. Retrieved September 21 2009, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89323934

Campbell, N.A., Mitchell, L.G., Reece, J.B. (1999). Biology, Fifth Edition New York USA, Addison Wesley Longman Publishing