托福阅读材料之4周年轻10岁秘诀是日饮3升水

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.

你也许觉得自己和骆驼没有什么相同点，但其实我们确实和骆驼有一种共同的技能：我们和骆驼一样可以长时间不喝水。

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.

通常我会早上喝一杯茶，然后可能中午吃饭的时候喝一杯水，晚上吃饭的时候再喝一杯水——也就是大约24小时内喝1升水。这似乎够多了，但实际上远远不够。

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.

在常年受到头疼和消化问题的困扰之后，我和一位神经科医生谈到我的头痛症，又和一位营养科医生谈到我消化功能差的问题，两位医生都建议我，必须喝多至3升的水，身体才能运转正常。

I decided to conduct an experiment. What would happen if I drank the recommended amount every day for a month?

我决定进行一项实验，看看如果我按医生的建议每天喝足量的水，会发生怎样的变化？

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.

在开始实验前我给自己拍了一张照片，这张照片清楚——并且令人恐惧的——证实了缺水对面部皮肤带来的损害。

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.

我现年42岁，但可怕的是，我必须承认在这张照片里我看起来更像是52岁了。我的眼部周围有黑眼圈，看起来十分疲惫，脸上还有许多皱纹和奇怪的红斑。我的皮肤看起来毫无光泽，死气沉沉。

Even my lips look shrivelled. This is all classic evidence of poor hydration, apparently. Every system and function in our body depends on water.

甚至我的嘴唇看起来都很干瘪。很明显，这些都是典型的缺水症状。我们身体中的所有系统和功能都离不开水。

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，将营养运输到细胞里，为耳部、鼻部和咽喉组织提供湿润健康的生态环境，还能排泄废物。

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.

如果饮水量不足，则意味着这些功能都将受损。所有我决定考察一下，如果我连续28天每天都喝下3升的水，那么我的皮肤和身体感觉将有些什么变化。结果是惊人的。