For many, January is all about being better, doing more than you did last year, and picking up new habits like swapping alcohol out for good old H2O.

If you’re currently on a journey to better health and wondering where to start, maybe taking a leaf out of YouTuber Scott Luu’s book will help.

In 2020, the creator wanted to discover whether drinking more water over a prolonged period of time could change his productivity and performance levels.

His idea was to triple his regular water intake for 30 days and document how he found the process in a YouTube video.

As someone who didn’t drink a whole lot of liquid beforehand, it’s understandable that the first major effect Luu felt after drinking three liters a day was the need to go to the toilet.

The creator said that he experienced a ‘huge, huge, huge increase in peeing’ during the experiment, claiming instead of his usual six trips, he was going to the bathroom between 12 and 13 times a day.

The YouTuber decided to drink three liters of water every day for an experiment (YouTube/Dreamlet)

However, he stated a ‘more useful’ effect of drinking so much water in the early days of the challenge was that he no longer felt ‘foggy’ the morning after completing a late-night editing session.

“Now that I started this water challenge, I chug half a liter of water in the morning and it’s like drinking clarity,” he explained.

“I can feel an immediate difference in energy, and it’s a bit freaky.

However, Luu claimed he was: “99 percent sure that’s just my mind reacting to the stimulus of drinking a lot of water because my body can’t really access that energy.”

Moreover, Luu claimed he no longer needed to include naps in his daily routine.

“Before the experiment, I took one daily 20-minute nap in the afternoon. During the experiment, it turned into six [days] out of the 30. Energy levels: a definite increase.”

Intriguingly, the social media star noticed that as the challenge progressed, he stopped feeling an ‘immediate’ power surge when chugging H20.

This is probably because his body was adjusting to the sheer amount of liquid being poured into it.

Hundreds of people have commended the creator for documenting the challenge (YouTube/Dreamlet)

Rounding up his successful experiment, Luu mentioned that drinking water isn’t a ‘magical pill’ that can solve all your problems.

He stated: “If you don’t have your s**t together, the water would just give you more energy to keep on doing unproductive tasks.

“However, if you have intention and focus drinking more water will help boost clarity and energy, increase focus stamina, make you nap less, and cause you to pee a lot.”

Luu’s video has amassed 201,000 views since it was uploaded to YouTube in April 2020 and has collected hundreds of comments from admiring platform users.

One viewer typed: “This is so motivational and inspirational. Thank you so much for this! I am really grateful.”

“I remember i went a year replacing every drink with water (even at family gatherings, etc.) and I have to say that was my best year, my bloating went down a tiny bit and I didn’t feel groggy after a meal as when I used to drink soda almost non stop,” replied someone else.

A third said: “My blood sugars are under control after drinking 3+ litres of water everyday for 2 weeks. It makes me wonder whether diabetes is a symptom from a lack of water weight.”

Lots of people would happily lose an afternoon to smooching their partner – assuming they hadn’t just devoured some sour cream and onion chips – but actual attempts for the world’s longest kiss had to be scrapped by Guinness World Records for a concerning reason.

Once upon a time, the ‘World’s Longest Kiss’ record was up for grabs, ready to be bestowed upon whichever two people could successfully keep their lips locked the longest.

In 2013, those two people were Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat; a Thai couple who had entered a competition for the world’s longest kiss held by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Pattaya, Thailand.

Ah, romance (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP via Getty Images)

The rules of the record

As per Guinness World Records, were as follows:

• The kiss must be continuous and the lips must be touching at all times. If the lips part, the couple are immediately disqualified.
• Contestants may consume liquids via a straw during the attempt, but again, the lips must not part.
• The couple must be awake at all times.
• The contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids.
• No rest breaks are allowed.
• Adult nappies/diapers or incontinence pads are not allowed to be worn.

Couples attempting to break the record were allowed to take trips to the toilet, but they had to remain kissing the whole time while also being monitored by a referee.

It’s probably not the kind of scenario many couples would be prepared to encounter during their relationship, but these contestants were obviously OK with it.

Ekkachai and Laksana Tiranarat are the last record holders (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP via Getty Images)

The event kicked off on February 12, 2013, with nine couples – including one couple in their 70s, who dropped out after an hour and 38 minutes because the husband couldn’t stand up any longer.

But Ekkachai and Laksana stayed strong, and 58 hours and 35 minutes later, they officially held the record for the world’s longest kiss. The couple won the grand prize of 100,000 Thai Baht ($2,967), as well as two diamond rings also worth 100,000 Baht.

It’s an incredible feat – especially with the logistics of going to the bathroom – but after Ekkachai and Laksana set the record Guinness realized that it was too risky to continue.

Kissing comes with some health risks (Getty Stock Image)

Why? Well, as determined contestants fought to continue their kiss, they became subject to dangers associated with sleep deprivation, such as psychosis.

One example of this occurred in 1999, when record holders Karmit Tzubera and Dror Orpaz almost fainted after securing the record with a kiss which lasted 30 hours and 45 minutes and had to be rushed to the hospital to be treated for fatigue.

In 2004, another contestant suffered muscle cramps during the attempt and needed his partner to massage him to help him deal with the pain. After 31 hours and 18 minutes of kissing, he then had to be resuscitated with oxygen.

So Guinness scrapped the record for the sake of people’s health – but if you still fancy trying to secure a title for tonsil tennis, there is the ‘longest kissing marathon’ record, which does permit rest breaks.

People have rushed to the defence of the world’s hairiest family amid cruel remarks from online trolls.

The family, who hail from Mexico, received the title of the largest hairy family in the world by the Guinness World Records (GWR), with the condition dating back five generations.

The extremely rare genetic condition is called congenital generalized hypertrichosis (CGH) and, as of 2009, less than 100 cases had been documented in the news.

CGH can develop over time, but in this family’s case it was recognizable from birth.

Victor “Larry” Gomez, Gabriel “Danny” Ramos Gomez and their cousins Luisa Lilia De Lira Aceves and Jesus Manuel Fajardo Aceves are just some of the 30 members of their family who have CGH.

According to GWR, women with CGH are covered with a light-to-medium coat of hair, while the men of the family have thick hair on approximately 98 percent of their bodies – not including their palms and the soles of their feet.

Jesus featured in the 2014 documentary Chuy, The Wolf Man where he spoke of the hardships he’d faced since he was a child as a result of his condition.

Jesus Manuel Fajardo Aceves is a member of the world’s hairiest family. (TAO-CHUAN YEH/AFP via Getty Images)

He joined the circus when he was just 13 years old.

Jesus said: “My life in the circus started when I was 13. The man said he’d pay us well and said he wanted all of us. He said he would house us and there’d be money. I said, ‘Yes.'”

While Jesus and his mother always had somewhere comfortable to stay and plenty to eat, he struggled with being ‘locked up’.

He shared in the Eva Aridjis film: “We were always locked up. They were presenting us as attractions so we couldn’t be seen on the street. I didn’t like that, being locked up so people wouldn’t see us.”

The family have a condition called congenital generalised hypertrichosis. (Guinness World Records/YouTube)

The documentary helped put the Gomez and Aceves’ names and faces on the map, but they haven’t always been met with kindness.

Some online trolls have questioned if the family are related to fictional Star Wars character Chewbaca.

But people have come to their defence. One person penned online: “It’s what’s in their heart is all that counts.”

A second said: “I think it’s pretty awesome! Very unique!”

“Wow, that’s truly extraordinary,” wrote a third. “It must be quite a unique journey for the family navigating through such a rare condition together.”

An expert has spoken out on the downsides of following an influencer’s extreme diet that has seen her apparently skip carbs completely for the last six years.

Social media influencer Bella, who goes by @steakandbuttergal on Instagram, is a musician – but her page largely documents what she eats as part of her unconventional diet.

Bella claims to have not eaten any carbs, fruit or vegetables in six years.

A woman has claimed that she’s not had a carb in six years (@steakandbuttergal/Instagram)

“I hate to break it to you, but you do not need to eat carbs,” she told her 420,000 followers in one video. “I have not eaten a single carb, piece of fruit or vegetable in six years and I’m not dying of low energy, nor have I wrecked my hormones.”

Ultimately Bella, who also says that she eats a whole block of butter a day, claims that the carnivore diet has helped her lose 25 pounds, made her periods ‘painless’ and made her taller.

She added that her body now burns fat for fuel.

In the wake of her outlandish claims, a PhD pharmacy student and fitness coach has spoken out and warned about the negative long-term affects this kind of diet can have on a person.

“You can believe some random influencer, we can believe the entire science community,” Angel began.

Bella follows a carnivore diet (@steakandbuttergal/Instagram)

“Carnivore diet might put you in a calorie deficit, so you might lose weight. Cool. [But] you could also just be in a regular calorie deficit, flexible dieting, eating chocolate, eating pasta and still having some balance there.”

She continued: “Over the long term, you might have a low fibre intake that will affect your gut. That is not good for you.

“You’ll also get less vitamins and minerals, for example vitamin C. So it might be well and good that you’re getting lots of iron from these meats, but if you don’t have any vitamin C to help you with absorption, you’re actually not going to be getting the benefits you think you are.”

Angel went on to warn about the issue of having too many saturated fats in your diet, which could lead to high cholesterol in the long-run.

Long story short, it’s good to have a diverse diet.

Explaining why, Love Your Gut’s website states: “Different foods are made up of varying amounts of protein, fat and carbohydrates as well as vitamins and minerals.

“All these nutrients provide your body with energy and elements to help it function at its best day after day.”

It adds: “How can you ensure you’re getting enough nutrients to fuel your body every day? Well, the answer is to have a diverse diet and to diversify your dietary choices.”