Can A Person Drink Too Much Water?
This is a common question that lacks a simple answer. First of
all, no, drinking too much water, per se’, cannot kill you.
There is a condition called Water Intoxication wherein a person
drinks too much water and does not have a high enough sodium
intake to balance with it. The official name for this condition
is Hyponatremia. It is more related to a ratio between water and
salt and has little to do with the water intake on its own.
Without getting into the technical details of what happens to
your cells in Hyponatremia, let’s talk about the real life
application of this condition. First of all, the condition would
occur yes, in situations of too much water.
But think about most people’s lifestyles. Most people don’t get
enough water. If you are drinking bottled or tap water each day
and eating a balanced diet, you should be fine. A truly balanced
diet will contain a relatively moderate amount of sodium and
thus you will not be at high risk for Hyponatremia.
Most people eat a lot of salty foods, which can actually cause
other health problems. Chances are if you like a lot of foods
that are not good for you, your sodium intake is too high rather
than too low. Thus, increasing water intake will be good for you
in those cases.
If you don’t drink water often enough and decide to go on a
water binge, just make sure that you balance your water intake
with regular food and juice intake. The age-old adage of “all
things in moderation” probably needs to be thrown into the mix
here.
However, you should not base any critical health choices
exclusively on what you read online or elsewhere. There is only
one person that knows your body as well or better than you do,
and that is your physician.
If you are concerned about your water and sodium balance the
absolute best thing you can do for your health and well-being is
consulting your doctor. Your doctor can run tests to determine
what your status is in terms of the intake of both water and
sodium.
Once the doctor determines if there is a dangerous imbalance,
you will be instructed to make appropriate diet and/or lifestyle
adjustments to compensate for any deficiency.
Another issue that should be mentioned here is that so many
people use the “too much water can kill you” argument to justify
not drinking water daily; they are not fooling anyone. You need
to be drinking water every day. Your body needs it; this should
be common sense and yet there are many who ignore this wisdom.
Are you drinking enough water each day? Our bodies are made of
about 75% water. So it stands to reason you need to keep
drinking a lot of it. Our brain is also known to comprise 85%
water and only 15% solid tissue. Ask your doctor how much water
you should drink per day based on your particular body weight.
There are also online calculators that will help.
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