The Truth About…Water!
It’s Not How Much You Drink, It’s How Fast You Drink It!The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to taking in an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it’s possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.
There is a disorder called hyponatremia, which means “low sodium.” This occurs when someone drinks enormous amounts of water and/or loses too much salt from the body in a short time. Drinking an enormous amount of water overwhelms the kidneys and they can’t process and eliminate the water fast enough, so the amount of sodium in your blood drops too low. Your brain needs sodium and when the sodium levels drop this low a person feels confusion and lethargy. Severe hyponatremia can lead to twitching, seizures and even death.
Hyponatremia can happen to a marathon runner who drinks gallons of water and doesn’t replace the electrolytes during a race, or to people with certain psychological disorders who can’t make themselves stop drinking water. Hyponatremia can also occur in older people and people with certain medical conditions.
Hyponatremia won’t happen to a healthy person who spreads out his or her water intake over the course of the day. This means it is fine to drink two gallons of water over 16 hours, but drinking two gallons of water all in one sitting can be very bad.
The 1996 Position Paper of the American College of Sports Medicine recommends:
Cold: Drinks should be cooler than room temperature.Flavored: Drinks should be flavored to make them taste more appealing, helping people to drink more. A squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of a flavoring can help without adding calories.
Sports Drinks: Use a sports drink to replace carbohydrate and electrolytes when exercising longer than 1 hour. Plain Water: If exercising less than an hour, plain water is just fine, maybe with a squeeze of lemon juice or other flavoring if preferred for taste.Drink to Thirst: Updated guidelines in 2006 caution endurance runners and walkers that overdrinking can cause hyponatremia, so exercisers should use thirst as their guide rather than forcing fluids.
That’s good information!
I just got a new water bottle last night to take when I workout!
I drank 24 oz already…but I probably need to get some more!
Thanks!
That is good to know. thanks!
Working on getting more water in thanks for the info!
Tiffany
Good info, I had never even heard of water intoxication! Luckily I don’t go over the top lol, I am trying to increase my intake cuz I don’t think I drink much but I will be sure to keep note of how much I am having! x
Hey that was a great blog!! I learned alot about water drinking….thank you for sharing the information with us
So there is a fine art to water drinking, huh , Ms. Guzzler - luv ya and guzzling as I write this
The Rockstars affectionately call me Holly Guzzler sometimes because I’m such a fan of drinking water! I think Lara started calling it my weight loss elixir, which I do believe is true. It’s gooooooodddd stuff!!!!!
I mentioned that because my son in law was drinking several gallons of water a day and his doctor told him to drink less because he was overworking his kidneys. Thanks for the info.it is very helpful. You are one smart Rockstar Ms. Holly!!!!!!!
She’s even got me guzzling it, and I hate water !
love ya Holly
Holly, I do agree with most of what you said. But I do know from being in the nursing field that there is such a thing as excessive water intake which could lead to water intoxication. However this usually only occurs from drinking 2 or more gallons of water a day. So it’s possible, but not likely!
Being a marathoner, I know the risks of hyponatrimia….it’s funny because 8 years ago, when I first started training, our coaches taught us to drink until we heard sloshing in our bellies, now we’re told the opposite. Back then we were also told to take advil during our long runs, to help with muscle inflamation and pain. Now we know the effects of taking anti-inflamatories can be deadly. It’s so interesting what we learn about our bodies and how constant discoveries are made. Anyhow, thanks so much for sharing this article with us…a lot of people don’t know the seriousness of drinking too much water!
Wow, good to know!!!