Can Too Much
Water be Bad for You?
by www.StewSmith.com
This week, a concerned Army
Reservist asks, “I have heard about people dieing of drinking too much water. Is
this possible?” This is a great
question because so many times this issue is taken out of context causing people
to stop drinking water altogether.
When you read about people who
die or get kidney damage “from drinking too much water” you are only hearing
half of the story. The other half
of the story is often overlooked.
These people die or are seriously injured internally from over-hydration
with insufficient replacement of sodium, which is called dilutional
hyponatremia. The documented
cases are from participants in long distance running or ultra endurance events
lasting longer than four hours of continuous, sweaty, activity. Sports replacement drinks mixed with
water are the best source of electrolytes and can be of significant help in
avoiding hyponatremia in long distance athletic events or long, hot and humid
days of rigorous outdoor work.
Now there have been recent cases where people had
drinking contests of water and actually drank more than two gallons in AN HOUR.
I drink a lot of water in a day - maybe a gallon, BUT when done in ONE HOUR you
can cause the same reaction as above and dissolve all of your electrolytes,
shutting down your major organs and die.
However, the regular person in America,
does not drink ENOUGH water per day. Those who does not exercise at all or that rigorously, needs water to lose
weight. If the body does not
receive adequate amounts (1-2 quarts a day), you will actually start to retain
water causing a net gain in weight and the liver to cease metabolizing fat at a
normal rate. Basically, your
metabolism will slow to a point where fat and water is now being store by the
body UNTIL it receives the proper amounts of water. An easy equation with the elements of
weight loss is:
Water +
Oxygen = Weight loss
Drinking water plus physical
activity where you breathe at a higher heart rate (ie aerobic activity like
walking, jogging, swimming, biking, resistance training etc,) will ultimately
lead to weight loss. Not only will
you release retained water – ending the bloated and puffy feeling, but your
metabolism will burn fat at a higher rate than before you started adding
sufficient water intake to your diet.
If you are significantly overweight (50-100lbs), you need to add more
water to your diet than the minimum recommended daily amount. Some experts agree that the intake
should be another 6-8 oz. of water for every 10-20 lbs overweight.
The bad news is that coffee, tea,
diet drinks, alcohol, and nicotine are diuretics meaning they actually will
dehydrate you. These drinks should
not count as your 1-2 quarts a day of daily water consumption. If you think you maybe retaining water,
try adding up to a gallon of water a day and you could lose about five to ten
pounds of retained water in a few short days. I have seen people lose up to twenty in
a week by ONLY adding water to their diet.
See these
tips and more on fitness at the StewSmith.com Fitness eBook Store
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