12/04/2021
Water: Is It Possible To Get Too Much Of A Good Thing?🤔
With an increased interest in improving fitness at the beginning of the year, there's a lot of good advice available online. But that comes along with a lot of nonsense, and some of it can be unhealthy. It’s common to see advice about how much water you should drink, and too often the implication is you should just “drink as much as you can” or something similar.
In rare cases, drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That's a condition called hyponatremia. It's very serious and can be fatal. You may hear it called water intoxication. When sodium levels drop due to excess water consumption, fluids shifts from the outside to the inside of cells, causing them to swell. Excess fluid accumulation in the brain is called cerebral edema, which can affect the brain stem and cause central nervous system dysfunction.
Your healthy kidneys can eliminate about 5.3-7.4 gallons (20-28 liters) of water a day, but they can't get rid of more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) per hour.
Therefore, in order to avoid hyponatremia symptoms, you should not drink more than 27-33 ounces (0.8-1.0 liters) of water per hour, on average.
In addition to water, other foods and beverages you ingest also contribute to your overall daily fluid intake. Although it varies based on temperature, activity level, etc, most people can maintain healthy hydration with 6-10 cups of water per day.
More about healthy hydration here:
Your body needs proper hydration to function at full capacity. Drinking water throughout the day is just as important to a healthy lifestyle as eating the right foods. Keep your body running well with healthy hydration.