oohhh new study!! too much water is bad for u

SueInAz

I read an artical that said - A lethal amount of water in a full grown human is about 100 oz at once, give or take. The "AT ONCE" is an important statement. Spread your water intake out over the day, and it would never be lethal. I personally am not going to take the risk of getting dehydrated! I do not believe that "dehydration is a mthy! Beside - I LIKE water! - :drinker:

You shouldn't drink more than 1 liter of water an hour without also eating or drinking some other form of food or beverage which contains electrolytes. Distance runners can suffer from hyponatremia as can other athletes if they are drinking only water during long events.

corsayre8

"dehydration is a myth"

Ummm, what???????

That article is a bunch of BS and has absolutely no supporting evidence. How it even got posted as news is beyond me.

bcattoes

That so called "study" isn't a study. Dehydration a myth? LMAO. It is very hard to actually hurt yourself drinking too much water. You'd have to drink an obscene amount everyday over the course of 3-6 months for your health to be in jeopardy.

No, drinking a very large amount of water all at once can kill a person.

kapeluza

I don't see any peer reviewed articles/journals quoted in that study.

smersh

I drink a lot of water, so I checked it out.

I see no scientific data at all. The two experts quoted include a general practitioner (really? a GP?) and Dr. Stanley Goldfarb from the University of Pennsylvania. He, at least, has some cred. His one and only quote: "'The current evidence is that there really is no evidence' to support the idea that water helps people to lose weight by suppressing their appetite". OK. That's plausible, I guess. Makes me feel more full, so that's all the proof I need.

But then the article really lost me, starting with this ridiculous quote: "We've also been told that drinking water is good for flushing out bacteria from our kidneys but a study has found that it could actually cause kidney damage, instead of preventing it." WHO said that -- and who did they tell? Who did the study? When was it? If it was an honest-to-goodness scientific study, the author should have named names and provided publication details.

At this point, the article had zero credibility, far as I was concerned, But there was one final straw -- and it made me laugh out loud: "It has also been found that drinking excessive amounts of water can also lead to disrupted sleep as people have to get up in the night to go to the toilet."

Wow. I'm shocked.

The article is dribble, far as I'm concerned. Just my opinion.

Well, I went to the trouble of tracking down Dr. McCartney's original article. News sites tend to do science reporting very poorly.

http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4280.full?keytype=ref&ijkey=ZD92BtTrOIdw3Rv

That should do a little better in referencing actual studies for you.

DyannAlvarez

Too much is called water intoxication. Doesn't happen on a regular basis to "regular" people. This is interesting but I have no idea if it's accurate so your own study should be made and of course the good sense the Lord gave ya!

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

JHunter75

I drink as much water throughout the day as I can. For me, the bottom line comes down to the fact that water is better for me than Kool-Aid or soda pop.

tladame

Too much water is bad for you and can be lethal

and do you have proof? Just sayin
[/quote



There was actually a woman who died hours after having a water drinking contest. I don't remember hoe much she had but it was a lot more than anyone drinks on here day to day

I remember that, it happened locally where I live. She was trying to win a WII game system for her kids ("hold your wee for a WII"). Really sad.

Seems like most water intoxication deaths result from a hazing or a contest. Most people wouldn't drink that much water on a regular basis. I'll stick to my goal of 64 oz. per day. That feels about right.

tigersword

Too much water is bad for you and can be lethal

and do you have proof? Just sayin

Hyponatremia occurs when too much water is taken in at once. It dilutes the sodium and potassium levels in your blood stream, and can cause confusion, loss of coordination, and even death, as your nervous system and muscles don't get enough of the potassium and sodium to function. However, it takes a LOT of water to cause that to happen, without eliminating the water (urinating, sweating, etc.) So yes, too much water at once can be lethal, that's actually a well known and well studied medical condition, but the amounts required to cause it are much higher than the average person will ever drink in a day. It's usually only a problem for top athletes in endurance events.

As for the actual study posted here, from what I've read, the doctor was just commenting on other studies that were performed, and looking to debunk them or offer counterpoints, but offered up no actual scientific evidence to refute anything.

Also the entire tone of the article was laughable. It wasn't against drinking enough water, it was against drinking MORE water. It never said how much "more" actually was, just that drinking "more" didn't have any real health benefit than drinking "enough." So really it is a meaningless article that says absolutely nothing. And I'm going by the bmj article from Dr McCartney, not the article the OP posted.

Twasney

I read an artical that said - A lethal amount of water in a full grown human is about 100 oz at once, give or take. The "AT ONCE" is an important statement. Spread your water intake out over the day, and it would never be lethal. I personally am not going to take the risk of getting dehydrated! I do not believe that "dehydration is a mthy! Beside - I LIKE water! - :drinker:

They actually say more than 1 litre per hour can do damage, its not that the water itself causes damage its that your kidneys can not process the amount your putting into it, sodium is released, and then your sodium/electolyte balances become off. Ignorning these signs and continuing to drink is what will cause damage.

Twasney

Too much water is bad for you and can be lethal

and do you have proof? Just sayin
[/quote



There was actually a woman who died hours after having a water drinking contest. I don't remember hoe much she had but it was a lot more than anyone drinks on here day to day

There have been many deaths related to this! try google.....

bean177

If you read carefully, it says: 'The current evidence is that there really is no evidence' to support the idea that water helps people to lose weight by suppressing their appetite. MY COMMENT - I DONT EXPECT IT TO "SUPPRESS" MY APPETITE!

We've also been told that drinking water is good for flushing out bacteria from our kidneys but a study has found that it could actually cause kidney damage, instead of preventing it. It has also been found that drinking excessive amounts of water can also lead to disrupted sleep as people have to get up in the night to go to the toilet. MY COMMENT - WHAT'S THE DEFINITION OF "EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS" OF WATER? AND YEAH - IF YOU DRINK LOTS OF WATER BEFORE YOU GO TO BED, YOU'RE GONNA WAKE UP TO USE THE RESTROOM. SO MAYBE STOP A FEW HOURS BEFORE BED - BUT FRANKLY, I'M AT THAT AGE WHERE I'M GONNA GET UP AND USE THE RESTROOM DURING THE NIGHT ANYWAY.

So, I suppose if you're looking for an excuse to drink less water, here it is. Me? I'll just keep drinking my 10-12 cups a day. I believe in the benefits of drinking water.

ditto, ditto, ditto!! well said! Also remember that all sodas will make you retain weight (diet or not) and when you take in protein without sufficient water, that can also dehydrate you... AQUA, AQUA, more AQUA

Twasney

the google comment was not meant for you Greeneyed!!! LOL....

Twasney

OMGsh! If you are drinking too much water you will know it! Everyone is different and there are always "reports" coming out on what is good/bad for you then a new report will come out the says the opposite...the truth is "they" don't have a clue

Not true....if you are feeling really dehyrdrated many people will drink a large amount of water quickly. This is what throws your body into shock.

brendalyne

You shouldn't drink more than 1 liter of water an hour without also eating or drinking some other form of food or beverage which contains electrolytes. Distance runners can suffer from hyponatremia as can other athletes if they are drinking only water during long events.

I do not think it would be POSSIBLE for me to drink more than a liter of water in an hour! And I'm far from a marathon runner. I drink 10-12 cups per day (occasionally more)...spread throughout the day....and I'm eating my food. I'm safe! And like so many others have said - listen to your body folks.

vim_n_vigor

Generally, the people that are going to have the most trouble with overhydration are people that are already having other types of health problems, or the elderly or very young. It is possible to die from overhydration as it can shut down your organs - just like dehydration can.

Twasney

The difference between something that is beneficial, and something that is a toxin; is the dosage.

Too much water is called Hyponatremia....and if you do it on purpose its called Self Induced water Intoxication (its more common in those with schizophrenia). I spent a year working on the ward with these patients. Its a real issue people.

I personally have to watch out for Hyponatremia because I have to increase my water intake because of my PTC medications and I am monitored monthly for my sodium and electrolyte levels!

Ms_Natalie

I drink 6 - 8 pints a day! :happy:

bunchesonothing

This news item likely was prompted by recent instances -- VERY RARE INSTANCES -- of marathoners downing too much water during their 26.2 mile trek. They just mindlessly knocked back water until they essentially diluted their sodium levels to a dangerous point. It was reported among slower marathoners (imagine why I'm up on this!) who were on the course for a long, long time. Bottom like, as other posters said, listen to your body.

And the effects of water intoxication are NOT RARE. Dying from it is rare, but many, many runners suffer some effects of it during their long runs. It's not an all or nothing thing. And it doesn't take a drowning with water.

When you sweat, you sweat out some salt. Some people sweat out more salt than others.

Just drinking the water in amounts that would rehydrate, not overhydrate, can give a runner this problem. If you sweat too much salt out, some runners will even get these effects even on gatorade, which has electrolyte replacement. Some runners need to take salt tabs or eat extra salty foods to fix this problem.

I am one of them.

People here, only knowing half the story...

I am one of these runners with the smallish effects from this. I did not drown myself in water, but during one particular run, I drank more water than I did gatorade. I had swollen fingers and feet, and was completely nauseous, and spent much of my race time in the porta-pottie. I had a milder version, but it was water intoxication/electrolye imbalance.

RedheadHen

Too much water is bad for you and can be lethal

and do you have proof? Just sayin

My Great Aunt was hospitalized for drinking too much water! Well, she was about 78 at the time and she just had her bladder stinted. Her Urologist told her to drink lots of water to keep things going. He failed to tell her about how much to drink. She was admitted because she had too much water and it has a name!! Hyponatremia. Look it up.

On the other side .. My husband was admitted to the ER 2 yrs ago for Dehydration. He was never one to drink lots of water, but he always did in summer when it is hot out. But, this was in late November!! He was in for about 3 days and was told that it could take up to a year to fully recover from his severe bought of dehydration!

So ... I think it's best to drink when thirsty. Drink a bit more if you are exercising or out in the heat! Common sense and advise from the doctor is key.