DON'T OVER-DO THE WATER--HERE'S WHY

WTF?

That pretty much had nothing to do with drinking too much water. The article is about not having enough salt intake. And with the way foods are now (overly salted), there is no problem with lack of salt.

Not everyone eats enough salt. I am one of those people. I use sea salt and my sodium levels are low and I drink nothing but 2 cups of coffee in the morning, 2 cups of hot tea before bed and water the remainder of the day.

My Dr never told me to stop drinking so much water or cut down on any of the other beverages I drink either. He merely said I needed to increase the amount of salt I eat on my foods because we don't eat any processed foods any longer.

You only need 500 mg of salt daily. If you aren't getting that, you aren't eating.

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/medical/do-the-salt

Not that rare, particularly in marathon/tri athletes - and more particularly among runners who are heeding (overheeding?) the advice to drink plenty for hydration. Many major marathons now have pages educating participants on the issue. I linked one above. More people are treated at races for hyponatremia than dehydration. But just like dehydration, being aware and fueling properly eliminates the risk.

Quoting from article
"Who gets it most commonly?

First time marathoners and charity participants (who are usually first-timers) tend to be at risk. They fear they will become dehydrated in heat and wrongly drink too much not understanding the danger. Women are at much greater risk than men for reasons that we don’t yet understand. It is clear that a big part of the problem is the inability of the athlete to excrete the excess fluid because of high levels of fluid-retaining hormones ADH and AVF.

Those taking NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory meds like Advil, Aleve, Motrin, Naproxen, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Celebrex, Vioxx, etc) are also at increased risk. These drugs work by blocking prostaglandins in the body. By blocking prostaglandins, blood flow is decreased to the kidney thereby setting up the cascade that increases ADH and AVF.

How can marathoners make sure they are getting enough fluids but not so much as to be at risk for hyponatremia?

Recent scientific research has shown that drinking only when you are thirsty is the best prevention. If participants are drinking no more that 1 cup (8oz) every 20 minutes while on the course they will have enough fluids. The risk of dehydration, even in the heat, is far less than developing hyponatremia. Not drinking at every water station will prevent hyponatremia.
"

haha

Actually, this is true. There was a study that was just released maybe a month ago that proved too much water wasn't good for the body. Of course, the amount of water everyone "needs" is different and you really have to drink over your "need" regularly for this to happen.

So, I know people aren't going to take me seriously, due to how they responded to this post, but...

Hyponatremia is an actual risk. There have been a bunch of studies done on it, and over-hydration can actually be more deadly than dehydration. It really only presents itself in long-distance runners, so it's pretty rare, but it is an actual thing that you should be concerned about if you drink a lot of water when running marathons.

Educate yourself, people! OP was just trying to raise awareness.

No one said it was not real. What we said was that it is not the risk the OP makes it out to be for the vast majority of humanity.

There were quite a few people in this thread implying that they believed it was not real or not any sort of threat.

I agree that it isn't worth the risk that OP makes it out to be for most of humanity. Like I pointed out, it's really only a risk for long-distance runners, and the majority of people here on MFP are not even going to come close to suffering from hyponatremia. But I see no reason for any of the posters here to belittle OP for trying to raise awareness something that not only exists but has 1600 documented cases since 1981.

I didn't see anyone say it wasn't real.

I get a headache when I drink 3 litres of water but I work in a kitchen so I need it when its hot ! your body needs 2 litres of water a day, i get headaches when I don't drink enough!

Drink your water. When in doubt, drink your water. When you're hungry, drink your water. Always, always, always drink your water.

If we are not exerting ourselves, it is not hot out and the humidity is low, we need to drink 8 cups = 4 pints = 2 quarts = 2 litres. If it is hot, the humidity is high and/or you are exerting yourself, you need a lot more than that. As a healthy measure. Most people do not drink 8 cups of water a day. You do not have to worry about losing too much salt unless you are not eating, or are not drinking things other than water. Sodium is in damn near everything. So, yeah, if you are starving yourself, running a marathon and drinking 2 gallons of water, you're screwed. But, if you are doing that you are screwy, and I don't care if you are screwed.

Highly unlikely. People need to stop reading too much into science. Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.

And you know what? Your body has a natural defence - you'll crave salt if this imbalance starts. But this DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU NEED SALT EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU CRAVE IT. Don't read too much into that one either.

Highly unlikely. People need to stop reading too much into science.

I would argue that it's not reading ENOUGH into science that is the problem and cause of hysteria. Too much of anything is a bad thing by definition, this is scientifically true. It's peoples assumed definition of "too much" that leads to stupid.

Sure, it's medical fact and all that, but overconsumption of water seems a pretty rare thing to me. Most of the time i see dehydrated people who refuse anything that's not flavored and sugary.

Posting stuff like this is just going to discourage those people anymore. And some of the other posters are totally right: most people eat way too much sodium and need to drink all the water they can.

...... and just when I had resolved to drink more water having just read

http://thyroid.about.com/od/loseweightsuccessfully/a/metabolism.htm (full text)

Finally, dehydration can contribute to an inefficient metabolism, by affecting body temperature. When you are dehydrated, your body temperature drops slightly, and causes your body to store fat as a way to help raise or maintain the temperature. Making sure you drink enough liquids, preferably at least 64 ounces of water per day, to avoid this metabolic pitfall. (precis)


Now I have to make another damn choice!

WOW!! It's a good thing this was posted, because I could have DIED!!!! I drink A LOT of water, like 9 WHOLE glasses a DAY!!! I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I'm now so sure!! It's a good thing I know now!! We all know that Knowing is Half the Battle!!

I love you