Too Much Water Intake

YES. This is being discussed in another thread. Google Hyponatremia to get more information about it. Basically if you drink too much water and don't get enough electrolytes, the imbalance can cause your brain to swell which can have dangerous consequences.

I usually drink 18-24 but I always am wondering if I drink TOO much too:huh:

You really have to drink a lot of water, but yes it's a bad deal. You basically dilute you NA, K, etc.

YES. This is being discussed in another thread. Google Hyponatremia to get more information about it. Basically if you drink too much water and don't get enough electrolytes, the imbalance can cause your brain to swell which can have dangerous consequences.

Hyponatremia is a metabolic condition in which there is not enough sodium (salt) in the body fluids outside the cells. It's not directly caused by drinking too much water, but rather from a lack of sodium and electrolytes in the diet.

If you're doing high-intensity exercise, this is where a sport drink comes in since it contains electrolytes. The average diet does not lack in Sodium however, but environmental factors can cause you to lose water and electrolytes which need to be both replenished during exercise.

Not true. Hyponatraemia, and its consequences CAN be caused purely by taking in too much water. (Google psychogenic polydipsia). Unless you are an elite athlete, 'isotonic' sports drinks with electrolytes are an expensive con and full of calories. The only time you really need to take isotonic fluids is if you have diarrhoea and are taking rehydration solution. Your kidneys will sort out all the other times- thats what they are for, and they are very good at their job. At the volumes you are talking about though you are unlikely to cause any harm. In all honesty you don't NEED 8 cups per day, probably well under than half of that (can't be bothered doing the sums right now)- you just pee out the extra. It does fill your belly and stave off hunger though.

YES. This is being discussed in another thread. Google Hyponatremia to get more information about it. Basically if you drink too much water and don't get enough electrolytes, the imbalance can cause your brain to swell which can have dangerous consequences.

Hyponatremia is a metabolic condition in which there is not enough sodium (salt) in the body fluids outside the cells. It's not directly caused by drinking too much water, but rather from a lack of sodium and electrolytes in the diet.

If you're doing high-intensity exercise, this is where a sport drink comes in since it contains electrolytes. The average diet does not lack in Sodium however, but environmental factors can cause you to lose water and electrolytes which need to be both replenished during exercise.

Not true. Hyponatraemia, and its consequences CAN be caused purely by taking in too much water. (Google psychogenic polydipsia). Unless you are an elite athlete, 'isotonic' sports drinks with electrolytes are an expensive con and full of calories. The only time you really need to take isotonic fluids is if you have diarrhoea and are taking rehydration solution. Your kidneys will sort out all the other times- thats what they are for, and they are very good at their job. At the volumes you are talking about though you are unlikely to cause any harm. In all honesty you don't NEED 8 cups per day, probably well under than half of that (can't be bothered doing the sums right now)- you just pee out the extra. It does fill your belly and stave off hunger though.

Neither of you is wrong. Hyponatremia is not directly an issue of drinking too much water but yes it can be cause direcly by drinking too much water. Most here on this site are limiting their sodium intakes as part of their dietary discipline. Most here are also exercising on a regular basis and the sweating during that exercise will also lower sodium levels. So we do all need to be careful that we don't go nuts on water and drive an imbalance of water to electrolytes. This is a topic very near and dear to my heart as being a soccer referee and working multiple games a day in sweltering heat, this is an issue we regularly deal with. In fact this July in Phoenix at the youth nationals championships a referee spent 3 days in the ICU because he swore off of Gatorade and only drank water. Yes it does take somewhat extreme conditions for it to occur but it is something we should all be aware of.