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Water -- How much is TOO much?
paulahhhh
Posts: 283
So, someone had asked in another thread if drinking too much water is harmful or not. I remember reading an article years ago about a girl who drank too much water that she drowned herself. IDK if it was true or not, so here I go surfing the web looking to see if drinking too much water is good for you or not. Here's a brief of my results:
You CANNOT drown yourself by drinking too much water, but you can die from doing so. The only way to drown is by liquid entering your lungs. But you can drown from water intoxication, or for you medical terminology folks, HYPONATREMIA -- Which means too much water & not enough sodium in your body.
We excrete water from sweating, urination, etc. As we go throughout the day, we need to balance out what we loss by taking in liquids. The relative imbalance of sodium outside the cells causes them to absorb excess water, swelling their size. Why do we need sodium in our bodies? Because when we sweat, sodium & water is carried out through our skin -- probably why our sweat has that salty taste?
With this said, drink ENOUGH, but not too much. The key to your water intake is balance.
You CANNOT drown yourself by drinking too much water, but you can die from doing so. The only way to drown is by liquid entering your lungs. But you can drown from water intoxication, or for you medical terminology folks, HYPONATREMIA -- Which means too much water & not enough sodium in your body.
We excrete water from sweating, urination, etc. As we go throughout the day, we need to balance out what we loss by taking in liquids. The relative imbalance of sodium outside the cells causes them to absorb excess water, swelling their size. Why do we need sodium in our bodies? Because when we sweat, sodium & water is carried out through our skin -- probably why our sweat has that salty taste?
With this said, drink ENOUGH, but not too much. The key to your water intake is balance.
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Replies
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Thanks, hun!!! That's great info! Now to figure out that balance.........0
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Great info, thanks!
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That's why people die on ecstacy and stuff, it's not the drugs it's that they get overly thirsty and down too much water0
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Thanks, hun!!! That's great info! Now to figure out that balance.........
I've heard that you divide your weight by 2 and then divide that number by 8(because there is 8 oz. in a glass of water) and then the number you have left is how many glasses you should drink a day.
Example
Weight= 180
180 divided by 2 is 90
90 divided by 8= 11.25
So thats approximetley 11 or 12 glasses of water a day.0 -
That's why people die on ecstacy and stuff, it's not the drugs it's that they get overly thirsty and down too much water
Yup! I read this on the articles I was able to pull up.
I'm glad this was useful to you all!! Keep in mind to BALANCE!!!
The girl that died from drinking too much water happened in 2007. She entered a contest "Hold Your Wee for a Wii". In Sacramento, CA, a radio station was giving out a free Wii console. The challenge was to see how much water you can drink before your bladder tells you to stop & empty it out. The contestants were given a consent form that their HEALTH was at risk. Sad to say that the girl who died was the winner. :[0 -
That's why people die on ecstacy and stuff, it's not the drugs it's that they get overly thirsty and down too much water
Uhm.... I hate to break it to you... but I think it is the drugs. I'm sure there are some cases where they do down a lot of water but, you can't say it's NOT the drugs.0 -
Thanks, hun!!! That's great info! Now to figure out that balance.........
I've heard that you divide your weight by 2 and then divide that number by 8(because there is 8 oz. in a glass of water) and then the number you have left is how many glasses you should drink a day.
Example
Weight= 180
180 divided by 2 is 90
90 divided by 8= 11.25
So thats approximetley 11 or 12 glasses of water a day.
I wonder if this is true! Time to do some research :]
(I love to learn!! LOL)0 -
Thanks, hun!!! That's great info! Now to figure out that balance.........
I've heard that you divide your weight by 2 and then divide that number by 8(because there is 8 oz. in a glass of water) and then the number you have left is how many glasses you should drink a day.
Example
Weight= 180
180 divided by 2 is 90
90 divided by 8= 11.25
So thats approximetley 11 or 12 glasses of water a day.
That would put me at just under 10 glasses a day, and on a day when I workout, I am more around 16 glasses. I wonder if it makes a difference if you are an excessive pee-er. Ever since I had my son I can't hold my bladder more than 30 minutes when drinking a glass of water. Even after 2 glasses, it's that bad! So maybe since I pee more, more is ok? Hmm...0 -
The girl that died from drinking too much water happened in 2007. She entered a contest "Hold Your Wee for a Wii". In Sacramento, CA, a radio station was giving out a free Wii console. The challenge was to see how much water you can drink before your bladder tells you to stop & empty it out. The contestants were given a consent form that their HEALTH was at risk. Sad to say that the girl who died was the winner. :[
this breaks my heart :-(0 -
Thanks, hun!!! That's great info! Now to figure out that balance.........
I've heard that you divide your weight by 2 and then divide that number by 8(because there is 8 oz. in a glass of water) and then the number you have left is how many glasses you should drink a day.
Example
Weight= 180
180 divided by 2 is 90
90 divided by 8= 11.25
So thats approximetley 11 or 12 glasses of water a day.
I wonder if this is true! Time to do some research :]
(I love to learn!! LOL)
It's not. That much won't hurt you, but there is no science behind it.0 -
I went to a nutritionist years ago she said 1 cup for every 25lbs of bodyweight... which seems significantly less than the prevail opinions here.
Here are an articles one about too much water, and how it can affect kidney function.
http://www.aakp.org/newsletters/KB--Electronic-Newsletter/February-2008/Too-Much-Water/0 -
I went to a nutritionist years ago she said 1 cup for every 25lbs of bodyweight... which seems significantly less than the prevail opinions here.
Here are an articles one about too much water, and how it can affect kidney function.
http://www.aakp.org/newsletters/KB--Electronic-Newsletter/February-2008/Too-Much-Water/
o0o nice!! Thanks for the link!0 -
Good tips sis
This site has a calculator that seems pretty accurate..
http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm
According to those calculations I should be drinking at least 14 cups of water per day. Hot dry climate + 90 minutes of exercise / day0 -
and I think I remember when that girl died... Wasn't she doing some kind of water drinking contest with some radio station?0
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Good tips sis
This site has a calculator that seems pretty accurate..
http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm
According to those calculations I should be drinking at least 14 cups of water per day. Hot dry climate + 90 minutes of exercise / day
Thanks for this, Sis!!!
and I think I remember when that girl died... Wasn't she doing some kind of water drinking contest with some radio station?
Yeah she was. She was the winner, too! :[0 -
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224051/Wee-For-Wii-water-drinking-contest-death-Jennifer-Stranges-family-awarded-10m.html
YEAH There it is!! She drank 7 liters in a short amount of time... RIDICULOUS...0 -
After I heard what radio station it was, I stopped listening to it when I was in the area visiting family. Sucks because I loved the station since it started when I was back in HS.0
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Good tips sis
This site has a calculator that seems pretty accurate..
http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm
According to those calculations I should be drinking at least 14 cups of water per day. Hot dry climate + 90 minutes of exercise / day
Under my results it said...
"If you eat a healthy diet, about 20 percent of your water may come from the foods you eat."
... a good thing to remember.0 -
Good rule of thumb is to drink enough water that your pee is consistantly clear or very pale yellow. Except first thing in the morning when it will always be darker yellow than normal.0
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Good rule of thumb is to drink enough water that your pee is consistantly clear or very pale yellow. Except first thing in the morning when it will always be darker yellow than normal.
Good to know! Thanks!0
This discussion has been closed.
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