water

[HARLEY GIRL]

is it true, that drinking to much water can be bad for you? i drink 1 1/2 gallons a day.

[Lonnie]

There have been cases of people drowning, because they drunk too much water, the amount you drinking does seem excessive, I wonder if you've got a medical problem, even if you feel well, go and see a GP, or neutritionalist for a chat.

[vehelpfulguy]

I heard about a woman a few months ago who was given some tablets and told to "drink plenty of water".

She did, and washed all the natural ingrediants out her body and died.

Not sure how much she drank or for how long.

[MissB]

You can drink too much. 2 Litres is recommended (sorry but I do not know the imperial conversion). You should drink more if it is hot (as this will increase perspiration) or you are expelling excessive amounts of fluid, such as through exercise.

Are you drinking caffeinated drinks i.e. tea coffee coke? These can cause diuresis, or mass fluid removal from your body. (Often diet products contain caffeine which will make you lose "weight" through water expulsion though not actually lose fat, unless the caffeine boosts your metabolsim to the point the you energy expenditure goes up). It seems fair & reasonable to increase your water intake marginally if you're consuming these, as they can dehydrate you.

Excess water consumption without expelling it can be dangerous. It can cause electrolyte imbalances, increases blood pressure, and if you are prone, cause you to retain water in places such as your brain, lungs and peripheries i.e. legs and hands, all of which can put our heart into overdrive.

Do you have excessive thirst? There are conditions where people have thirst, such as hyperglycaemia and hormone imbalances.

For your own piece of mind, weigh yourself every morning. Record this weight on a chart. Also record the volume of your fluid intake and also the volume of water that your food contains, basically anything that goes into you. The tricky part is recording your output, which primarily involves measuring urine output. Subtract your output from your input, which will give you what you are retaining. Keep a cummulative total for a week or so.

If you notice that your fluid chart is getting particularly positive, as in you are retaining fluid according to the numbers, or you are getting puffy looking legs or hands, which may be worse with standing and resolved with lying down, then consult a health professional.

[MissB]

Also avoid drinking copious amounts of fluid with meals as it can dilute gastric acids, thereby making it harder to digest food. I'd take an educated guess and say that it is acceptable to drink half an hour before and 2 hours after meals.

[HARLEY GIRL]

thanks for every ones answers. about 2 years ago i lost 35 pounds in 3 months, by drinking excessive amounts of water. well i'm trying to lose weight again so i'm back on 1 1/2 gallons a day.( which is roughly 5 liters) my friends say ( that all this waters not good for me) so thats why i wanted other peoples thoughts. thanks!! no i do not drink tea or cokes, just water. no diet pills, and i do expell the water, all day long.

[janeson]

It can wash out essential salts in the body and cause collapse. Im almost certain I read about it happening to the actor Jeremy Irons somewhere.