Could I be drinking too much water?

NervousNude

I got a nalgene water bottle for Christmas and it's been stuck to me ever since. I now drink about 3-4 litres of water a day, up from about a pint before.

Is it possible that I'm drinking too much water? I now go to the loo about 6-7 times during work, and I'm getting paranoid that my colleagues will think there's something seriously wrong with me...!

On the plus side, I haven't really had a hangover since I started saturating myself which I'm attributing to all the water.

EileenG

It is possible to drink too much water (there was a case of a women who went into a coma after drinking too much) but I don't think 3-4 litres is overdoing it, unless that is in addition to lots of coffee and tea and other drinks.

Actually, the original recommendation was 8 glasses a day of FLUID, not necessarily water, and there is no actual proof that this amount is optimal. It's taken as an article of faith among the fitness-minded that more water is better but there's no real evidence to back this up. I did see a programme where two sets of twins took part in an experiment. One twin of each pair drank lots and lots of water, the other drank none for two weeks. At the end, none of the experts who tested them could find any difference between them.

Too much water can mess with your electrolyte balance, too little can leave you dehydrated and feeling hungover. I reckon drink to thirst and a bit extra around exercise.

eclectichoney

I always go by the 'urine colour' indicator myself or else how I am feeling: If i haven't drank any water/liquid for a few hours I begin to feel tired and generally groggy so it generally reminds me to hydrate myself!

Edit: Meant to say, I'd always have at least 3-4l of water a day (that includes rehydrating after exercise)

*Honey*

I would drink about the same amount of water too... I know I am peeing all the time but that's ok, I know I'm not dehydrated at all! I think it's where you might drink litres upon litres of water in a very short space of time that could be problematic.

Taken from Wiki "Normal, healthy (both physically and nutritionally) individuals have little to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume more than 10 liters (2.2 imp gal; 2.6 U.S. gal) of water over the course of just a few minutes, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet massive amounts of fluid are still consumed".

I suppose, if you were really worried, you could measure your output v your input (which means peeing in a jug!) but at least you'd know!

Khannie

3-4 litres is a lot IMO. My rule is: 2 litres + 1 litre per exercise session. That's a max of 4 litres a day and a bucket load of sweat on the way out. Works for me. I still find myself peeing a lot mind you.

corkcomp

i m on about 4 L at the moment, 3 litres during the day and 1 in the gym .. The only downside is having to P a lot:D
If you sweat a lot and drink a lot of water you might need to add salt to your food (yes i know !!) if you eat a lot of unprocessed veg / fruit etc .. I havnt got any cramps since I started using around 5g salt / day ...

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

Actually, the original recommendation was 8 glasses a day of FLUID, not necessarily water, and there is no actual proof that this amount is optimal.

Yes, the study was in a hospital I think and recommended 8 glasses WORTH of water. So fruit is usually 90% water and will count towards the 8 glasses. Even dry flour is around 10-12% water.

You can sort of figure out water content of foods from labels, tot up all the weights under "per 100g", if they all add up to 90g your food is around 10% water, usually a few % more as some substances might not fall under the carb/fat/protein figures (not sure on that, I know abrakebabra also list "ash"). This also reveals when food manufacturers are watering down food. e.g. WW ready meals are heavily watered down, they are already lower weight than normal and bulked out with water, just like those pumped up chicken fillets. You are paying over the odds for just water.

EileenG wrote: »

It is possible to drink too much water (there was a case of a women who went into a coma after drinking too much) but I don't think 3-4 litres is overdoing it, unless that is in addition to lots of coffee and tea and other drinks.

Leah Betts died from water, not ecstacy as the papers would have you believe. It was really the sensationalist gutter press papers who caused her death, their over hyped the dangers of ecstacy saying you lost loads of water by dancing so much so risked dehyration.

eclectichoney wrote: »

I always go by the 'urine colour' indicator myself or else how I am feeling:

Same here, clear wee and you are fine and really need no additional water.

you might need to add salt to your food

And similarly if you do like to eat a lot of salty foods, like I do, then you should be drinking enough water to counter it.

Davaeo09

Just reaffirming what was already said.
It is possible, but I don't think you need to worry tbh.

As for your college's getting worried about your toiletry habbits.. Don't worry, most peopel tend not to be that observant, and those that are will have noticed you drinking plenty of water.

GreeBo

EileenG wrote: »

Actually, the original recommendation was 8 glasses a day of FLUID, not necessarily water

Are you sure about that? Im pretty certain that its water as most other liquids seem to have a diuretic effect and cause net water loss?

EileenG wrote: »

I reckon drink to thirst and a bit extra around exercise.

By the time you feel thirsty its too late, u are dehydrated. Also its physiologically hard to distinguish between hunger and thirst as the areas responsible for both are very close together in the brain. You should try to keep yourself constantly hydrated, rather than get dry and then drink a litre.

olaola

GreeBo wrote: »

Are you sure about that? Im pretty certain that its water as most other liquids seem to have a diuretic effect and cause net water loss?

The fluid includes food - everything from steak to potatoes have a high percentage of water. Coffee, juices etc are included in these 8 glasses. Going by the colour of your pee is probably the best bet.

EileenG

GreeBo wrote: »

Are you sure about that? Im pretty certain that its water as most other liquids seem to have a diuretic effect and cause net water loss?

The "diuretic effect" is totally over-stated. Try drinking a big mug of tea or coffee and see if you feel more or less thirsty afterwards. A cup of mega strength expresso may leave you slightly thirsty afterwards, but that's not what most of us drink.

And why is that we trust our bodies to tell us when we need food, but not that we need water? Some people who rarely drink may have trouble deciphering the signals, but most of us are well able to tell if we are thirsty or not. Not being able to tell we are thirsty until we are badly dehydrated is not exactly a survival mechanism.

GreeBo

olaola wrote: »

The fluid includes food - everything from steak to potatoes have a high percentage of water. Coffee, juices etc are included in these 8 glasses. Going by the colour of your pee is probably the best bet.

Sure I totally agree, but u only get about 20% water from food (unless you are on the watermelon diet!)
Coffee, Tea etc do contain water but it has to be processed as its not pure.
Also they are diuretics.

EileenG wrote:

The "diuretic effect" is totally over-stated. Try drinking a big mug of tea or coffee and see if you feel more or less thirsty afterwards. A cup of mega strength expresso may leave you slightly thirsty afterwards, but that's not what most of us drink.

A diuretic means that it increases the formation of urine in the kidneys, not that it makes you feel any more or less thirsty!

EileenG wrote:

And why is that we trust our bodies to tell us when we need food, but not that we need water? Some people who rarely drink may have trouble deciphering the signals, but most of us are well able to tell if we are thirsty or not. Not being able to tell we are thirsty until we are badly dehydrated is not exactly a survival mechanism.

The point I was outlining was that a lot of the time when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty but not yet dehydrated. Thats why you just feel full after eating but still have the hunger feelings. I never said you you dont feel thirst until you are badly hydrated. Humans have evolved whilst drinking and eating fruits etc frequently, the modern lifestyle of coffee and danish to go is but a fraction of our evolution.

NervousNude

rubadub wrote: »

Leah Betts died from water, not ecstacy as the papers would have you believe. It was really the sensationalist gutter press papers who caused her death, their over hyped the dangers of ecstacy saying you lost loads of water by dancing so much so risked dehyration.

I'd heard about this, something to do with an 'ingredient' of ecstasy preventing you from producing a normal level of urine, and messing up your body's electrolyte balance. Seeing as I'm not popping pills all day, I should be fine in this respect!

corkcomp wrote: »

you might need to add salt to your food

Mmmmm, salt. This alone is a good reason to drink more water.

*Honey* wrote: »

I suppose, if you were really worried, you could measure your output v your input (which means peeing in a jug!) but at least you'd know!

I think my colleagues might find this a bit stranger.....

rubadub

EileenG wrote: »

The "diuretic effect" is totally over-stated.

Yes, for caffeine it is, there was a post in the coffee forum about it before I think. It did not cause an overall loss. i.e. if you drink 2 cups of coffee you might urinate 1/2 cup extra than normal. So you might not want to fully count it as one of your glasses of water. While I imagine alcohol has an overall negative effect.

GreeBo wrote: »

The point I was outlining was that a lot of the time when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty but not yet dehydrated.

I have heard this too, if hungry have a glass of water and wait 10mins to see if you are still hungry. It also fills the void in your stomach. I have also heard soup is very good for satisfying hunger, I think some research showed it stayed in your stomach longer, I think your body is confused about what it is, food or water, I thought it strange since I expected the chewed food might form its own "soup", but maybe not as homogeneous.

EileenG

For what it's worth, the French, who are generally a lot thinner than the Irish, tend to drink a lot less water and liquid in general.

I notice that while I'd drink 2 or 3 cups of Irish style weak coffee in the morning, they'd drink one or less. At lunch time, all the Irish would have two glasses on the table, one for water, one for wine, and we'd refill both a couple of times. The French would typically drink one glass of either water or wine, not both. Same at dinner. And I won't even mention the differences in the bar in the evening.

I remember a French woman telling me she deliberately doesn't drink too much water, because it would stretch out her stomach and make her over-eat.

*Honey*

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm ... that sounds sort of odd what French woman said. Mostly I say that because I find drinking water actually helps with eating less.... possibly because I ate more in the past because I was actually thirsty and not hungry. Given our bodies are something like 90+% water, it seems that drinking water is integral to our own health and wellbeing.

The French are a funny old lot!

EileenG

True, but there's no doubt they were doing something right. Last time we were staying in a sort of hotel/hostel place and sharing with two French secondary schools. I didn't see a single fat French girl, and only one fat French boy. Stand outside an Irish school and start counting....

And these kids usually came to breakfast in their pjs so it wasn't clever dressing.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

I had a teacher and he had to go into hospital because he only drank water...3-5 litres per day.. he passed out because there wasnt enough vitamins in his body or something like that

*Honey*

EileenG wrote: »

True, but there's no doubt they were doing something right. Last time we were staying in a sort of hotel/hostel place and sharing with two French secondary schools. I didn't see a single fat French girl, and only one fat French boy. Stand outside an Irish school and start counting....

And these kids usually came to breakfast in their pjs so it wasn't clever dressing.

I would say that my impression is that the French love cooking things from scratch and eating as well as possible .... lots of veg and fruit and good meat etc. I've seen queues of kids from the local secondary school in Dunnes at the hot food bar buying breakfast baguettes... I don't think the Irish, generally speaking, have the same respect for the food they put into their bodies.

I believe the pre cursor to the GI Diet was the Montagnic Diet invented by a French gastronome ... I imagine his ideas came, at least in part, from how the French eat.

*Honey*

Boone Straight Pedestal wrote: »

I had a teacher and he had to go into hospital because he only drank water...3-5 litres per day.. he passed out because there wasnt enough vitamins in his body or something like that

That could have been from his eating habits (not eating enough, starving himself, eating foods that spiked his blood sugars or something). 5 litres I would think excessive (and if he was that thirsty it could have been he was diabetic and didn't know it, hence a possible hospital visit?) but up to 3 litres I would be ok.

I know I suggested it before, but it could be useful (for anyone who's worried) to track their water intake v output for a day (at home, nobody really wants to know you're peeing in a jug!). I've never done it but if someone was worried, then it could help (given you pee out what you've taken in).

Also I should state that if anyone is really really thirsty all the time, they should go to the doc and get it checked out because it's a classic symptom of diabetes. Personally I drink 3 litres a day but because I enjoy it and I find it really helps with weight loss.