You can drink too much water

Question

Drinking water can cause overhydration which can affect your brain, muscles, and heart.

Comments

Yes, you can drink too much water. Consuming excessive amounts in a short period can dilute the sodium in your blood, leading to water intoxication or hyponatremia. This condition causes your cells to swell, potentially leading to symptoms like nausea, confusion, seizures, and even fatal outcomes in severe cases. It's rare for healthy individuals but is a risk for athletes, those with certain medical conditions, or individuals overhydrating rapidly. It's best to drink when thirsty and avoid forcing water beyond quenching thirst. For details, refer to the [Cleveland Clinic article](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/water-intoxication).

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The claim “You can drink too much water” is true. When doing further research, I learned the negative effects of consuming too much of this beverage. For example, this can result in a dangerous condition, hyponatremia. This is where levels in the blood become diluted, which can ultimatlrylead to life-threatening situations (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). Other external sources also state other negative effects of through over consumption. These include, including headaches, nausea, swelling of some body parts, confusion, etc. Many of sources on the other hand can provide strong amounts of information for healthy consumption of water. The previosuly introduced MayoClinic Article states that 15.5 cups of fluids per day, while women should be trying  for around 11.5 cups per day (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2022). It is importnat to research different parts/sides to information, in this case, the healthy and unhealthy situations of water consumption.
Sources: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=When%20you%20drink%20too%20much,it%20can%20be%20life%2Dthreatening.
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-too-much-water-intake

Answer 1

The claim that drinking too much water can cause over hydration is true.

An article from Web MD states that it can cause headaches that don't seem to go away, confusion, brain fog, discoloration in your hands, feet, and lips, fatigue, and more. That being said, it is not very common. People who excersize a lot or have health conditions that cause water retention are the people who are more prone to over hydration.

https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-too-much-water-intake

The Cleveland clinic states that drinking too much water is dangerous. It can include symptoms much as dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea and vomiting. In more extreme cases, it can causeconfusion, seizures, comas, and sometimes death. They state that it is difficult to over drink, but that it is important to be aware that it is possible.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/water-intoxication

Each of these sources contain little bias as they are medical clinics. Their job is to provide information for the public and it is against the law to distribute false information as a medical clinic.

Answer 2

It is possible to drink too much water. While drinking enough water is vital to our health, drinking too much water can cause numerous problems. If you drink enough water, it can lead to water intoxication. Water intoxication can cause nausea, vomiting, bloating, and in extreme cases, seizure and coma. This happens because your blood dilutes from the water and gets rid of your electrolytes, especially sodium which is needed to control blood pressure, maintain your fluid retention, and numerous other things. I found this information on the Clevland Clinic website, with information from the health library.  

 

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/about/website/editorial-policy 

https://news.christianacare.org/2024/01/how-much-water-is-too-much/ 

Answer 3

While this claim is true and short, when doing further research, I’ve learned that too much water can actually be life-threatening. This is easy to check as well because an article from Cleveland Clinic talks about “water intoxication,” which is when there is too much water in your body, which can affect your body’s cells. It technically does affect your brain, muscles, and heart, but on a deeper level, water intoxication symptoms may include nausea and vomiting, bloated stomach, headache, drowsiness, muscle pain, and many more. This claim is true; it just needs to be specific and detailed about exactly why.  

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/water-intoxication

Answer 4

I feel that there is so many people around me that thinks, " I need to drink more water" or especially myself as an athlete that thinks, " a little more water won't hurt" But will it?

In my typical day I try to stay as hydrated as possible before practice by drinking water whenever I think of it. But this could be harmful to my body and possible others who are doing the same. When you drink water, your kidneys process the water, filtering the excess water out, but when you drink too much, it can't process the water out, leading to the sodium content to become more diluted than it needs to be, leading to hyponatremia and could actually be life threatening. Although you would have to drink an absurd amount of water, it happens frequently. 

One way you can be able to know when you are drinking enough water is by dividing your weight in pounds(LBS) and drinking that many ounces a day, or the more simple option is by aiming for a lemonade type color of urine, you do not want an apple juice or water. In the end, this is true because you can totally based of the information from my sources, drink too much water

Sources- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256#:~:text=Athletes%20occasionally%20may%20drink%20too,it%20can%20be%20life%2Dthreatening.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/water-intoxication