pauld
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Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 14:41
Would i be right in saying this only applies to those that dont really do much exercise? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7521137.stm A woman was left disabled after following a "detox" diet which involved drinking large quantities of water.
Although doctors stress the need to avoid dehydration by drinking enough fluids, drinking more than enough is a different matter.
The human body may be mostly water, but you can have too much of a good thing.
In the most serious cases, "water intoxication" can kill, and there is, say experts, scant evidence that drinking even slightly more water than usual can improve your health.
The current popularity of detox diets which recommend drinking many litres of water a day, and drinking even when not thirsty, could cause problems if taken to extremes, they say.
The claim is that drinking more than usual can do everything from improving your skin tone to "flushing out" toxins from your body.
You shouldn't be drinking massively over and above what you feel with comfortable with
Ursula Arens
British Dietetic Association
However, the amount of water actually needed in a day varies from person to person, and depends on other factors such as climate, and exercise, says the British Dietetic Association.
Flawed industry
Ursula Arens, a dietician, said that there was a difference between normal consumption of one or two litres a day, not just in the form of water, but also from coffee, tea, and juice, and constant, ritualistic consumption of water throughout the day.
"You shouldn't be drinking massively over and above what you feel with comfortable with, when you're not thirsty, in a mechanical way."
She said that the evidence supporting the whole "hydration industry" was flawed.
"If you're a top sportsman, earning £10,000 for a single game, I can understand the need to focus intensely on your hydration, but not if you're someone just doing a couple of lengths at the swimming pool.
"It's just a great marketing opportunity, nothing more."
She said that the science of detoxing was unsupported by evidence, partly because its precise effects on the body had never been defined.
She added: "The body already has perfectly good ways of getting rid of toxins - mainly in the liver, and it's hard to see how consuming more water would affect these."
'No evidence'
Others are more scathing about the fashion for both detoxing and taking frequent sips from an ever-present bottle of mineral water.
Kidney specialist Professor Graham MacGregor said there was no evidence that either had any benefit.
People should drink when their body tells them to - when they get thirsty
Prof Graham MacGregor
St George's University of London
He described how too much water could "overwhelm" the body's natural mechanisms for keeping levels in balance.
"The body already has a brilliant system for doing this, but if water levels in the blood rise too high, it just can't cope."
If vast quantities of water are taken, salt in the blood gets too dilute, he explained. When the salt solution in the blood is weaker than the solution in the cells and organs it supplies, water passes into those cells and organs.
In extreme cases, this causes organs such as the brain to swell up, and can stop it working properly, putting the drinker in serious danger.
Professor MacGregor said: "This isn't just a problem with water - we used to see patients who had been diagnosed with 'water intoxication' after drinking 20 pints of beer."
"In normal circumstances, then people should drink when their body tells them to - when they get thirsty.
"Anything else is completely unnecessary, and will just leave you standing in the queue for the toilet.
"Detox diets are a complete con in that respect."
<message edited by pauld on 23 July 2008 14:45>
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cjohn
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 14:45
Interesting article.
My trainer has advised me that I should drink as much water as possible whilst I am cutting, he reckons that it helps maintain muscle size. I have not followed his advice to the letter, I have just upped my water intake a little, so it is reassuring to read that I am probably right to do so.
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richsINS
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 14:51
"Everything in moderation"
He brain damage is shocking, more liquid and less salt being the cause would surprise me also. Shes recieved a 800 000 payout but i do wonder if it is the diets fault and not something else?
I drink around 5-6litres of water quite easily, infact i drink in excess and have cut down as my first sentence is something i aim to achieve.
My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.
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Ironmansub10BMI
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 15:20
Drink as much as your body wants, if your lifting your body will require more, im up to 1.5 gals while at werk so i finish the day probibly around 2.5 gals or 6 litres. Either way im usually thirsty if i dont drink anything after 30 min. Plus when im "dehydrated" i still piss for a good 30 secs, i jsut drink till my pee is clear and maintain, or when my bodys says it wants more.
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iaink
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 15:29
Being hydrated is good. Drinking so much that your pissing every hour and your urine is constantly clear is a pointless exercise. Plus people seem to forget that all drinks will help to hydrate, exluding expresso's!
Either way im usually thirsty if i dont drink anything after 30 min.
Because your used to drinking so much!
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richsINS
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 15:31
Adding to ians post,
Veggies/fruits we also eat add to our liquid intake which can be used by our body.
Ive found the more i drink, the more i want to drink. I can see this having a domino effect and eventually leading to death if taken to extreme tbh.
My posts are all my opinion and based on current knowledge/understanding.
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iaink
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 15:39
i jsut drink till my pee is clear and maintain
Your pee should not be clear. A Pale, straw colour is the standard for being well hydrated.
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Skindog
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RE: Drinking Too Much Water - Dangerous?
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23 July 2008 20:37
YES. Exactly how Leah Betts died moons ago
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