Can you drink too much water?

[nodiggitydave]

Possibly a silly question, but I love to drink loads in the gym, so much that my gut bloats up and I can feel the water rolling around inside of me! Also, I like to drink lots of water when I'm in work just because I'm in the mindset that water is good, I'm right aren't I?

 

[cdp12]

it is possible to drink too much water and mess up your electrolyte balance but i doubt you are drinking too much... you have heard of the college kids who join frats and and are forced to drink a ton of water and die...basically drown themselves from the inside....but plenty of people here will tell you they drink 2 gallon+ per day which i doubt you are going much more over that so unless it is some insane amount of water, you're fine

 

[DBBT]

Possibly a silly question, but I love to drink loads in the gym, so much that my gut bloats up and I can feel the water rolling around inside of me! Also, I like to drink lots of water when I'm in work just because I'm in the mindset that water is good, I'm right aren't I?

drink 12-20 oz at least 8 times a day

 

[solarclimax]

I took this quote from another site, it says to drink 8 glasses... 1 and a half to 2 liters a day.

Don't overdo the water intake! Excessive amounts can have an adverse effect, leading to a sodium inbalance caused by plain water dilution.

Is their any truth in the quote, if so how much water would it take to cause a sodium inbalance ?

 

[rnch]

not here in new orleans, not at this time of the year!

 

[poysyn]

I took this quote from another site, it says to drink 8 glasses... 1 and a half to 2 liters a day.

Is their any truth in the quote, if so how much water would it take to cause a sodium inbalance ?

Yes, it is definitely possible for this to happen. Your body can process around 15 liters of water a day, and unless you are straight painfully drinking water non stop, you will never get close to 15liters in a day.

Just drink normally and you will avoid these issues

 

[solarclimax]

Thank's for the info, are you saying that's how much it would take to cause a sodium inbalance or just that's how much our bodys can handle ?
I drink at least a gallon a day, sometimes 1 and a half.

 

[needtogetaas]

1 gallon a day when on for me.

 

[Thugnation213]

Yea those are good tips! Thanks!

 

[firefighter337]

Yes you can drink too much water. At first you will notice lower back pain because your kidneys are trying to get rid of the extra water.


Sodium balance in the body is 0.9% salt = isotonic (balanced)
Too much water will dilute the sodium in the blood and it will be hypotonic - Less than 0.9%
Too little water and too much salt will result in a hypertonic - too much salt.

To learn more about osmosis go here: http://www.tvdsb.on.ca/westmin/science/sbi3a1/Cells/Osmosis.htm