How much water is too much?

Can I drown by drinking too much water? Yes. Am I in danger of this? Highly unlikely.

Am I drinking too much water? Chances are in fact the complete opposite. You are most likely drinking NOT ENOUGH water and this is something I deal with on a regular basis with my clients.

When looking at recommended water intake it is actually recommended that one drinks 1L per 25kg of bodyweight alone. So a 70kg female should be consuming up to 3L per day. We then have to factor in exercise as a component to add to the mix. The recommendation for exercise is 1L per hour of exercise so therefore if the 70kg female is at the gym an hour per day she should be drinking close to 4L as a minimum for her to maintain hydration levels and combat the water lost from her body throughout the day.

It amazes me at how often people will try deter other people from drinking an adequate (yes adequate as in more than 2L) amount of water saying they are drinking too much and that they “may drown”. Let’s be realistic people, yes water intoxication is a real thing and yes it has happened to people but in very EXTREME situations.  The sodium levels in your blood have to be extremely low for this to occur for example excessive exercise without replacement of sodium levels (why endurance athletes drink sports drinks with electrolytes to replace water and sodium at the same time), very low sodium or no sodium diet teemed with excessive water intake or on the more extreme scale a kidney malfunction (where water isn't being secreted from the body properly) or even more extreme a heart malfunction.

In other situations where water intoxication has occurred it has been due to consuming alarming amounts of water in a short amount of time, and when I say alarming we are talking about 3L in an hour. The kidneys of a healthy adult can actually process fifteen liters of water a day! So you are highly unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to taking in an enormous volume at one time.

Water is essential not only for maintenance in the body’s hydration levels but also for kidney function, bowel function, keeping your skin healthy and looking good, flushing out toxins not needed or wanted in your system, aiding digestion and is also a great natural headache remedy!

So don’t be scared to drink more water guys. Unless you are skulling 3L in an hour or some other ridiculous amount you are not likely to be “drowning” on your water intake any time soon. If anything I'm guessing most of you would need to increase your water intake by at least a litre or more .

 

Most of us are up at least 12+ hours a day which is more than enough time to consume the individual recommended amount of water. So instead of reaching for that 3^rd cappuccino or your bottle of coke zero (“but it’s got no sugar”.. yes yes, I know), grab a bottle of water instead and start drinking!