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is drinking too much water bad for you?

what do you think? all i drink is water and I drink it all the time. Many times i feel bloated from it... is it possible that drinking too much water is bad for you?

Thu. May 11, 5:25pm

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how much do you really drink? A gallon or more??

Thursday, May 11, 2006, 5:36 PM

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In marathons, no one died of dehydration, but many died of overhydration. You can seriously dilute sodium in your system, if you drink too much too soon...

Thursday, May 11, 2006, 5:51 PM

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more serious than you may think...

YES! alot of people don't know about it, but drinking excessive amounts of water can cause "headache, collapse, confusion, memory loss, vomiting, seizures, and even death from fluid accumulation in the lungs or brain: all from dilution of the salt in the blood resulting from excess water intake during exercise"!
the OP and anyone else who is needs information on this should read the article from medicalnewstoday.com which i will link below

Link

Thursday, May 11, 2006, 6:07 PM

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OP here...awesome article! thanks!

I would say i drink close to a gallon of water a day....is that too much?

Thursday, May 11, 2006, 7:16 PM

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How much water you drink is determined on your weight, height, metablism, etc. As long as your are not having any of the above symptoms, then drink away............

Friday, May 12, 2006, 8:01 AM

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I'm fairly sure its called hypohydration. If you water down your stomach acid too much you can ruin your stomach lining, and have gastro problems. In addition too much water can effect brain and blood fuinction and also put strain on your bowels and kidneys. That being said you'd actually have to drink an obcene amount for some of these symptoms!

Friday, May 12, 2006, 8:59 AM

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yeah, i think a gallon would be ok. good stuff everyone. thanks for the research.

Friday, May 12, 2006, 9:13 AM

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A bit more research:

One source said normal kidneys can excrete about 1 liter (33 oz) of water per hour in urine at rest. Another said your kidneys can process about fifteen liters of water a day (495 oz). A gallon of water is 64 oz, so if that's what you drink over the course of the day, that's great.

The reason water intoxication happens to marathon runners, or other distance exercisers: During intense exercise, the kidneys can’t excrete excess fluid, so if someone keeps drinking, the water is leeched into the body’s cells. I found a guideline that said "more than a liter per hour for more than four hours can cause a condition called hyponatremia, or water intoxication."

Friday, May 12, 2006, 10:41 AM

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Correction

A gallon of liquid is equall to 128 oz. I am starting a regimine of drinking one gallon of water per day as of today

Link

Sunday, June 17, 2007, 3:44 PM

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Make Sure You're not diabetic

If you are drinknig alot of fluids,, any fluids, even water, because you are realy that thirsty all the time the next time you go to the doctor have them make sure you're not diabetic. I'm no expert on these things, but I know diabetics often are thirsty all the time and they can also get cravings for sweets. I also know peopelof any age and bodyshape can become diabetic so its a good thing for everyone to have your doctor do bloodwork tests once in a whlie for this

Sunday, June 17, 2007, 5:49 PM

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is drinking too much water bad for you?

Yes, you may have heard of the radio station in Calif. that had a stunt promo where people were incouraged to drink alot of water and not unrinate. A woman in that contest died later that day from electrolite imbalance.What color is your urine? If its light or colorless you are drinking enough or more than enough.I think this is the only country where people worry about drinking water. drink when you are thirsty and dont use your water bottle as a friend or pet!

Monday, June 18, 2007, 1:41 PM

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Just ask the autopsy experts!

I drink at least a gallon of water per day during the week (easier at work). I do retain alot of water as a result, but here's why.

A good friend of mine does autopies for the BCA in MN. I asked him one day if he could tell who drinks pop, water, etc. He said YES. The people who drink lots of coffee literally had coffee grounds imbedded in their muscles. People who drink pop consistently have a thin lining on their stomaches and their muscles have "pockets" in them. And water drinkers smell cleaner and their bodies were more colorful overall (i know that doesn't sound good).

But you still can have too much...ask your doc.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 1:52 PM

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Toxic stew

It's FAR more common for people in this country to be dehydrated than overhydrated. Speaking from my perspective as a health care provider with a sensitivity to this issue, I can say that close to 90% of our populace is mildly to moderately dehydrated on a consistent basis. So there you sit, stewing in your own toxicity, you body having no way to flush things out, no way to break down fat, no way to lubricate your joints and muscles effectively. I can literally smell it when people are dehydrated. It's like when someone is sick and they don't smell right. Unless you are literally chugging gallons a day, don't sweat being overhydrated, just hydrate yourself and sweat, urinate and otherwise get rid of the junk your body wants to let go of.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 1:59 PM

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About the Autopsy

EUCHHHHH - even if you drink a gallon of water, you still can end up there irregardless, but anyway I try to drink 10 x 500 ml a day so ....5 liters. I had a SEVERE kidney infection about 2 years ago that scared me to death (I have an overwhelming fear of kidney failure), and I have tried to stick with it, My urine is clear, my skin is great can't complain

Monday, June 18, 2007, 3:02 PM

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1:52 poster here. I know it's gross to here, but it really opened my eyes and I stopped drinking so much pop, diet or regular. He said when you have organ donors, sometimes the hospitals couldn't use them because of the dehydration, toxin levels, coffee, pop, or alcohol usage. What a shame!

Monday, June 18, 2007, 3:22 PM

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oops, i just realized I wrote "here" instead of "hear"...sorry for the grammarical error.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 3:23 PM

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Thats ok I am not one of the spelling / grammer nazis

Monday, June 18, 2007, 3:38 PM

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Thanks for cutting me some slack! Never know when the critics are going to be out biting everyone's head's off!



Monday, June 18, 2007, 4:34 PM

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You ask if "too much" water is bad.
Yes, too much of anything is bad. That's why it's "too much".

I've been lectured by nutritionists and dietitians for drinking a gallon a day. Apparently that is "too much" unless you just competed in an athletic competition or did something obviously dehydrating like get boozed up the night before.

Monday, June 18, 2007, 6:18 PM

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need help

HI! ok so i drink a lot a lot of water and im always going to the restroom..but latly ive been feeling this empty feeling in my stomach and it hurts..its like i get this feeling of vommiting but i dont..is that a bad sign??

Saturday, August 18, 2007, 3:49 AM

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To the OP:
If you're feeling bloated perhaps it's more an issue of how much you're drinking while eating. I do my best to slow my drinking before a meal, only have a few sips during a meal, and wait an hour after my meal before I start drinking alot more water. Could be that you're drinking so much you're diluting your stomach acid, and therefore your food isn't digesting as quickly or well.

Sunday, August 19, 2007, 1:35 PM

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I've heard / read you should drink 8 oz of water for every 15 lbs of weight. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink at least 80 oz of water per day. More if you exercize heavily.

Sunday, August 19, 2007, 7:09 PM

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It is interesting- we heard somewhere recently that the whole recommendation that people drink huge amounts of water daily was from a misunderstood source.

We need to chase that down. I think what is beyond question, is that people need to consume lots of water rich foods. These have water, but also have all the other stuff that you body needs.

If you make the shift from pure water to water rich foods the benefits will be massive.

This blog post that we wrote last year answers this question in some greater depth:

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2010/01/how-to-remember-to-drink-more-water-how-much-water-should-you-be-drinking.html

And any of you following the new Cheat System are likely to be getting plenty of water rich foods in their diet.

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html

-PEERtrainer

Sunday, March 06, 2011, 10:47 AM

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