Is it harmful for a healthy person to drink too much water?

Answer 1

yes, it can be harmful. The condition is called Hyponatremia or water intoxication. while water itself is not toxic in any amount, it can cause an imbalance in your electrolytes. this can lead to serious problems.

Answer 2

There are two schools of thought.

one says that a healthy person should drink 8-12 8 of water a day

I know people who drink 4-12 liters a day. I have never seen any adverse affects but some doctors say in some cases its too much...Water is the natural flush to the body so i don't see how that can be

Answer 3

Drinking Water - How Much?

Unless you live without ever watching TV, listening to radio, reading a newspaper, or surfing the internet, you must have heard that one "should" drink 8 glasses of water, 8 ounces each ("8X8"). Twenty years ago, one never saw people of all ages going around with bottles, drinking every few minutes. Bottles were reserved for babies, and even they would wait a few hours between feeding periods ... So what has changed? What breakthrough in research led people to conclude that their health depends on drinking? Why does one now need to spend so much more time in the bathroom returning this gift of life to the environment?

I believe that the bottled-water industry has been instrumental in spreading this myth. They are the corporations who stand to gain most from increased consumption of water. However, my opinions aside, it is the goal of this site to provide you with facts - results of published, peer-reviewed research; not my opinions! So what are the facts? Reference 1 presents results of a literature search throughout the medical databases, as well as extensive consultations with nutritionists who specialize in the filed of thirst and drinking fluids. The results suggest that for healthy people, there is no "8x8" water-drinking requirement. The review includes studies to examine whether cancer, heart disease and other conditions are impacted by drinking. These incidence of these diseases are decreased slightly in people who drink 4-5 glasses a day of liquids, but the the liquid intake may not be the cause of the decrease (for instance, it is possible that people who drank more in thiese studies, took better care of themselves in other ways, such as by diet and exercise, and these were the reasons for the decrease). Certainly there is no indication that 8 glasses of water are required. A study on dieting does not show a significant improvement in weight loss resulting from more drinking. Likewise, constipation, sometimes thought to be alleviated by drinking, is not discernably impacted by an extra intake of 4 to 8 glasses of water.

This reference also points out that there are hazards associated with enhanced water consumption. Hyponatremia is a situation where too much water consumption has resulted in the dilution of sodium and other essential chemicals in the cells of the human body. In the extreme, this can lead to death. Another concern is that more drinking of water leads to an enhanced consumption of pollutants in water - both bottled water and tap water contain bacterial and chemical pollutants that become absorbed in the body. Last but not least, bottled water is unnecessarily expensive, and at the very least, the frequent trips to relieve the water are a nuisance!

Answer 4

Yes. Drinking too much water is harmful to anybody. Too much water throws off your electrolytes, and can make you pretty sick.

Answer 5

This is to close to home. My neighbor lady who is 76 yrs young walks quite a bit every day and takes water with her.It was just about all she ever drank. she started feeling bad. the Dr stated that to much water was knocking her electrolites off kilter. he has limited her water to 2 - 8 oz. glasses a day plus all the gator ade she can drink.

Answer 6

people are supposed to drink at least 24 oz of water a day... and takes a huge of amount of water to get water poisoning. you probably shouldnt worry about it

Answer 7

NO WAY
drinking water is to clear the thing from the lungs and make it clean and u pass it out as a pee.

Answer 8

Yes I use to be a lab tech and it will make your electrolytes unbalanced and this is harmful for the body. See this web site for information on electrolytes.

Answer 9

Yes, it is. You can hear the water in your stomach swishing around sometimes, that's when it's too much.

Answer 10

no, you can never drink too much water, you will just pee it out when your body has what it needs. but it will not hurt you.