Im "addicted" to water. I drink up to a galon a day. I love the taste of it and its the only thing i ever drink. I dont drink anything else and i dont even like tea, just fresh cool water. I know its healthy to drink 8 - 10 classes of water but i drink litteraly up to a galon daily. Could this much water be bad for me? Once an old lady who saw me drinking a lot of water told me its bad for me and could stretch out the stomach just like eating a lot of food would, she also said its too much work for my bladder. is this true? could it be bad for me to drink this much water?
2006-10-24 05:22:34 · 10 answers · asked by Alena K 1 in Health ➔ Other - Health
As long as you spread the gallon out over the course of the day as opposed to drinking it all at once, it shouldn't be a problem. 1 gallon = 128 ounces, which is equivalent to 16 eight-ounce "glasses", not a whole lot more than the "normal" 8-10.
You definitely shouldn't worry about working your bladder too hard... having lots of clear liquid pass through should be GOOD for the muscle tone of your bladder, as long as you go when you need to go and don't try to force yourself to hold it too long. (You must have at least a somewhat strong bladder drinking that much, or you'd be living in the bathroom all day!) If you drank TOO much water (I would guess more than 2 gallons a day might fit this category?), it might be a concern for your kidneys, since they're really only equipped to put out 10 mL/minute of urine at most without causing damage to themselves. As others have said, you should also make sure you are regularly replenishing sugars, sodium, potassium, etc. in your system so that all of the extra water doesn't dilute your blood electrolyte levels to the point of being dangerous. This would most simply be accomplished by drinking the occasional juice or sports drink along with your water, but you could also take care of it by snacking on high-potassium fruits and vegetables (bananas and broccoli come to mind, among other options) during the day.
Hope this helps... you're probably really healthy, so as long as it doesn't feel like anything's wrong, just enjoy your water!
2006-10-25 11:17:26 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No think about it you should drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day so 10 glasses is 80 oz a gallon of water is 128 so you are drinking about 4 to 5 glasses more than that, if you work out a lot or sweat a lot you could easily sweat that out. When I was working as a welder in KS I would drink two or three gallons per day cut with Gatorade, and only used the bathroom once maybe twice a day.
hyponatremia (literally "low salt") can result from drinking too much water too fast, if you getting enough salt, you shouldn't have a problem, but if you have ANY of these signs diarrhea, over salivation, stupor, vomiting, muscle tremors, confusion, frequent urination, and other general symptoms of illness, you could be drinking too much and your brain might begin to swell. This swelling is called a 'brain edema' or 'cerebral edema' and can (and does) lead to brain damage, paralysis, and death.
Hope this helps.
2006-10-24 12:42:56 · answer #2 · answered by Richard 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Forget the old lady. Even medical doctors can be mistaken and she's just somebody's grandmother.
Everyone is different but you'd have to drink more than a gallon for it to be bad for you. I regularly drink about a gallon of water a day and my skin is great, my kidneys work great, etc.
I happen to perspire a lot in summer and might even drink more than a gallon per day in summer if I'm exercising. Big deal.
Water is a lot healthier than most beverages out there!
2006-10-24 13:08:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
anything in excess is bad!.
but the lady was thinking of an old wives tale or two. a clear kidney and bladder is a happy kidney and bladder. yor stomach will not stretch..lol
fro whats real you know if your over hydrated. usu sally happens to athletes... many sites to read on it.
see below:
Overhydration: Encyclopedia of Medicine
Overhydration, also called water excess or water intoxication, ... Overhydration occurs when the body takes in more water than it excretes and its normal ...
health.enotes.com/medicine-encyclopedia/overhydration
2006-10-24 12:35:15 · answer #4 · answered by macdoodle 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well im a firm believer that anything in vast amounts is bad for you. Meaing even too much of a good thing is bad. Water is healthy but dont drown yourself now.
2006-10-24 12:26:52 · answer #5 · answered by Bambi 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Too much water have killed a very very slim few through overworking the heart diluting the red blood cell to liquid ratio, but I think your addiction is wonderful, your skin will be great.
2006-10-24 12:30:10 · answer #6 · answered by Answerer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think it would really depend upon your body size, but even at a gallon a day i don't believe it would be harmful. unless this old lady was a MD i wouldn't put much faith in her remarks.
2006-10-24 12:32:13 · answer #7 · answered by banghi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes i agree to much of a thing is bad for u .... but come on is only water ... drinking water good for our body system .... good for u.
2006-10-24 12:32:16 · answer #8 · answered by questions 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Too much of anything could be bad.
2006-10-24 12:27:19 · answer #9 · answered by victorschool1 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
everything should be done in moderation... anything in too much excess will of course be bad...
2006-10-24 12:30:33 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋