Somebody told me its not good to drink too much water. Is it true?? How much is too much?

Answer 1

IT can be bad if you have like WAY too much, like 2 gallons in one day or something like that. Because, you will literally drown yourself to death. Weird huh? YEah, well this one kid was trying to get into a sorority, and the leaders made her drink like 3 gallons of water or more, and she died, because she had drowned herself. BUT u do need to drink 6-8 glasses a day.

Answer 2

Forced water consumption has been used as a dangerous hazing ritual by some frats, and it has caused at least two deaths.

But we're taking about five or so gallons in a short period of time. The only way you could drink that much water is if you were forced to do it.

Drinking water in this amount can dilute the salt content of blood to the point where it interferes with brain, heart and muscle function. Without enough sodium, the brain swells and victims can suffer fatal comas.

Drinking a lot of water is good for you, so you should drink at least 8-10 glasses a day. That's several hundred glasses away from any water-related danger.

Answer 3

I've never heard of there being too much water. When on a diet you are told to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water a day, and that's at a minimum, so I wouldn't worry about drinking too much water, it's one of the safer things to drink. Just be careful that you don't eat foods with a lot of salt if you have a lot of water. If you do you will retain the water and then sort of blow up like a balloon. that's the only bad thing that I can see.

Answer 4

Yes you can die from drinking too much water. Your body is already about 70% water. As for 8-10 glasses, they should be 8-ounce glasses. Or 4 (16 oz) water bottles that you buy from the store. If you drink too much, and theres is no way to get rid of the excess (i.e. sweating), then in a nutshell, you can drown.

Water is good for you, but it needs somewhere to go and flush out of your body.

Answer 5

We are regularly advised to drink more water: it clears skin, reduces tiredness and aids concentration.

But the death of a woman in the US after taking part in a water-drinking contest shows you can have too much of a good thing.

Jennifer Strange had taken part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" game, which promised the winner a Nintendo Wii. Afterwards she reportedly said her head was hurting and went home, where she was later found dead. Initial tests have shown her death is consistent with water intoxication.

Drinking too much water can eventually cause your brain to swell, stopping it regulating vital functions such as breathing, and causing death.

If you drink too much water, eventually the kidneys will not be able to work fast enough to remove sufficient amounts from the body, so the blood becomes more dilute with low salt concentrations.

"If you drink too much water it lowers the concentration of salt in your blood so that it is lower than the concentration of salt in cells," says Professor Robert Forrest, a consultant in clinical chemistry and forensic toxicology at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

The water then moves from the dilute blood to the cells and organs where there is less water. Professor Forrest likens this to the effects seen in science-class experiments.

Actor Anthony Andrews was treated for water intoxication in 2003 "If you put salty water on onion skin the cells will shrink, if you put too much water on it the cells will swell," he says. This swelling is a problem in the brain. "When the brain swells, it is inside a bony box so has nowhere to go," he says. "The pressure increases in the skull and you may get a headache. As the brain is squeezed it compresses vital regions regulating functions such as breathing."

Eventually these functions will be impaired and you are likely to stop breathing and die. Warning signs included confusion and headaches.

Answer 6

Yes, you can die if you drink too much water. Anything in excess is bad for you.

It's called water intoxication. What happens is the excess water affects the balance in your cells. It could cause the cells to burst from all that water. It could also affect the balance of electrolytes, which is also not good for the cells.

There was a lady who passed away from water intoxication recently. She took part in a radio contest for a Wii.

Your body will let you know when you have enough water in your body. If you're thirsty, drink water! If not, don't go gulping down 5 cups of water.

wikipedia has a lot of information on this. Check out its website:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_poisoning

Answer 7

I would have to say that about 8 glasses of water a day will be sufficient. Drinking to much water can lead to serious health problems and even death.

Article from About.com

Can You Really Drink Too Much Water?

In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.

What Happens During Water Intoxication?

When too much water enters the body's cells, the tissues swell with the excess fluid. Your cells maintain a specific concentration gradient, so excess water outside the cells (the serum) draws sodium from within the cells out into the serum in an attempt to re-establish the necessary concentration. As more water accumulates, the serum sodium concentration drops -- a condition known as hyponatremia. The other way cells try to regain the electrolyte balance is for water outside the cells to rush into the cells via osmosis. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from higher to lower concentration is called osmosis. Although electrolytes are more concentrated inside the cells than outside, the water outside the cells is 'more concentrated' or 'less dilute' since it contains fewer electrolytes. Both electrolytes and water move across the cell membrane in an effort to balance concentration. Theoretically, cells could swell to the point of bursting.

From the cell's point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.

It's Not How Much You Drink, It's How Fast You Drink It!

The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it's possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.

Answer 8

Yes, it's possible to drink too much water. But you would have to drink tons. Water is very healthy for you and eight to ten glasses is what most people should drink each day. In general you divide your weight in pounds by two, that's how many ounces you should drink. So if you weigh 150 pounds you should drink 75 ounces which is about nine eight ounce glasses.

Answer 9

water intoxification is the last thing anyone needs to "worry" about. more people die every day from allergic reactions to aspirin then in 15 years from water intoxification. it is very hard for the intelligent individual to die from this.

the "recommended" 8 oz of water a day is for the sedentary individual. people that exercise and athletes need substantially more water than that. common sense also tells us that a 200 lb man that weight trains daily needs a LOT more water than a 100 lb woman. body size, the daily level of activity, time of year, etc. are all factors in determining the water intake. everybody certainly does not need the same amount of water

Answer 10

You CAN die from too much water.
You have to drink more than 3 gallons without sweating it out.

A few glasses a day is all you honestly need, your body is made to pull water out of solid food.

Best policy:
If you are thirsty, drink some water. Your body knows it better than you do.