Too much water..bad for us?

I drink more water then that and all of my test to check kidney function have came back fine (blood tests, not urine though).

I have to question how controlled this "study" was. Did they make sure the people drank no other type of fluids? Took no medication - prescription or OTC? The advil or tylenol most people take without a second thought can be more harmful to your kidneys then drinking extra water...


Also by eight glasses a day, they do not technically mean eight glasses of water and whatever other drinks you have. It's all totaled.

You can die from drinking too much water, but that takes a lot.

If all your levels are fine, there's nothing to worry about, but a lot of vitamins and minerals are water soluble and if you water down your whole body you'll lose some of them.

The obvious solution, to me at least, is to drink water when I'm thirsty, and not when I'm not.

If you urinate and your urine is yellow, you need more water. If it's pretty clear, you're well hydrated. I go by that.

I think it may be around 4 gallons or more in a half to hour span?

Woman Dies from Water Intoxication

It's rare, but it does happen.

A normal/average person should drink 8 to 10 - 8 ounce glasses per day. If you increase your exercise or are sweating, then you need to have more.

People with heart failure and/or kidney disease and/or COPD need to monitor their fluid intake more carefully, especially those with kidney disease and on dialysis.

I have been told that the correct way to figure out how much water you should consume in a day is to take your body weight, divide that in half and then drink that many ounces. For me this would mean less then 8 glasses but for some it would be more then that so I don't really know what I think about that rule.

I've seen that "rule" too and it makes sense to me... a smaller body requires less water to fully hydrate than a larger one. I go by thirst and urine color because they say by the time you actually feel thirsty your already starting to get dehydrated.

The problem with that it that as people age, they lose their "sense of thirst", which is why so many elderly people are dehydrated.

I have kidney problems, starting at age 15. All caused by drinking too much water. Caused by an imbalance within my body. It was coming for a few years, but Drs. missed it.

As a result, I cannot drink alcohol much (hence my boring 21st b-day), I drink too much water, and I know where every bathroom is in every public place! It is possibly to make yourself sick by drinking too much water.

TECHNICALLY the most well versed studies state 8-10 glasses of fluid ... so if you drink 2 8 oz glasses of milk , 2 4 oz glasses of juice , 2 8 oz glasses of tea( de caf or herbal) and 3 8 oz glasses of water you met your quota ... BUT any caffeine you have to add 2 cups per one cup...

OMG--- ME TOO!!!! And I crave water like a wino craves wine. The wonderful doctor who first realized that I was drinking wayyyy to much water also had me take up jogging so that my lymph system could go into high gear & assist my kidneys. contrary to myth, the jogging did not worsen either my kidney infections or stones - in fact, I stayed clear for several YEARS, until my car accident damaged my spine.
A basic rule of thumb is that urine should be light yellow.

I guess it's a good thing I don't drink much water! The only time I really enjoy water is after I've had a glass of wine or a beer, then I can't seem to get enough water, otherwise I hardly ever drink water. I would rather have something much more tasty to drink.

I can not drink that amount of water. The dr said it isnt safe for me because I am small. That Radio station was sued by that ladys Husband. This happned in Sac which is a Hour from here. It was all over th news when it happened.

I read in DH's Mens Fitness magazine that your supposed to divide your weight in pounds by two and drink that many ounces a day.

This is what I found in the Merck Manual:
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec01/ch00...?qt=tpn&alt=sh

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) supplies all daily nutritional requirements.

Nutritional content: TPN requires water (30 to 40 mL/kg/day), energy (30 to 60 kcal/kg/day, depending on energy expenditure), amino acids (1 to 2.0 g/kg/day, depending on the degree of catabolism), essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.

I think this would be a good baseline, since it is how TPN is calculated in most hospitals.

for those with my issue of translating

30 ml = 1.01 ounces

2.2lbs =1kg

Thanks Sharky!
From my previous issues with conversion....I wasn't even going there, lol!!!

I've averaged it out, somewhat. I drink around 24.5cups (196oz) or slightly more, this includes water, pop, milk, or tea.
As far as labs show - no ill effects. I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic, thyroid is fine, kidneys are working normally. Sodium levels are normal, potassium low (or was low...need to get that retested next week) due to diet and NSAID use.


I think telling people to actually drink less water can be very very harmful. Sure, those who live in Northern states may not take this very seriously but what about those who live in states where the summer weather often exceeds 100F? The heat acts on you very quickly when you're outside in that sort of weather. If a person has been limiting how much they drink before(not while out in the heat) they can become dehydrated before they even realize it.


Humans and other animals have been drinking water for thousands of years and are still here, why do we suddenly need rules for it?

I'm one of those people that take all these studies and surveys with a grain of salt (yes, yes, I know salt isn't good for you )

I just think that if we all buy into this stuff we could go crazy. A few years ago "they" told us bacon causes cancer. We all had to stop drinking raw milk (people on dairy farms aren't even supposed to drink their own milk apparently), and on and on and on. The doctors put all our children on 2% milk so they wouldn't be overweight and then those same parents took their kids to McDonalds several times a week and guess what - the kids are overweight. The only milk in our house is Homogenized and we buy it from a dairy that doesn't put additives in it - same with whipping cream. Check the labels on your whipping cream and try to pronounce the ingredients. The stuff I get has the ingredients listed as: Cream & Milk. That's it!

I drink when I'm thirsty, I eat when I'm hungry. But, I don't eat processed food or quantities of junk food. I eat lots of veggies, fruit and some meat. I am 61 years old and still wear a size 4. I NEVER eat margarine - only butter. I cook with butter, I have 10% or 18% cream in my coffee and I like my coffee light so I use a lot. I also ingest white sugar (brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses) but in moderation. Other than the odd cold I am rarely sick. My hubby eats all the stuff I make and he is the same weight he was when we married - 175 at 6'.

He and I were having a discussion about these sorts of things the other night and we believe that because I don't cook with pre-packaged mixes and foods (I cook from scratch and it doesn't take me any longer to get a meal on the table than some folks that use pre-packaged stuff). I plan our meals so that if I want a good beef stew I'll make it the day before and let it simmer for several hours since we certainly don't want to wait several hours for dinner.

IMHO, if one eats quality food, doesn't go overboard on any one thing like sweets, sugar, salt, etc., then we'd have less obesity and more healthy people.