A lot of people say that drinking water is healthy and that made me asked myself if like everything else the excess of water could be harmful. It turns out that its possible, water in excess could be harmful, it could lead you to some degree of hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking to much water. Severe cases of hyponatremia could lead you to water intoxication, “an illness whose symptoms include headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, frequent urination, and mental disorientation. People have actually died because of water intoxication.
Based on some observational studies, people have died because of water intoxication. A case in 2005, in a fraternity hazing, a 21-year-man died because he was asked to drink an excessive amount of water between rounds of push-ups in a cold basement. There could be many factors that could’ve caused his death, so we also have to take a look at the third variables we have like, he was drinking the water between rounds of push-ups and also that it was a cold basement and we don’t exactly know how cold the basement was. Other possible variables that researchers should have in mind is the possible health issues that the person may have had. Also, there have been other observational studies, in the New England Journal of Medicine found that close to 1/6 of runner develops hyponatremia, that is because this people are expose to drinking to much water. We have to have in mind that runners need to be hydrated and that their bodies need much more water than the body of a normal person. Researchers could search for a way that runners could stay hydrated and at the same time not getting hynonatremia.
I think there’s not other possible study that they could do to test this, because they cannot try giving water to a person to see if it dies, that would be unethical. So, the only way to study this is by observational studies, to see how different people react to the amount of water they intake. What they could do is maybe see how much water the body needs for different types of activities, that way people would know how much water they can drink without getting dehydrated or intoxicated by water.
Like with everything else we have to be careful on the amount of water we take. Water is one of the most, if not the most, healthy drink in the world, but it has to be in moderation. If you drink too much you can get the hyponatremia, if you don’t drink enough it can lead you to dehydratation .
References:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/
Actually, that’s a really good question. I did some research and it says that the only way you can actually drown is when water gets into your lungs. They only way that, that could happen is when you inhale the water, so the water would get into your lungs and that way you won’t be able to breath. Therefore is not a possibility.
I have actually heard about these types of deaths before and it is mind-boggling to me. The fact that a human can die from consuming too much water is crazy. According to Ross Yaylaian, “The human body contains from 55% to 78% water, depending on body size. To function properly, the body requires between one and seven liters of water per day to avoid dehydration.” Clearly water is such a huge part of our bodies, so how can we die from having too much!
I actually have one question… From over-consuming water, could you possibly be drowning yourself on the inside? I have always wondered if that could be a possibility.
Good work!
http://listverse.com/2013/06/13/10-ways-water-can-kill-you/
There was once a contest that involved water drinking where a woman drank too much water and didn’t go to the bathroom and died. The idea of the contest was “Hold your Wee for Wii.” The links below go into more detail about it but basically she was water-intoxicated. It’s crazy that something our bodies depend on so much, can kill us. I drink a lot of water but after hearing about this, I know it’s important to have just the right amount.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/#.VD7iB76tZSU
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1224051/Wee-For-Wii-water-drinking-contest-death-Jennifer-Stranges-family-awarded-10m.html
There was once a contest that involved water drinking where a woman drank too much water and didn’t go to the bathroom and died. The idea of the contest was “Wee for Wii.” The link below goes into more detail about it but basically she was water-intoxicated. It’s crazy that something our bodies depend on so much, can kill us. I drink a lot of water but after hearing about this, I know it’s important to have just the right amount.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/16614865/ns/us_news-life/t/woman-dies-after-water-drinking-contest/#.VD7iB76tZSU
I agree that too much water can be harmful, but can’t you say that for anything? Nothing in extreme is healthy. Water has a tremendous amount of health benefits. For example, helping the body balance bodily fluids, control calorie intake, energize muscles, promote skin health, maintain bowels, and more.
Also, I would be interested to see statistics behind this. How much water is too much?
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/6-reasons-to-drink-water?page=2
Many people think that drinking a lot of water is good for their organism, and in particular for loosing weight. Drinking water prevent kidney damage, lose weight and increase concentration levels, but nowadays, people either drink too much water or do not drink enough water. I really think each individual should find a balance.
I do agree with you that drinking too much water can be harmful. Many experts found that too, which is why, they try to warn people that drinking more than eight glasses of water a day is not good for you and that it could be really harmful.