Lately, I've taken my water consumption under the microscope and came to the realization that one indeed can consume too much water on a daily basis.
I know that dehydration is a real issue for many, but nowadays, reading health bloggers' posts and watching videos on youtube, I've noticed that a lot of people tend to encourage others to drink excessive amounts of water every day. Even some recommendations for daily liquid intake seem relatively high. The recommendations set by the National Nutrition Council of Finland recommends one to drink 1-1,5 liters of liquid a day (not including the liquids in food), whereas somewhere recommendations may encourage intake up to 4 liters a day (including the liquids in foods), which is absolutely unnecessary! Of course, sweating/exercising elevates the need for liquids, but not immensely.
What a continuous excessive water intake may cause:
- Discomfort in social situations/work/school/overall for having an urge to urinate frequently
- Low levels of sodium in the blood, which may cause e.g. weakness, headaches and nausea, later on may lead to neurological issues
- Malfunction of ADH (antidiuretic hormone)/vasopressin, which regulates fluid balance (ADH functions in the kidneys)
- Very high water consumption (5-10 liters in an hour) may lead to severe water poisoning, which is a condition to take seriously, it may even cause death
What I want to address by this post is that there is such a thing as "too much water". If you're one of the people who carries a water bottle everywhere with you and takes a zip every 10 minutes, there's no need for that. If you're one of the people who runs to the bathroom more than 10 times a day and you even wake up during the night for a need to wee, you might want to check if your water/liquid consumption has gotten out of hand. On the other hand, if you feel thirsty, the color of your urine is strong yellow or it smells unpleasant, drink more! Moreover, listen to your body, it'll tell you what to do! 😊
-Jasmin❤