Eating Healthy / Question
Published: August 14, 2002
Dear TeenHealthFX,
Is it possible that I could be drinking too much water? What is the right amount of water to drink a day?
Signed: Drinking Too Much Water
Dear Drinking Too Much Water,
While it is possible to drink too much water, it is very unlikely that you are doing so. Our kidneys can efficiently process fifteen liters of water a day, and that is equivalent to drinking about 60 glasses of water. That is a whole lot of water to be drinking!
The average person should drink 8-12 -oz. glasses of water each day. If you are very active or drink caffeinated beverages, even more water is needed to keep your body running smoothly. It is possible to sweat out more than two quarts of fluid per hour. It is generally recommended that for every pound of water lost during exercise (in sweat), an additional two cups of water need to be taken in.
Drinking too much water is called water intoxication, or hyponatremia, and happens when the body's salt becomes diluted because of a huge amount of water being taken in without any additional salt intake. This is mostly found in extreme athletes, like marathon runners or triathletes, who only drink water during a competition, even though both salt and water are lost in the sweat during exercise. Fortunately, your body will tell you when you reach this point, and you might experience nausea and vomiting, disorientation, lack of coordination, headaches or dizziness. But normal exercising will not cause this, and it can be avoided by drinking sports drinks that contain electrolytes (salts) in them.
Being excessively thirsty without any explanation can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition, so if you feel this way, you should contact your doctor just to check everything out.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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