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Is There Such Thing as Drinking Too Much Water?

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:00:00 PDT

When exercising, you've got to watch out for dehydration caused by the combination of excessive sweating and not drinking enough water. To avoid the dizziness, headaches, and dry throat associated with this condition, you probably load up on water while working out, but you don't want to overdo it.

There is such a thing as drinking an excess of water. It's known as hyponatremia or water intoxication, and it's the opposite of dehydration. It basically means you have an abnormally low concentration of sodium in your blood. Guzzling a ton of water in a short amount of time can overload your kidneys and cause a drop in blood sodium levels. Sodium is important to your body because it's an electrolyte (just like potassium and chloride). Your cells need these minerals in order to pass electrical impulses to other cells for normal bodily functions. A drop in sodium levels in your blood can cause water to enter your brain, which will cause it to swell. Symptoms include fatigue, headache, disorientation, confusion, hallucinations, nausea, restlessness, seizures, and may result in a coma or death.

To hear about how to care for and prevent hyponatremia,

read more. If you're experiencing these symptoms, then your doctor may recommend you cut back on your fluid intake, and increase the level of sodium in your diet. If your symptoms are severe, you may need intravenous fluids to raise the sodium levels in your blood. Medication may be necessary to manage your nausea, headache, and dizziness. To prevent water intoxication, don't consume more than 34 ounces of water per hour. When working out for extended periods of time, you may want to drink a sports drink that contains electrolytes. If you're wondering how much water you should be getting each day, check out Fit's Calculator. Source

Don't Drink Too Much Water When Running

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 14:30:00 PST

It is important to keep hydrated when running a marathon but did you know that too much water can be a bad thing?

A good rule of thumb is to drink about one cup of fluid every 20 minutes during a marathon, anything more than that could be dangerous and could cause hyponatremia - when you have low amounts of sodium in your body. It can be fatal if not treated immediately. To prevent it, be sure to drink sports drinks during training and, as long as you don't have high blood pressure, increase your salt intake a few days before the race.

For symptoms of hyponatremia just

read more. Symptoms of hyponatremia include:

Vomiting.
Loss of appetite.
Headache.
Restlessness/fatigue.
Abnormal mental status (hallucinations, confusion, change in personality, etc.)
Muscle weakness.
Convulsions.

Fit's Tip: If you experience any symptoms, you should see your doctor. Source

The Skinny On: Sports Drinks

FitSugar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:45:00 PDT

Staying hydrated when exercising in hot, humid weather is really important. However, if you are exercising, at a moderate level, for longer than an hour you should probably reach for a sports drink.

Unlike water, sports drinks contain electrolytes and carbohydrates to help your body absorb and retain fluid lost during exercise. Because of this, sports drinks do a better job of preventing dehydration and maintaining proper electrolyte balance, especially in warm, humid conditions when you sweat out more fluid and sodium. Replenishing sodium enhances fluid absorption and retention and prevents hyponatremia, the condition when blood sodium blood levels fall below normal, which in extreme cases can be fatal.

Look for a sports drink that contains at least 500 to 700 milligrams (mg) of sodium per liter. Also select one you don't feel like you need to dilute due to taste, since you'll dilute the electrolyte and carbohydrate concentration as well. To avoid guzzling too much at one time since no one likes to run with a belly full of liquid, drink it in small amounts at regular intervals, every 15 to 20 minutes.

Fit's Tip: To figure out how much you need to drink, weigh yourself naked before and after a typical hour of working out. Then drink the same amount you lost. For example, if you lose two pounds during one hour of running, you need to replace about 32 ounces (two pounds) of fluid during each hour of exercise. This is the equation you should use if you are racing too. If you're consuming more than that, you're probably over-hydrating.

What's the Deal With: Hyponatremia

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:45:00 PDT

While it seems like most of us have a hard time staying hydrated, there are serious, even fatal, side affects to drinking too much water. The condition is called hyponatremia

Also known as water intoxication, hyponatremia occurs when the sodium in your blood is diluted by excess water. The body's balance of electrolytes is pushed outside of safe limits, disrupting normal brain function. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed after intense sweating and sodium loss, body fluids are diluted and this can be a problem for marathoners. Because endurance runners lose sodium through sweat, drinking too much water during endurance activities, such as marathons and triathlons, can dilute the sodium content of your blood.

Some things to note:

Hyponatremia also occurs more often in women than in men.
Not being acclimated to hot weather can increase the amount of sodium you lose through sweating during exercise.
The symptoms of hyponatremia can mimic the symptoms of dehydration. Pay attention to a headache that won’t go away, vomiting and confusion. Seek help from a doctor.
To confirm low blood sodium, laboratory tests - including blood tests and possibly urine tests - are necessary.

Be safe when you run in the heat!!! Experiment with all those different sports drinks out there to find one that suits your needs.

Source

Your Bottle Size May Be Helping or Hindering Your Water Consumption

Heather Dale — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:18:24 PDT

It doesn't matter if I'm in a power cycling class or walking on a treadmill, the smaller the water bottle, the less water I drink. Similar to tricking your mind to eat less by using smaller plates, I guess the effect is the same with bottle size. Don't be fooled by a small bottle. Here's how to make sure you're drinking enough water while working out.

Drink up before you work out. One to two hours before you hit the gym, you should be drinking 15 to 20 ounces of water (one cup = eight fluid ounces) - roughly an ounce of water for every 10 pounds of body weight. Then 15 minutes before you work out, you should drink between eight and 10 ounces of water . . . I know this seems like a lot, so potty breaks are understandable!
Forget about the size of your bottle. If you love using your small water bottle at the gym, you'll also need to love trips to the water fountain as well. During your workout, you should be drinking another eight ounces every 15 minutes to keep yourself hydrated. Being well hydrated helps to keep you energy levels up, even when lifting weights. If at any point you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated - so make sure to drink up. And don't forget that water bottles come in all shapes and sizes! Here are some of my snazzy top picks.

Keep reading for another important tip.

Don't Dehydrate: How Much Water You Should Be Drinking

Leta Shy — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:50:42 PDT

Maybe the hard and fast rule that you should be drinking eight glasses a day is a myth, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't regularly be raising a glass. Keeping hydrated, especially in the hot Summer months, is important for staying healthy and energized.

Water is found in every part of our body, so downing enough H2O every day ensures our cells keep functioning properly and our bodies are free of toxins. And there's much to be said about water's other effects, from healthy-looking skin to appetite-suppressing properties.

How much water is enough?
If we don't have a magic formula to find exactly how much we should be drinking, then how do we find what works for us? How much water we need depends on how much we lose in a day. Your minimum amount that you need, for example, will be different on a hot day, after you hit the gym, and whether or not you are sitting at a desk all day. Other circumstances play a part in how much we should be drinking, like where you live, whether or not you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have an illness.

Read on for to find out just how much water you should be drinking.

You Asked: Too Many Trips to the Ladies Room?

FitSugar — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:00:20 PDT

Dear Fit,
I drink tons of water, and probably go through four 32-ounce Nalgene bottles within the eight hours I am at the office, so I assume that's the reason. I'm wondering if this is bad for me? I go to the "ladies" at least once an hour to pee, and the guys in my office think it's way too often.
- Fearful of Over Watering

Women have smaller bladders than men, so that's why we tend to visit the ladies room more often. Is it possible to have to go too often? To find out keep reading