More Isn't Always More - Don't Drink Too Much Water
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❤
Hi! Thank you for an interesting post. I totally agree with you. It is the dose that makes the poison. Everything is toxic if the dose is high enough, including water. From your posts it seems we have the same interests. I will follow you here on steemit and look forward to read your posts.
Glad you liked the post. It's always nice to find more like-minded people here on Steemit! I'll have to check out your posts too! 😊
One thing I read recently also said coffee and tea count into hydration. They have been long known as diuretics which would encourage dehdyration but apparently many studies have shown that they work to hydrate the body. I wonder how that is true...if you drink lots of coffee you go to the washroom a lot, so wouldn't you be losing water more frequently?
What a great remark Brad!
Studies can never cover all the aspects of an issue, since everything affects everything. Therefore, we might get a bit confused about some controversial research results. Coffee and tea containing caffeine may work as mild diuretics in your body, but it depends, for instance on the amount consumed and your tolerance to caffeine. If you're accustomed to drinking coffee or tea (those containing caffeine), those drinks probably have a very mild or no effect at all to your hydration level. However, people tend to consider coffee and tea as powerful diuretics, then try to offset this effect by drinking a lot of water --> extra liquid to the kidneys and, therefore, more visits to the bathroom. I wish I could give you a straightforward answer to your question, but when it comes to the functions of the human body, it's not all that simple! 😄
Ite latasin jonkun applikaation ja nyt olen 3-4 viikkoo seurannu omaa veden juontia ja keskiarvo menee kyllä yli 4 litraa päivässä :D Tänäänkin tai siis eileen tuli 5 litraa juotua. Ei sitä meinaa muuten pärjätä, kun tulee heti nestehukkaa.
Onhan siinä tietysti myös paljon yksilöllisiä eroja, mutta yli 5 litraa kuulostaa omaan korvaan jo aika hurjalta määrältä. :D Tosiaan, joillakin ihmisillä 4-5 litraa on vielä okei, kun taas joillakin muilla 3 litraa on jo sellanen määrä, että saa ravata vessassa puolen tunnin välein... Ihan mikä itselle sopii, kunhan muistaa pitää järjen mukana. :)