Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing :(
Such is life. Proper balance is always the key.
That being said, too much water intake can be bad for your body. Yes, you CAN overdose on water. The key is to properly time when, and in what quantity of water should you drink throughout your day. As always, finding the right balance is what you need to do.
“In rare cases, drinking an extreme amount in a short time can be dangerous. It can cause the level of salt, or sodium, in your blood to drop too low. That's a condition called hyponatremia. It's very serious, and can be fatal. You may hear it called water intoxication.” ¹
Give your body what it needs, when it needs it, and with the proper dosage. When your body signals with thirst, react to balance out the situation.
When you are thirsty, drink!
“In response to dehydration, your body increases its production of cholesterol to keep cell membranes moist and pliable, which allows tissues to exchange nutrients for waste in an efficient manner. Low water consumption also reduces the volume and the flow-rate of your blood, which may increase the risk of cholesterol accumulating in your arteries.” ²
When you are thirsty drink!
For sure, there are more people dehydrated than over hydrated.
According to Dr. Chris Mcstay the kidneys can only process about a half liter per hour. ³
Of course, when you exercise, especially hot exercise, you will need more water and you will need to replace electrolytes that are lost through sweating. You will also need to feed your muscles amino acids to aid in recovery and to help you gain strength.
Use hydration as a tool to feed your body the nutrients it needs as well. Kill two birds with one stone! Let the water be the vessel to supply the electrolytes and the proteins at the very moment that your body has to have it. Find a great workout powder to mix with your water, one for pre-workout and one for during and after the workout to make this happen.
Next weeks blog post will complete the hydration series with an article entitled “Powder Power”. Be sure to get that one into your inbox for insight regarding modern methods of workout supplementation that are centered around the workout, and timed to deliver what your body needs, when your body needs it!
If you really want to be a nerd about this, then use the Gatorade Fluid Loss Calculator.4 You can click on the footnote below to get to that page. It is a pretty awesome tool to help you understand how much fluid you lose during a workout, and therefore, how much fluid you should drink during a workout. The rule of thumb is that you should drink 100-150% of the fluid you expend during your workout. So, If you know that you will lose 16 oz. in the workout, then drink, let’s say 20 oz. while you workout, preferably mixed with a powder that supplies electrolytes and aminos.
Balance what your body loses with an even higher quality fluid intake, and drink when you’re thirsty. Make sense?
Be sure to read next weeks post.
Steve
