We are often advised that drinking more water is good for health, because it keeps the body hydrated, improves the skin and helps in removing toxins from the body. But do you know that drinking excessive water can also have a negative impact on your health? Yes, excess of anything can be harmful. When we drink more water than the body needs, it can disturb the electrolyte balance of the body. Especially the sodium level may decrease, which is called hyponatremia in medical language.
Generally people drink more water thinking that this will keep the body more healthy, but every person’s water needs are different, which depends on his age, season, physical activity and health. Let us know in this article what signals the body gives when drinking too much water, by identifying which you can reduce the amount of water.
How much water should one drink in a day?
Dietician Geetika Chopra tells that how much water should be drunk…it completely depends on age, weight and health. People are advised to drink 8 glasses of water daily. But it is not necessary that 8 glasses of water is enough for everyone. For some it may be more and for others it may be less.
According to PubMed, people are generally drinking 2.7 liters of water a day. Of which 2.1 liters is available from drinks and the rest from food. At the same time, in some studies, 4 to 6 cups of water may also be sufficient, if other fluids i.e. food and drinks are available. Some research suggests that men require 3.7 liters of water and women require 2.7 liters of water. That is to say, how much water to drink depends entirely on health, age, gender and weight.
The body gives these signals when drinking too much water
Headache and feeling of heaviness- In case of overhydration, the sodium level in the body may decrease, causing headache, dizziness and feeling of heaviness in the head. Many times people ignore it considering it to be fatigue, whereas it could be a sign of drinking too much water.
Feeling like nausea and vomiting- When the amount of water in the body exceeds the requirement, then discomfort begins in the stomach. This may cause a feeling of nausea or vomiting. This is the body’s way of telling that the water balance is deteriorating.
Swelling in hands and feet- Drinking too much water can upset the balance of electrolytes in the body, due to which slight swelling may appear in hands, feet or lips. This sign indicates that the body is not able to handle extra water properly.
Frequent urination- If you are going to urinate more often than usual, it may be a sign that you are drinking more water than necessary. Generally, urinating 6 to 8 times a day is considered normal, but if this number increases a lot and the urine is completely clear (watery), then understand that there is excess water in the body.
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