Drinking water: how much is too much?

Water is life. There is no better statement that can sum up the importance of good old H2O in all living organisms that eat, sleep and breathe. Moms told their kids to put down the soda and drink more water. Most adults who stick to drinking water regularly cultivated this habit as adults. Whatever the cause of the epiphany of the importance of drinking water in their lives, I suspect it has to do with the ingrained belief in drinking 8 glasses of water every day.

In case you are scratching your head; eight glasses of water equals 1.9 liters to keep a body properly hydrated. You would have to be very thirsty every day to consume that amount of water. And considering that most people lead sedentary lifestyles, they’re unlikely to drink that much. Does this mean they are close to dehydration? Or is the long held belief flawed?

The only way to know if the water consumption theory is well supported is to trace it back to its original source. According to Dr. Valtin, a kidney specialist, there are no scientific studies to support the belief that drinking 8 8-ounce glasses of water is a daily requirement. Dr. Valtin goes on to say that a recommendation given by the National Research Council’s Food and Nutrition Board could have been taken out of context. The council recommended “1 milliliter of water for every calorie of food,” which is equivalent to about 64 to 80 fluid ounces.

The misinformation took place when the last part of the recommendation which says – “Most of this amount is contained in prepared foods,” – somehow got lost to the people. This gave way to the birth of the urban legend of drinking eight glasses a day. A convenient truth for bottled water companies, and according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation, bottled water companies made $7.7 billion from thirsty Americans in 2002.

Are you aware that you can die from drinking too much water? Jennifer Strange, a former California resident, died in January 2007 of a water overdose. Jennifer was participating in a contest organized by radio station KDND 107.9 called “hold your wee for a Wii”. The contestants, including Jennifer Strange, drank large amounts of water during the contest. She left the study to go home complaining of severe headaches.

The next day she was found dead. A coroner’s preliminary report listed her death as “consistent with water intoxication.” Jennifer died of what is called hyponatremia. This is a condition caused by drinking excessive amounts of water that causes the blood to thin and lose sodium. The symptoms of it are vomiting and headaches.

Although this is an extreme case of water intoxication, Dr. Valtin states that drinking eight glasses of water can cause water intoxication, if the kidneys cannot remove the water quickly enough during the urination process. Jennifer Strange did not use the bathroom when she entered the contest.