Health risk Why too much water drinking can be harmful to health

How unhealthy it can be if you drink too much?

Everyone knows that it's important to drink a lot just in summer and during exercise. But that you can drink too much, unfortunately not. "The dose makes the poison," emphasized Paracelsus - and not even water, the source of all life, is an exception.

Drink enough!

Water is the most important substance at all. Two-thirds of our planet is covered by it. Man himself is about 70 percent water. And while we can do without solid food for more than a month, we just survive a few days without drinking. From which amount it is however too much of the good, we would like to clarify in the following.

The body can not absorb more than one liter per hour. (V.poth / fotolia.com)

How much is enough?

First of all, getting an overdose of water is not that easy. The human organism can utilize and eliminate almost one liter of it per hour. With a regular intake throughout the day, so very large quantities can be easily absorbed. The upper limit is ten liters a day, according to the German Nutrition Society.

Detect water poisoning

The easiest way to control the fluid intake is through your own thirst. However, if you take in a lot of water regardless of how you feel about your body, for example because you want to combat the feeling of hunger during a diet or if you make great physical effort, you may experience water poisoning or hyponatraemia.

Headaches, dizziness and nausea, as well as, in severe cases, seizures or coma, can be the result. The reason for this are the kidneys, which simply can not handle so much fluid. As a result, the salt balance gets mixed up and there is a real flood of the body. Further warning signs of too much fluid are: increased sweating, shortness of breath, tiredness, difficulty in breathing and lack of concentration.

What exactly happens with hyponatraemia?

Unnecessary water flushes out important nutrients and minerals. The worst part is that the sufferers often attribute the first symptoms to a lack of fluids and, as a result, drink more. As a result, the cells swamp and the formation of edema is promoted. In particular, these can be extremely critical in the brain, because the cranium enlarges the brain only to a limited extent.

Thirst is the best dosing aid for water intake. (Image: olly / fotolia.com)

In the case of hyponatraemia, sufferers must be treated immediately professionally, to compensate for the salt budget again. Otherwise, water poisoning can even be fatal. Especially if you have kidney or liver problems, you should discuss your drinking habits with your doctor. But even athletes should not overdo it with drinking and only take enough water to compensate for the sweaty amount.

Water poisoning is a form of electrolyte imbalance. It usually occurs when too much fluid is added in too short a time during physical exertion. The ratio of body water and salinity gets into imbalance. The concentration of salt ions in the blood drops and the blood becomes too thin. This allows water to flow freely into the cells and flood them. The disease is particularly common in marathon runners, as they often drink several liters of water within a few hours.

"Urine sample"

If you're not doing extreme sports, you can easily tell the right amount of water from the color of your urine. If it is too dark, drink too little. But if he is almost transparent, you drink too much. The color should be reminiscent of apple juice diluted 4 to 1 with water. (FS)