Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

[RitaCeleste]

Strange but True: Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill: Scientific American

Okay, after being told nothing but pure water counts, drink x amount a day etc. I started to wonder. Can you drink too much? I now refuse to choke down pure water if I am taking in plenty of fluids other ways. The way to tell if you arn't drinking enough fluids is dark urine. I'll drink when I'm thirsty! YAY! I don't mind some glasses of water here and there, but no more choking down a lot at once to get it over with!

[Brook]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

Okay, this is a HUGE stretch.

You would recognize that you feel ...off. You would notice that you are retaining water- and it won't be a question- you'll know. You'd notice that you're experiencing some muscle cramps, headaches, nausea. It's not like it's sneaky. These are uncomfortable at best, but painful indicators and symptoms. The extreme symptoms are unmistakable (convulsions, stupor, coma, accompanied by bloat). It's also hard to do with the amounts of water we're drinking daily. You'd have to be on a mission and frankly, a bit to do yourself any harm.

The human kidneys are equipped to filter upwards of 15 liters of water a day. People with normal kidneys are not going to have any problem at all drinking 200oz of water a day or more. The only way that's going to be problematic is if you chug a huge portion of that water down in a very short period of time. If you're healthy and have normal renal function, there's no cause for pause or issue.

"Water intoxication" is a very real problem, but unless you're an extreme athlete (marathon runners/Grand Canyon in a day kind of athlete) or military personnel in extreme weather, you're highly unlikely to have an issue with it. These are people in extreme situations, driven by thirst who drink enormous amounts of water in very, very short periods of time in an effort to hydrate themselves and it can and has killed people.

But sorry, no using water intoxication as an excuse to drink less water than you should. The odds are ridiculous!

Signed,
The Mom of a Chronically Hyponatremic Kid

[OzLover]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

People become dehydrated before they show any signs or symptomsie..being thirsty. I'll keep drinking my pure H20 just like Dr. Atkins & Jonny Bowden tell me to.

[Slapshot]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

I now refuse to choke down pure water if I am taking in plenty of fluids other ways.

You're certainly free to do what you wish, but this doesn't change the 64oz of pure water rule that we follow here.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

Who says I am drinking LESS water than I should? And who says if you are drinking 64 ozs of pure water and 64 oz of water fluids otherways it isn't a little MUCH! Granted it shouldn't kill you. Doesn't mean its optimal for nutrient absoption or anything either. I won't overdose on fluids just satisfy others, period. If my urine is light and I'm not thirsty, I have drunk enough fluids for my body and my health. Its that simple. What is wrong with looking at that and making a decision based on that and your thrist? Nothing should be wrong with that! Why should anything be wrong with that? It sounds like dogma when the water requirement doesn't take any physical evidence, like the condition and color of the urine into account. It has just become some quoted number. Do X because, well just because!!! And if you don't do X just because, you are EVIL, Doomed to failure and bad KARMA! See DOGMA!

[EmDee]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

Rita, I think people are just telling you what Dr Atkins put into his diet.

nobody's "evil" here!

[Slapshot]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

It has just become some quoted number. Do X because, well just because!!!

Actually, we follow it here because Dr. Atkins says to drink at least 64oz of water daily, not just "because." Call it dogma, call it the rules, or whatever you want.

We can find studies/articles/stories anywhere to justify doing or not doing something. I'm sure I can find articles that exercise can kill you too. Doesn't mean I'm not going to exercise because I walk enough at work.

I understand your frustration with being dictated to do something. I even questioned the whole water thing since our bodies can extract the water it needs out of foods, coffee, tea, seltzer, etc. So, it does have a dogma-feel to it, but once we start becoming cafeteria-Atkineers (i.e. picking only those things we want to follow), we no longer really are doing Atkins. We become "other low carbers."

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

Why Drinking Too Much Water Is Dangerous
Here is another one, by a doc that tells you not to count on numbers to decide what is too much or too little water for your very own body! Look it even says I am doing it right! Want more? I can get more I'm sure. Be rational, pay attention to your body, that's ALL I am saying.

[Brook]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

It was the sensationalistic, over the top, scare tactic, and largely irrelevant statement that grabbed my attention. People come here for Atkins advice and support. The thread title you posted is misleading.

If you don't want to drink 64oz of water a day, well, you're a big girl, don't! But to post a thread title stating that water will kill you to justify the fact that you don't want to drink it is a bit dramatic and is likely to scare the he|| out of someone who won't dig into the thread far enough to read the facts.

Dr. Atkins stated the amount. He also dictated what foods we eat when and what we should avoid - and it turns out that "he said so" works.

Again, as a mom to a kid who has this issue day to day, this kind of misinformation and drama is frustrating. What you're saying and the links you're posting are true, but the situations are RARE, EXTREME, and DRAMATIC. You been running marathons and chugging down a gallon of water in 20 minutes recently? Did what that girl did to win the Wii? The comparison to those things and the kind of water drinking we do here is non-existent.

Please, if you're going to continue to post articles, do us an unbiased and fair favor? Post the ones that show that water intake is healthy for you. Fair is fair.

[RitaCeleste]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

I believe Atkins set it as a guideline. Some people will need more, some may be okay with less. But it is okay. Its is one of the very dogmatic things I keep running across. It does serve a purpose I guess. So, once again I am just a low carber. Atkins had nothing to do with it! Fine.

[Slapshot]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

One final point I'll add here. Putting aside the science of whether someone "needs" 64 ounces or more a day (which we'll agree to disagree on), I find that drinking water throughout the day (120+ ounces) also accomplishes the following:

1. gets me out of my desk job and to the bathroom once an hour, which is a good thing;

2. cuts down on the munchies/keeps me feeling "full" for longer (many of us confuse hunger for thirst);

3. allows me to eat saltier items on this WOE (which are kind of hard to avoid); and

4. flushes water weight out of my body.

Each of these effects substantially impact my success on this WOE.

[DarlingBri]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

The 64oz of water per day is not just Atkins dogma. It's a basic health standard, regardless of what diet you're on or no diet at all. Check for yourself - Google "optimal water intake per day" and browse pages and pages of results. You'll find 8x8 is the gold standard.

However, if you want a more tailored water intake level for basic health, take your weight in pounds, divide by 2, and that's how many ounces of water you should consume each day. In your case, that's 75 ounces

[IrishIrish]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

No one here advises people to drink as much water as they can without allowing nature to take its course and pee. No one is suggesting that anyone drink 2 gallons without peeing to win a Wii.

The 64 ounce guidelines established by Dr. Atkins is a far cry from the "too much water" addressed in this article. I drink double the guideline, but I work out, I pee often and my kidney function is fine, thank you.

Providing education is fine. Trying to scare the piss out of someone is irresponsible.

[Georgiana]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

If you read the paper cited in the Scientific American article --- Heinz Valtin, "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8x8"? --- you will see what are the arguments supporting the hypothesis that drinking 64 oz (or more) of water per day is dangerous. Below is a summary.

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1. "Even modest increases in fluid intake can result in severe water intoxication if the renal excretion of water is limited by a sustained influence of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH), either endogenous or exogenous, on the kidney." (p. R998.)

The part coming after "if" in the sentence I quoted above is very important. If one has serious kidney problems (creatine over 2.4), one should not follow Atkins unless told to do so by his/her physician. (DANDR 2002, Ch. 10) If one takes some medication, one should review it and see a doctor before starting Atkins. (DANDR 2002, Ch. 10) Everyone should see a doctor before starting Atkins. (DANDR 2002, Ch. 10)

The special case of those taking diuretics is discussed by Dr. Atkins in DANDR 2002, Ch. 20.

2. The next two cases in the subsection "Water Intoxication" refer to people taking Ecstasy.

3. The next subsection, "Nonfatal Hyponatremia", cites a few studies without discussing them in detail. [32] talks about hyponatrimia in marathon runners. [35] and [64] talk about hyponatrimia in Army trainees. [33] talks about hypotonic hyponatremia, and you can read what are the causes of this here: Hyponatremia: eMedicine Nephrology. [48] describes the case of a flight attendant who drank 96 oz of water in a 3-hour interval. [52] looks at subjects over 70 years old and brings no new, solid evidence that drinking 64 oz of water is dangerous. [63] talks about water overloading (27-54 oz of water per hour, over a period of 3 hours), which is not something we do on Atkins.

I'm not at the university and can't find [66] and [93] online.

4. Exposure to pollutants.

This is a ridiculous claim, imo. Instead of drinking less water, one should choose a good drinking water.

5. Inconvenience that might lead to embarrassment (for going often to the bathroom).

6. Expense, because of the high price of bottled water.

I would say there are alternatives to this, such as water filters.

7. Making people feel guilty for not drinking enough water.

I find this ridiculous too. I'm sure everyone can lead a happy life without constantly worrying that they still have 10 oz of water left to drink for the day. And many of us probably have more serious things to feel guilty about than not drinking 64 oz of water.

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You are saying in the title of this thread that "Too much water can kill ya!" This is true, under certain circumstances, none of which applies to someone who should do Atkins (people with kidney disease should not do Atkins) or to people who should do Atkins without medical supervision (those taking diuretics should be supervised by a doctor and ask about alternative medication/supplements, such as L-taurine). The paper discussed in the Scientific American article and the example there (the lady who drank 192 oz of water in 3 hours, to win a Wii ) do not show any evidence that drinking 64 oz of water is dangerous for Atkineers. Furthermore, regarding the need for 64 oz of water, the studies H. Valtin presents in his review paper do not apply to Atkins dieters, because they ignore the diuretic effect of lipolysis/ketosis; this effect is not taken into consideration in their input/output fluid analysis, nor in the other studies analyzed. Also, the review does not consider people on a weight loss diet or people exercising (Atkins without exercise is not Atkins), so again it does not apply to Atkineers.

What I find funny is that the H. Valtin discusses the dangers of water intake by presenting cases of people with various medical conditions, when he clearly stated in the abstract that, "It is to be emphasized that the conclusion is limited to healthy adults in a temperate climate leading a largely sedentary existence [...]" Well, if the conclusions apply to healthy adults, then these conclusions should all result from studies involving healthy subjects.

Anyway. While I don't know if, on average, people must drink at least 48, 60, 64 or 72 oz, nothing in that article you linked to above and in the cited paper of H. Valtin shows that drinking at least 64 oz of water per day is dangerous for you or for Atkineers who've read the book and follow Dr. Atkins recommendations. In the absence of a better number and given the need to know how much _______ [calories/carbs/dietary fiber/fat/protein/sodium/iron/potassium/red meat/eggs/mayo/toilet paper] we should consume per day, 64+ oz is a perfectly safe water intake.

In my opinion, the article is not telling people to drink less water, but rather

• spread their water intake throughout the day;
• drink good, clean water;
• discuss their diet (incl. water intake) with a physician if they take certain medication that might affect kidneys, such as diuretics.

[blove]

Re: Too Much Water Can Kill Ya!

My personal opinion is this; when your body is in fat burning mode, there are alot of debris in your body that needs to be flushed out. If you're not drinking enough water, your kidneys have to work alot harder to filter all of the residue and toxins that your body is producing from burning fat. If you choose to drink other soft drinks to quench your thirst you're compounding those toxins with all the other ingredients (chemicals) that are in these soft drinks (thats why they stress pure water).