Water seems to be the solution to everything; from health to beauty to everything in between. Be it acne, bloating, trying to get rid of excess weight, it all seems to boil down to keeping yourself hydrated. Personally, I think of water as the magic elixir which can cure all my problems so I always make it a point to carry a personal bottle wherever I go. But apparently, too much of a good thing is bad. Yes, even water.
There is a possibility that you could be overhydrating yourself. Sounds strange right? But overhydration is real and it could be causing you harm too. This is because it can cause your bodily fluids become imbalanced when you are ingesting way more fluids than what your kidneys can process. There is plenty of advice which tells you to drink 8 cups of water a day. But there are several other factors which need to be taken into account as well:
As compared to simply 8 cups of water, you should aim to be drinking half your body weight. So if you weigh somewhere around 140 pounds, you are advised to drink 70 ounces per day. This should give you a good idea about the average you should aim at maintaining. Going too much over the top is bad. And the following are the signs that you are drinking way more water than you ideally should:
1. Clear Urin
As you might already know- the color of your urine is a very good indicator of your health. We all know that if it gets too dark we should consult a doctor. But the other way round is cause for concern too. Too clear pee means that you are overhydrated. Naturally, your pee should be pale yellow in appearance. Of course if you are on some particular medications or eating some foods which can alter the color of pee, you would need to take those factors into consideration.
2. Swollen cells
Our cells have potassium and sodium so as to regulate the volume of our blood as well as to keep a check on our blood pressure. They also extract the excess liquid from our blood which is converted into urine. If there would be too much water in your system, this sodium would naturally get diluted. As a result there would be more water in your cells than what is ideal. Thus the cells will get swollen up. This could even cause you mortal danger if your neurons swell up. They are the cells of your nervous system and since there is too little space in the skull a swollen cell could mean injury to the brain.
3. Nausea
With low levels of potassium in your cells, you might feel like throwing up.
4. Spasms and cramps in your muscles
Too much water can cause electrolytes such as sodium to diminish. Try replacing these electrolytes from other sources such as coconut water.
5. Fatigue
If your kidneys are being pushed to their limits trying to filter out all your excess water- it is expected that your body would be tired. And you might not feel particularly energetic or too lazy to get up in the mornings.
There is a possibility that you could be overhydrating yourself. Sounds strange right? But overhydration is real and it could be causing you harm too. This is because it can cause your bodily fluids become imbalanced when you are ingesting way more fluids than what your kidneys can process. There is plenty of advice which tells you to drink 8 cups of water a day. But there are several other factors which need to be taken into account as well:
- Body size
- Level of daily activity
- Area of living and temperature levels
As compared to simply 8 cups of water, you should aim to be drinking half your body weight. So if you weigh somewhere around 140 pounds, you are advised to drink 70 ounces per day. This should give you a good idea about the average you should aim at maintaining. Going too much over the top is bad. And the following are the signs that you are drinking way more water than you ideally should:
1. Clear Urin
As you might already know- the color of your urine is a very good indicator of your health. We all know that if it gets too dark we should consult a doctor. But the other way round is cause for concern too. Too clear pee means that you are overhydrated. Naturally, your pee should be pale yellow in appearance. Of course if you are on some particular medications or eating some foods which can alter the color of pee, you would need to take those factors into consideration.
2. Swollen cells
Our cells have potassium and sodium so as to regulate the volume of our blood as well as to keep a check on our blood pressure. They also extract the excess liquid from our blood which is converted into urine. If there would be too much water in your system, this sodium would naturally get diluted. As a result there would be more water in your cells than what is ideal. Thus the cells will get swollen up. This could even cause you mortal danger if your neurons swell up. They are the cells of your nervous system and since there is too little space in the skull a swollen cell could mean injury to the brain.
3. Nausea
With low levels of potassium in your cells, you might feel like throwing up.
4. Spasms and cramps in your muscles
Too much water can cause electrolytes such as sodium to diminish. Try replacing these electrolytes from other sources such as coconut water.
5. Fatigue
If your kidneys are being pushed to their limits trying to filter out all your excess water- it is expected that your body would be tired. And you might not feel particularly energetic or too lazy to get up in the mornings.
