Everyone needs at least 8 full glasses of water per day to remain healthy, right? Turns out this is a myth. There's no clear cut answer as to how much water one should drink. It all depends on the person and what they are doing on any given day. The amount of water one needs on a daily basis depends on how much one loses due to bodily functions. Work out a lot on a hot day and sweat profusely? You'll need more water to replenish your lost fluids than someone who didn't work out. But there's no scientific evidence 8 glasses are needed. Snopes.com does a great job explaining this here:
Eight Glasses of Water Per Day?
Why is this misconception deadly? The misconception can be deadly if one drinks too much water in an effort to be healthy. Drinking too much water can result in water intoxication in which sodium levels in your body drop and you develop hyponatremia. When this happens, brain damage and death are possible.
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| Drinking too much water can be deadly. |
So how much is too much water? Death has occurred with as little as 2.5 gallons of water drank over a period of a few hours. This is the equivalent of 40 glasses (8 ounces/glass). This may seem like a lot, and it is, but it's not impossible to consume this. Given the many horrible health fads out there, too many people are susceptible to the harmful ones, including the excessive drinking of water.
To conclude, watch how much water you drink. Too little or too much can be very harmful and even deadly. There's no correct amount of water one can apply to everyone. It all depends on how much water your body releases. The basic rule of thumb is to drink water when you're thirsty and don't drink when you're not thirsty. Do that and you should be fine.
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