Is It Possible To Drink Too Much Water?

[covsooze]

I always knew I drank lots of water, as I'm always thirsty. But yesterday I thought I'd buy bottled spring water as part of my effort to detox. So know I know how much I drink. In the past 24 hours, I've drunk 6 litres of water!!!! I haven't drunk anything else, and it is the time of the month (which makes me thirsty) and I had bacon for brekkie (which also makes me thirsty) but even so And it's not like I've been trying to drink lots!

Is this a problem? Could I be diluting stomach acids or something and making things worse by having all this too drink?

And why am I so thirsty? Along with most people here, I have bloods done on a regular basis, whidh nearly always include blood sugar, and there's never been a problem with that. What other reasons are there for excessive thirst? I have very little salt in my diet, so it's not that.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[CarlaB]

If you're drinking that much water with very little salt, maybe you have too little salt/electrolytes to use the water properly. The bacon is salty, but I'm sure you don't eat it every day. Salt gets a bad rap because the SAD usually includes to much of it in the form of junk food, but it is a necessary nutrient.

[bklynceliac]

it short - yes, you can drink too much water. It can screw up your system, and actually cause symptoms akin to intoxication, but I've always been told it takes ridiculously large amounts of water to do that. However, 6 Litres is pretty close to ridiculously large. You may want to ask your PCP about it...

[RiceGuy]

Extreme thirst was one of the symptoms I had from gluten. Even a very small amount would make me tremendously thirsty for 24-48 hours. No amount of water would quench it either. From that and other signs I eventually began to put two and two together.

Anyway, I suppose it might be an unrecognized glutening, or something else to which you have developed a sensitivity. I do still get noticeably more thirsty than expected if I have something that doesn't quite agree with my system. Especially if something impedes digestion. As the body attempts to rid itself of toxins, it seems to require more water to flush things out. It may simply be coping with a leaky gut, which of course will take time to heal. After awhile I'd hope the amount of water the body wants would be less. If not then I would conclude something you're eating isn't working for you.

[tiffjake]

Yeah, I actually had fluid over load the other day. I was determined to drink 64 ounces of water in one day, and it was down to the end of the day, so I sat down with a large water bottle and downed 64 ounces in about 3 hours while watching tv. I got a terrible headache and called the doc the next day. That much fluid (in that short of a period) was fluid overload, and is hard on the heart and the kidneys. If you are going to drink a lot of water, you have to spread it out over the day.

Anyway, I get thirsty when I am glutened too. I think it is because of the massive "D". I make a point to drink something with sugars and electrolytes (not normally healthy, but helps quickly when you are dehydrated).

If you are that thirsty (and you are not working out hard or sitting in a sauna) then something isn't right!

[natalunia]

A major sign of diabetes is unquenchable thirst.

[TestyTommy]

Drinking too much water can lead to a condition called "hyponaetremia", which literally means "not enough sodium". I know because it put me in the hospital a few years ago.

I didn't know what was wrong and went to the ER, where they diagnosed me with the flu, gave me some liquid (!) and sent me home at 3:00 am on Sunday morning. I was still miserable and went back to the ER the next morning, where they told me nothing was wrong. I refused to leave and they finally drew some blood and found the problem immediately. I later found out that if I had not been diagnosed at this point, I was 3-4 hours from going into a coma and suffering brain damage!

(This was before I knew I had celiac, and during a time I was eating a large amount of wheat.)

Unquenchable thirst was one of my gluten-symptoms. I'm 6 months gluten-free and it is greatly reduced, but still high. If you're drinking alot of water, eat as much salt as your body wants. I pour it straight on my tongue. Gatorade is good, too, but it includes a lot of sugar. I sometimes make my own electrolyte dring with water, lemon juice, salt and a little sugar.

Don't buy this crap about salt being bad for you (unless you suffer from seriously high blood pressure). I eat a ton of salt and my BP is usually around 110/50.

[gfp]

I agree with natalunia, that constant thirst like that is a huge red flag when it comes to diabetes.

Perhaps the water thing is all from gluten-consumption / celiac, I do not know. But, I'd be watchful of your blood-sugar too. If you want to periodically check it, Walmart or many drugstores sell those skin-prick type meters (the test-strips cost more than the machines it seems). I did this for a while just to be sure my "issues" were not from something other than Celiac. I was trying to speed the diagnosis along since my doctors were a bit useless on their own for lack of believing I cuold have Celiac.

Also, the salt thing TestyTommy said has some merit too. My BP was low for quite some time. A cardiologist I saw told me flat out to "eat more salt" and salt my food, etc. to get the numbers up, since lack of salt could contribute to hypovolemia (spelling?) which results in lower pressure. The one thing all my doctors missed that I still find inexcusable was that the entire time I was anemic, which surely contributed to the low BP. So, I'd just recommend having basic blood test done too (red count, etc).

Getting your body in balance after Celiac seems to take time and practice. Getting proper amounts of vitamins and minerals, especially a proper balance of electolytes, is challenging for many, but moreso for us I think. Sodium and potassium balance is important, magnesium and others. Especially if you have malabsorption issues from disease.

I'm all for the more salt... those diarrea packets contain a balanced solution BUT its in glucose and the other thing you should do is check your blood sugar.

The easiest simple way is to ask a diabetic friend..... make sure you know the correct GI and if its anytihng off this see a Dr. ... and don't start huge amounts of glucose... first.

If your blood sugar is normal at different times of the day (ask a knowlegable diabetic when the test times are) then the sachets are really simple and could get you cback on track quickly... make sure it has K and Mg as well as Na.

edit

Oh and don't drink low sodium water, its a con and dangerous, especially in large amounts.

[CarlaB]

I actually sprinkle a little salt, the good kind of sea salt with other minerals still there, in my water. Just a little, not enough to actually taste.

But I agree that it is a symptom of diabetes and you should have that checked.

[covsooze]

single molecule water!!! Obviously, that's where I've been going wrong lol

Thanks for all your input. I think yesterday was particularly bad for some reason. I've not drunk anywhere near as much today - although I think it's still been a fair amount (I was at work so didn't measure it). I will ask my GP about it though as it has concerned me for a little while. I'll have a look tomorrow for one of those skin prick tests as well.

I will see how adding a bit of salt goes - my BP is always low, so I don't think a bit of salt can do any harm. I googled the hypo thing (not enough sodium) and it can be related to hypothyroidism, which is interesting, as I've got that. Unfortunately, the explanations were pretty greek to me so not much made it through the brain fog

[gfp]

I saw one that I thought was even more ridiculous. A local health food store was selling this "single molecule water" whose supposed benefit is the oxygen is separated into your body better or something. Talk about insanity (unless someone can prove to me that there is a type of water that is NOT single H20 molecule). Needless to say, this special water cost quite a bit more than tap water or nearly any other water.

Single molecule water actually refers to a bound molecule... its a biochemistry term used in relation to cell level permeability ion channles in cells.

For instance mamba's use a toxin known as dendrotoxin which blocks the K+ channel ...

Interestingly for us:

This is connected with spinocerebellar ataxia and MS....

Quite what the health food place mean by this is another matter

Technically all water with salts in is disasociated ionic but because of the hydrogen bonding this is never quite 100%...

Any futher info I think we need a molecular biologist....

[CarlaB]

Yeah, hypothyroidism can definitely lead to low blood pressure and lethargy, brain-fog, and other issues. Though, it can have a whacky effect where the diastolic BP number is actually high, where the systolic is low. That's another one of those underdiagnosed diseases that is on the rise. One thing about using sea-salt (that someone mentioned) is it does not have the added Iodine that is important to your Thyroid.

Good luck with everything.

I was going to mention the iodine. I found in my teaching of natural family plannin, NFP, that those who had low thyroid (they also had low basal temperatures, which is how it's related to NFP class) rarely used much salt because of its bad reputation. I do not use iodized salt, but my throid supplement has iodine. Another source of iodine is kelp. If you have low throid, extreme thirst, low blood pressure, you are most likely not getting enough salt. I only know this because I had two nutritionists and a doctor tell me to salt everything, that I wasn't getting enough! This was shocking to me!! Those who eat healthy generally don't seem to get enough salt, it's those who eat a lot of junk food and canned goods who get too much. Don't think you're eating something bad when you eat salt, it's a necessary macro-nutrient! People used to go to war to have control over the salt supply!!

[covsooze]

so is there iodine in ordinary salt? How about lo-salt?

[CarlaB]

I'm not familiar with lo-salt.

Regular table salt comes both ways. You'd have to look at the container you bought, if it has iodine it will say "iodized" right on the front. I use minimally processed sea salt because regular table salt is very over-processed. The sea salt has the minerals in the perfect balance for the human body. Be careful though, sea salt can be just as processed as regular salt!

[TestyTommy]

Carla's right. Iodine is not part of salt naturally; it is added to most salt as a supplement. Years ago, people were not getting enough iodine in their diets, so someone came up with the idea of adding it to salt. It's similar to milk having added vitamin D in it. It's not naturally there; the govt just decided that's a good place to put it.

If by 'lo-salt' you mean salt substitutes, they are typically potassium chloride mixed with salt (sodium chloride) and are usually iodized. It will be on the label. Don't use salt substitutes if you are drinking a lot of water --- you need the sodium in table salt --- exactly what they are taking out!

Since I eat so much salt (and drink so much water) I keep a shaker of regular salt and shaker of iodized salt. It IS possible to get too much iodine (which can be toxic), so I'm a little wary. Not sure it's necessary, but that's what I do. (Even the best sea salt is like $2.00 for a year's supply, so I don't fee too decadent!)

All the folks who point out that thirst is a sign of diabetes are right. But I've been checked for diabetes a dozen times (no exaggeration) and passed with flying colors. So I definitely think there is a connection between the thirst and celiac for some of us. But get a blood sugar test if you haven't had one. It seems to be one of the few tests doctors will do without too much begging (it must be cheap!)

I don't even know where to start with the single-molecule water. I have a degree in chemistry & deal with it at work every day. It sure sounds like crap to me! Your body does not breakdown water to get oxygen --- it doesn't happen. (And fish don't either; their gills extract oxygen that is dissolved in water in order to breathe)

I think a lot of celiacs suffer from low thyroid and low adrenal function. I've had both tested several times and the doctors tell me everything is fine. But doctors won't diagnose you with hypothyroid or hypoadrenia unless the organs are close to failing. My guess is that all of the years most of us inadvertantly poisoned ourselves with gluten have taxed many of our organs. the thyroid and adrenal gland are essentially control systems for the body, and the balance they create is very delicate. that's why we can tell that they aren't working right, even if the docs say they are. Hopefully, they will heal along with the rest of our body. . . .

[gfp]

Uhhh... after reading (or trying to) your post, I was sorta guessing YOU were a molecular biologist or something.

Nah, Im a geologist... (well geochemist) but ion channel research is a fast track to a Nobel prizxe nowadays!

Honestly its horribly complex for even a chemist cos its not REAL chemistry its neuron cellular chemistry and how for instance muscles actually work... (how the elctricity is generated and used) ...way beyond me so I can kinda follow it from a chemistry and biology standpoint but don't understand it well enough to explain!

Seriously I think most specialists would be amazed anyone had even heard of it!

Anyway here is the wikipedia ion channel (so far as i can tell this looks OK but really I couldn't say....)

Open Original Shared Link

the single molecule water .. I can't find...but it refers to one ion at a time crossing the barrier (i think)

If you read and understand this then you know a lot more than me!

oooh just read it and it mentions MS and dendrotoxin!

[CarlaB]

I think a lot of celiacs suffer from low thyroid and low adrenal function. I've had both tested several times and the doctors tell me everything is fine. But doctors won't diagnose you with hypothyroid or hypoadrenia unless the organs are close to failing. My guess is that all of the years most of us inadvertantly poisoned ourselves with gluten have taxed many of our organs. the thyroid and adrenal gland are essentially control systems for the body, and the balance they create is very delicate. that's why we can tell that they aren't working right, even if the docs say they are. Hopefully, they will heal along with the rest of our body. . . .

I've been doing a lot of reading on this lately because my doc suspects I have sub-clinical low adrenal function. So, conventional medicine says I am healthy, but I'm not. From what I've read it seems that the constant inflammation from the gluten and our modern lifestyle combine to cause adrenal fatigue. That explains why gluten-free alone is not enough for many of us to heal ... some of us need a change in lifestyle to be less stressful, very simple food, lots of sleep, etc.

I am very thirsty all the time, too. It actually seems to finally be getting better.

[RiceGuy]

About salt and iodine - salt in its natural state DOES have iodine. It was in the 1800s that the US began kiln-drying salt to increase production. The intense heat (something like 400 degrees) destroys the iodine. People began getting goiter, and it was becoming an epidemic. So, when the matter was investigated, they realized that the iodine was no longer in the salt, so they decided to add it - in the same amount it naturally would have. When I looked this up some time ago, the best information I could gather suggests that they use an iodine residue from petroleum refineries!

I too use a natural salt which is not kiln-dried, bleached, or having added silicates, etc. I do feel it has helped certain things. Plus the taste is markedly better, as surprising as that may be.

If you look up the iodine content of vegetables, you'll find many naturally contain a higher concentration than salt does. Thing is, the various nutrients have a way of balancing each other, so you'd have to consider your entire diet to be sure if the amount you get is sufficient. Be careful with kelp though, as it has such a high amount that you could easily get too much. I recall some symptoms are migraines and acne, among other things. If I had the links handy I'd post them.

And of course we do need sodium. It bugs me sometimes when people act like it's some horrible enemy or something. I don't know of anyone who resolved high blood pressure just by lowering their sodium intake. Doctors use that to assist in whatever drugs they prescribe, but nobody seems to be getting off the blood pressure meds that way. At least not anyone I've ever heard of. Changing one's diet and lifestyle has worked, though I guess that's probably for someone who's really messed up to begin with.