Excess Consumption of Drinking Water is Dangerous- Experts

Often times we’ve been told that drinking a lot of water is healthy. Drinking six to eight glasses of water a day will boost concentration, give us a better complexion and more energy, keep headaches at bay, help us to detox and even curb our appetites.

This theory has made people addicted to drinking water which is life-threatening. Experts are however expressing their concerns that excess consumption of drinking water may be harmful to the body.

What are the harmful effects?
Professor Mark Whiteley, a consultant vascular surgeon and founder of The Whiteley Clinic in London explains that too much of it makes you sweat excessively.
“Drinking excessive amounts of water is linked to many of the extreme sweating problems his patients suffer from; some so severe they are considering surgery to remove their sweat glands.
One of the first things I always ask my hyperhidrosis patients is how much they drink,’ he says. ‘Invariably, because they sweat excessively, they tell me they drink a lot of water to compensate. They are surprised when I say their drinking habits could be making their sweating worse. If you drink more water than you need to, sweating is one of the ways the body will try to rid itself of the excess. My patients often discover they sweat less if they drink less water.
Another side effect is that it can cause Insomnia. Professor Whitely explains that when we fall asleep, our brains release ADH, anti-diuretic hormone, to slow down kidney function and stop us feeling the need to urinate during the night. He recommends no drinking water two or three hours before bedtime and a warm bed incase one has difficulty sleeping.

How Much Drinking Water a day is healthy?
Experts has advised that 1.6 litres of fluids in general (rather than water, specifically) a day, and men around two litres, to keep the body working efficiently. Fluids could be tea and coffee, milk and fruit juices and even the water contained in foods such as fruits and vegetables, with the exception of alcohol and avoid fluids that contains sugar.
“You don’t need much extra, unless you are exercising or in a warm environment, when you will sweat more, which is why I think it is unnecessary to drink so many additional litres of water throughout the day,’ said professor Whitely.


Source: heynaija