Too much of a good thing can kill you

Water Intoxication

We've been told for years that we have to drink eight glasses of water every day. Most of us struggle to get through that much. But did you know you can drink too much water? What actually happens when a person drinks too much water is it lowers the concentration of sodium in the blood. This causes the brain to swell, which can lead to a feeling of lethargy, unconsciousness even a coma or death.
Too much of a good thing can be bad for you ... watch your water intake.Drinking too much water is dangerous because the body cannot excrete that much fluid. Excess water then goes to the bowel, which pulls salt into it from the body, diluting the concentration of salt in the tissues.

Changing the concentration of salt, in turn, causes a shifting of fluids within the body, which can then induce a swelling in the brain. The swollen organ will then press against the bones of the skull, and become damaged.


How much water should we drink?


As well as drinking water and other drinks (juice, tea), we get much of the water that we need from food. For example many fruits and vegetables are up to 90% water. How much water we need to drink depends on several things including the weather, what we are doing and how healthy we are.

* For healthy children and adults, thirst is a good guide to when and how much they need to drink.
* If children are able to get drinks of water easily, whenever they want to, they will drink enough. If children are not able to get their own drinks of water at school of kindergarten, give them a bottle of tap water to take.
* Trying to get a child to drink water when he or she is not thirsty, can lead to unneeded battles.
* More drinks will be needed if people are exercising.
* Water is much better than juices and soft drinks.
* The high sugar content in these drinks can damage teeth and lead to extra weight gain.
* Juices and soft drinks can interfere with children’s appetite so they may not get all the nutrients they need.
* Limit fruit juice to one small glass each day with a meal.
* Tea, coffee, sport or 'energy' drinks and alcohol should not be given to children.
* Save cordial and soft drinks for special occasions like parties or birthdays.