I see many clients walk into my clinic & talk about drinking 5 to 6 lts of water a day,acouple of them, first thing in the morning. When I ask them WHY? The answer I generally get is – I have read or heard it is good to drink more water & so I have made it a practice to drink more water, consciously!
Don’t force down excess of water per day unless your thirst dictates it
People think, one can eat anything, drink loads of water and toxins will get flushed out. SORRY! Body is not a long plumbing tube that gets cleaner by forcing more water through it.
Every time excess water is consumed than the body needs, kidneys are forced to spend energy to filter out this excess water. This filtration process puts significant burden on the tiny blood vessels that line kidneys, which can contribute to the development of chronic kidney disease, on a long run.
Ingesting more water than necessary can increase total blood volume. And since blood volume exists within a closed system (circulatory system), unreasonably increasing blood volume on a regular basis puts unnecessary burden on heart and blood vessels.
Circulatory system becomes diluted with excess water, the concentration of electrolytes in blood will drop causing an imbalance.
There are usually no obvious symptoms but this burden can hurt your health over the long term.
So, what is the right amount of water to be consumed to support health?
The amount of water one needs depends on a variety of factors – physical activity, mental activity, climate/seasons, consumption of salt, composition of meal (dryness), etc. Eventually, the amount of water one drinks should be determined by the sense of thirst. Having said that, it is also important not to neglect this thirst symptom as “thirst” is the last symptom emanating from the body before dehydration. So, listen to the body & consume enough fluids when thirsty.
Not just water per say, but any fluid like tender coconut water, soups, rasamand water-rich foods like whole fruits, vegetables and green leafy vegetables can do the job efficiently.
Very less consumption of water is equally a cause of concern as the body cannot perform its vital activities without the medium of water. Body is nearly 70% water & is very essential but beware of mindlessly drinking excess water. It was important to touch upon this as many people are regularly misinformed on this topic by mainstream media.
–Gauri Rokkam,
Health Coach, M.Sc (Food & Nutrition)
(Ph.D. Yoga & Life Sciences)
Can get in touch at [email protected]
