Are you taking too much water?

A woman having water after a run.

Are you taking too much water?

Every physician will recommend that each and every adult person, should take 8 glasses of water which translates to 2litres of water to stay healthy. Is this right? Could they be consuming a lot of water?

Too much water can be harmful to your body. Before you start practicing the 8 glasses of water mantra, you need to factor in your body size, activity level and types of food you consume before you go downing gallons of water in the name of staying healthy.

Too much water intake can upset your bodyโ€™s sodium balance resulting in water intoxication also known as hypernatremia. This causes the cells to swell after too much water from the bloodstream flows into the cells.

With all that said and done, how do you know that you have been taking a lot of water?

Urine is clear

When your urine is so clear, like there is no tinge of yellow in it, thatโ€™s a clear indication that you are having a lot of water.

A normal urine should have a tinge of yellow in it this is because of the presence of the salts. However, 95% of urine is made up of water.

Allow your urine to have some colour.

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Frequent urination

Normally a person should urinate like 6-8 times in a day. So if you find yourself visiting the lavatory more often, then you need to check on your water intake.

This can also turn out to be embarrassing for you. Just imagine you walking out of a meeting after every 30 minutes when you were just out.

Taking water when you not thirsty

Yes, you read that right, if you find yourself consuming water when you are thirsty, then you might just be taking a lot of it. Yes, water is healthy for your body and it keeps you hydrated but donโ€™t take it in excess, just take what you need.

Constantly tired

One of the functions of your kidneys is to excrete fluids. When you take too much water your kidneys are strained creating a stressful reaction from your hormones. This will make you feel tired or fatigued as your body tries to stay balanced.

Swollen ankles and joint

Drinking too much water can cause your cells to swell up. This is because of all the cells become more rigid. This ends up reflecting on the surface of the body.