can you drink too much water?

[prettypurpledaisy]

I am drinking about three litres a day, sometimes feel awash and am constantly on the toilet. Is it too much or doesn't it matter. My mum thinks it is too much. Sorry if this is a silly question.

I think you can but don't know if 3L is too much, unless it's replacing food 'cos it's making you feel full. Why are you drinking so much anyway?

I have read that yes, you can drink too much water. It's not a slly question at all. I once read about a woman who was addicted to water and she became quite ill.

You can get a sort of water poisoning if you drink too much but 3 litres a day wouldn't do it Maybe if you feel bloated then drink smaller amounts more frequently.

Well, I wouldn't say there's anything wrong with drinking water itself. But if you're drinking too much that might be a sign that there's something wrong somewhere. There might be something making you de-hydrated. I'd ask your GP about it, if I were you.

I am on a diet that recommends 2 litres a day, but because I can't have coffee, coke or alcohol I am drinking water. Not doing it to feel full just very thirsty. didn't want to overdo it!

You can but 3l isn't enough. I believe you can get 'drunk' on water - too much messes with your blood chemistry. For some reason 12 pints springs to mind but that might be for a child.

Drinking too much is a sign of diabetes. If you are always thirsty I would get it checked out.

Yes. 1.5 litres per day is plenty, unless you take masses of exercise.

I drank too much water last week. I had a sore throat and cold water was the only thing that eased it. I threw it all up though spontaneously, so I guess the body rejects what it cannot cope with.

Three litres is a bit too much. The risk with too much water is that it can cause your brain to swell, causing brain damage (that girl Leah Betts who the press said died of Ecstasy in fact died of this - she was drinking lots of water and so high on the drug drank too much). This would usually only be from about 4 litres a day, but I'd still keep it as 1.5 to 2 litres unless you're exercising very hard or in a tropical climate...

One of the mums at school was on the Lighter Life diet recently and had to drink a lot of water. I'm sure it was well over 3 litres a day, so it can't be dangerous. I'll try and find out.

Thanks for all the messages I will try to keep it to two litres, I have always drunk too little in the past and my poor body is probably reeling from so much.

Pretty sure friend was on 4 or 5 litres a day.
I've got the opposite problem prettypurpledaisy, I don't drink nearly enough.

You can get water poisoning from too much. 2 litres a day including water from food is all you need in this climate, so no need to drink 3 litres, all it will do is make you wee more!

There was a marathon runner who died not too long ago from drinking too much water. No idea how much he'd had though.

Erm, just because Lighter Life diets say something it doesn't mean it's 'doctor recommended'. More than three litres a day is definitely dangerous - only a bit dangerous, but still...

IMO Lighter Life can probably get away with it because they only accept people who are obese, which means they can absorb more water than someone who is a healthy weight.

thebecster, you seem to be missing the point. Lighter Life participants have to be checked out and have the diet approved by their doctor before they start. Not many GPs would agree to the diet if that amount of water was dangerous for their patient. And Lighter Life wouldn't make much money if all their clients dropped dead from over-consumption of water.

No, I'm not missing the point.

As I said, someone who is obese can absorb more water, so it's less dangerous for them.

If someone is obese then their GP will of course approve them doing Lighter Life rather than remaining obese. They'll be trading the very unlikely possibility of dying of too much water (very rare) with the absolute certainty of dying of obesity (very common).

at your faith in GPs reading the detail of the Lighter Life diet before approving it for their patients and them only approving it if every detail is medically sound. I know many hundreds of GPs but only one or two who would do that (and they probably wouldn't approve it, because they're so picky). IMO Most would just think 'You're planning to stop being fat? Yep, that's a good thing, you go and do that. Now, I have a child with leukemia in the waiting room, so could you please take your obese bottom out of that chair, stop wasting my time, and allow me to see someone who is actually ill'

You have a very condescending tone, thebecster.

info here

"How Much Water Should You Drink? The British Dietetic Association guidelines state that an average adult should consume 2.5 litres of water per day. This intake needs to be increased during periods of hot weather or during and after periods of physical activity. "

Apologies if you found my tone condescending. I thought it was important that there wasn't any doubt as to whether it's dangerous or not. Rare as it is, people do die of this.