drinking a lot of water is not good

It is harmful to drink too much water, 8 cups/day is the amount most people should drink:

When it’s out of whack, and there is too much water and the sodium drops, there can be issues with the heart, there can be issues with the muscles, there can be issues with the central nervous system,” said Dr. Weiss.

In fact, drinking water in excessive amounts actually killed 28-year-old Jennifer Strange, who was participating in a radio contest to drink as much water as possible to win a gaming system.

And a 17-year-old football player who reportedly drank 2 gallons of water after practice. He died a short time later.

“Some patients are just over compensating based on information that they heard. It’s good to drink water,” said Dr. Ben Stein, with Go Health Urgent Care.

But they could be doing more harm than good, Stein said.

“If someone’s had too much water, generally they will feel confused, getting to the point where the brain is starting to swell a little bit. They may feel fatigued, some malaise or confusion,” Dr. Stein added.

And Dr. Weiss said there is no size fits all formula for how much to drink, but suggests this guideline:

“Two- housand calories most people will take in on an average diet and with 2,000 milliliters, that’s really 2 liters. So really, 2 liters of water is normal for a day,” he said.

And 2 liters translates to about eight to 10 cups for the entire day

Liz

Straight water can kill, I was hospitalized for 3 days for to low Na+ I had a 120 level, whereas 140 is normal. This was 25 years ago, at a time when there was much hype to cut out all excess Salt and Fat in the Diet. I cut out all excess salt, and drank alot of straight water, eventually I ended up in the Hospital, and was told that I could have easily died. I was living in the Desert SW of the US, so I was drinking alot of water to stay hydrated. I was told to either add more salt to my diet, or add salt to my water supply.

That's right about salt, we need salt, Celtic Sea Salt, especially if we are drinking a lot of water/or perspiring a lot. Glad everything turned out ok for you.

Liz