Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Whether you are trying to lose weight, maintain clear skin or keep your body in balance, everyone will tell you that you need to make sure to drink enough water. Ben Stiller was going for laughs in the 2001 film Zoolander when he had his dimwitted male model character, Derek, say, "Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty," but the truth of the matter is that such a statement is correct.
Even with water, however, there can be too much of a good thing. Water intoxication can result from the rapid consumption of water without the proper balance of electrolytes. While very rare for the average person, the condition can cause brain swelling and heart failure - essentially meaning that chugging water at a rapid pace for a long enough period of time can kill you.
What Happens
When you sweat, you secrete both water and electrolytes from your body in an effort to cool yourself down. Electrolytes contain sodium, which is why sweat tastes salty; while you need to shed those electrolytes to keep your body temperature down, you also need to restock your internal supply so that you are able to continue to undergo such normal bodily functions. Most people do not reach a point of physical exertion where those supplies run dangerously low; they exercise and are able to restock without incident.
Extreme athletes, such as marathoners and triathletes, however, engage in bouts of physical activity that last for hours at a time. After sweating for so long, hydration becomes crucial. If such an athlete drinks straight water, he is able to provide fluid to his body, but he is not restoring electrolyte balance. His sodium levels drop to a dangerous level and the body cannot cope.
Use of Ecstasy in conjunction with raving is another instance in which water intoxication has been known to arise. Raves tend to feature crowds that dance for hours at a time, which means they sweat profusely; some ravers elect to hydrate with water and experience the same sodium drop.
What To Look For
If someone has consumed a large amount of water in a short period of time, symptoms of water intoxication include confusion, cramping, vomiting or headaches. As the condition progresses, water intoxicated people can collapse and fall into a coma.
What to Do
If a minor case of water intoxication has set in, a person's levels can be restored by limiting the amount of fluid they take in over the course of the next few hours. A reduction in internal water levels will allow the sodium balance to be restored.
In more serious cases, doctors will give a water intoxicated patient diuretics, which promotes urination and the loss of that excess fluid; saline IVs will also help restore the sodium balance within the body.
 | Limit your intake of trans fats by carefully reading labels and eliminating foods that have partially hydrogenated oils or don't specifically say oils are fully hydrogenated. |
 | Knowing how to read food labels and understanding what those labels say helps you make better food choices that contribute to eating a healthy diet. |
Some people insist you must drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day to maintain proper health and nutrition, others say three liters a day is optimal and others say it doesn't matter what beverage you drink as long as you get about two liters of fluids a day. Who is right? |
It has been known in past times to stay away from peanut butter when you are trying to shed a few pounds, but today it is the exact opposite. The fat intake is what scared people in the past to stay away from it, but now peanut butter is what you should be running to. |
Peanut Butter - for those of us who love it, we just can't get enough. These four peanut butter recipes will quench your PB cravings and leave you with a smile. From breakfast to treats and even a fruit dip, peanut butter makes almost everything better. |
