How much water is it safe to drink per day?

[Kuko 4000]

A friend of mine has started Robert O. Young's alkaline diet and is drinking a lot of water every day. She does a bit of yoga, but no sports. I'd like to know how much water she can drink per day before it gets dangerous, and what are the possible risks. I understand that she drinks quite a lot nowadays.

Thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Young_(author)

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/

 

[paximperium]

Unfortunately it depends on the individual. Most severe cases of death from water intoxication occurs from drinking massive amounts of water acutely. If you drink water gradually, it will lead to a gradual drop in your serum sodium but will not be as catastrophic as sudden massive water intake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia

 

[Professor Yaffle]

It is impossible to give an exact figure, as it will be different for different people and in different circumstances. I think it also matters how fast you drink it, rather than just how much you drink over a day. How much is she drinking?

 

[Professor Yaffle]

????????

Question: Will electron-rich alkaline water disrupt digestion by diluting the hydrochloric stomach acid.
Dr. Young : The stomach is not an organ of digestion but an organ of contribution. The main contribution from the stomach is the secretion of sodium bicarbonate to alkalize the food and liquids ingested. The hydrochloric acid in the stomach is a waste product of sodium bicarbonate production and falls into the gastric pits of the stomach away from the food and drink ingested. Hydrochloric acid destroys the energy potential of the food or drink making it unfit for transformation into stem cells. When you drink electron-rich alkaline water you help alkalize the food and drink ingested and you buffer the hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This then aids the stomach in alkalizing the food and drink and preparing it for biological transformation into stems cells. This transformation into stem cells can only take place in an electron-rich alkaline environment. Therefore, drinking electron-rich alkaline water aids in the reduction of acid, including hydrochloric acid, and aids in the preparation of the food in the stomach and then in the small intestine for transformation into stem cells and then red blood cells.

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-faq-water.aspx

 

[Modified]

I got into trouble once on a hot day after running and lifting, sweating a lot, and drinking about two gallons of plain water. This was in the days before sports drinks were popular. All the muscles in my forearms locked up and I had heart palpitations and a very high body temperature. Drinking a Coke got me back to normal after a half hour or so.

More to the point though,

The main contribution from the stomach is the secretion of sodium bicarbonate to alkalize the food and liquids ingested.

 

[Mr Clingford]

If you live in Harare, none at all. Stupid nasty Mugabe.

 

[Kuko 4000]

I think it also matters how fast you drink it, rather than just how much you drink over a day. How much is she drinking?

I will ask more details about these. She is not feeling too well now, ironic, because one of his (Young's) main claims is that you will not get sick if you follow his advice. That guy just pisses me off.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Also ask if she is lowering her salt consumption, as that will be a factor too.

Dawn Page, 52, a mother of two, claimed she was told to drink an extra four pints of water each day, and reduce her salt intake, after consulting the therapist, Barbara Nash, about losing weight.
Her lawyers said she suffered uncontrolled vomiting within days of being placed on "The Amazing Hydration Diet", but was assured her sickness was simply "part of the detoxification process".
She claimed she was later told to increase the amount of water she drank to six pints per day.
However, less than a week after she started the diet, the former conference organiser, of Faringdon, Oxon, said she suffered an epileptic fit brought on by severe sodium deficiency.
She was treated in intensive care, but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain damage.
She has been left with damage to her memory, concentration and her ability to speak normally and was forced to quit her job, relying instead on her husband Geoffrey, 54, for help.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...ox-diet-caused-brain-damage-wins-800,000.html

 

[Kuko 4000]

Ok, she says she drinks approximately 2 litres a day and has not changed her salt consumption. I suspect she is not telling the truth, but that's all I have.

 

[paximperium]

Ok, she says she drinks approximately 2 litres a day and has not changed her salt consumption. I suspect she is not telling the truth, but that's all I have.

Pnly 2Liters? I drink that amount most days.

Print out the water intoxication wiki page and let her read it. Maybe it'll beat some sense into her.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Ok, she says she drinks approximately 2 litres a day and has not changed her salt consumption. I suspect she is not telling the truth, but that's all I have.

If that's the truth, then she is unlikely to do herself any harm.

 

[Kuko 4000]

If that's the truth, then she is unlikely to do herself any harm.

Yes, I know, and I hope she is telling the truth. I doubt her words though. I will try to translate some parts of the Wiki-article for her.

 

[Tiktaalik]

I started a thread a while back on this forum debunking water woo (but I don't know how to find it now). Most of the info came from http://www.ajpregu.org (the American Journal of Physiological Regulation etc.), search for Heinz Valtin, "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really?

Basically, along with other water woo, he debunks the 8 eight-ounce galsses of water per day. He traces the origin of the belief to a 1945 Food & Nutrition Board council report which states, "A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 liters daily in most instacnes. An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods." (emphasis mine).

People disregarded the last sentence and thought that they had to drink eight extra glasses of water per day. Anyway, an interesting read for all the other water woo (for example, the assertion that caffeinated drinks "don't count" - untrue...)

 

[Soapy Sam]

Ye gods, I probably drink 2 litres of espresso most days.

I'd say the main thing is not to drink much more water than you pee or sweat.

 

[rjh01]

I started a thread a while back on this forum debunking water woo (but I don't know how to find it now). Most of the info came from http://www.ajpregu.org (the American Journal of Physiological Regulation etc.), search for Heinz Valtin, "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really?

Was it this thread?
Water Drinking Woo: 8 X 8

You only ever started four threads in this sub forum.

 

[soylent]

????????

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/t-faq-water.aspx

That's some of the most bizzare woo I've ever seen.

 

[Cuddles]

Ok, she says she drinks approximately 2 litres a day and has not changed her salt consumption. I suspect she is not telling the truth, but that's all I have.

Given the recommended daily intake as noted in Wiki, she's closer to not drinking enough than to drinking too much. Even downing that much in one go is unlikely to cause any harm.

 

[Dancing David]

Water intoxication is possible but takes some effort and very low sodium intake. Schizophrenia in some cases seems to cause the body mechanism to not regulate water intake and people become driven to drink water. Like gallons of it, then they pass out or have a heart attack. We had a client who had to be monitored, otherwise he would just belly up the sink and drink water from the faucet, for ten minutes. then he would pass out. Very dangerous, as is deliberate water intoxication.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Was it this thread?
Water Drinking Woo: 8 X 8

You only ever started four threads in this sub forum.

Thanks.

I'm on a slow dial-up connection (no DSL here!) and the Search function usually doesn't work for me - it just hangs.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Thanks.

I'm on a slow dial-up connection (no DSL here!) and the Search function usually doesn't work for me - it just hangs.

Whereabouts are you in Colorado?
A mate of mine runs remote broadband services from Loveland.