Drinking too much water while exercising can lead to hyponatremia
Although many health experts advise people to drink a sufficient amount of water daily in order to stay hydrated at any time and maintain a general good health, according to a new study drinking too much water while doing physical exercise can lead to serious health conditions.
The new statement on water consumption was released by a team of researchers who have been studying the link between exercising and a health condition known as hyponatremia. According to what the researchers found, people who are engaging in physical exercises should only drink when they are thirsty. This statement contradicts the previous common belief which said that one needs to drink plenty of water to keep the body well hydrated.
The recent research suggests that drinking too much water while doing exercises can threaten the health and people should only drink water to quench the thirst.
Experts say that Exercise Associated Hyponatremia, or EAH, is caused by consuming too much water while exercising. This happens because the body is unable to remove the extra fluid through sweat and urine, which leads to the dilution of the body’s sodium level. It’s very important to keep an optimal level of sodium as it regulates several important internal systems of the human body.
Some of the symptoms of this type of hyponatremia include headache, vomiting, seizures and a general state of confusion. The condition is caused because the brain swells up due to the physical effort and the body’s inability to cope with it. Usually the condition can go unnoticed until the levels of sodium are really low; when this happens, the condition can be fatal.
According to medical reports, last summer two highs school football players died because of EAH, which made the experts reconsider the recommended amount of water that one should drink while exercising.
Dr. Tamara Hew Butler, one of the lead authors of the report, explained that the most important thing is to educate the public on how dangerous it is to drink excessive water during exercise. The updated statement also says that people should be careful with how much water they drink especially on hot summer day.
According to the consensus panel who released the updated report, the safest way to avoid any health problems is to drink water only when thirsty while exercising. Athletes in particular need to learn about these updates, since for a long time they believed it was a good thing to drink more water during exercise.
Image Source: fullfitsure
