Lifestyle

Why Drinking Too Much Water Can be Bad for Your Body, Too

2019-11-24 , 12:00 am

Last Updated on 2022-10-07 , 12:44 pm

After I saw the headline, I was panicking. The first thing I said was “OMG!” and I guess you know why.

I’m a water tank. Any water tanks out there?

Water tanks can sympathize with me. We drink a lot of water, too much until you make too many trips to the toilet and your friends started asking you, “You okay, not? Why go toilet so many times?”

Drinking water has its benefits, no? It’s backed by science though.

Aids Digestion

This is the scientific explanation:

“In the large intestine, water binds with fibre to increase the bulk of the stools, reduce transit time and make elimination easier. When you don’t drink enough water and fluids, the colon pulls water from stools, increasing your risk of constipation.”

If you don’t understand, imagine this.

You’re eating solid food right?

Let’s say I eat kaya toast for breakfast, cai png for lunch and steak for dinner… All those food goes into your stomach, stored as ONE HUGE LUMP in your tummy.

Think of it as one huge dough.

In order to digest this, you need water to break it down. And if you don’t drink enough water, this dough remains as it is, causing constipation.

I’m sure you don’t want that.

Gives You Korean-like Skin

Do you know that 60% of our body is made up of water?

And don’t forget that when you pee, you release water. In order to ‘payback’ the 0.001689% of the water that you lose, you need to drink up!

According to a study, almost 1 in 5 women who drank 1.5 litres of water per day saw a reduction in wrinkles after 6 weeks. And they didn’t even make any changes to their diet! (O.M.G!)

Apart from being ‘wrinkle-free’, drinking water is believed to give you sparkly eyes, clearer skin without spots, making us glow from the inside out.

This is why we should all drink water.

But not too much according to Dr Tamara Hew-Butler, a science professor at Oakland University.

But what is “not too much”?

Friends, look out for these symptoms.

1. In love with the water dispenser.

Our normal water bottles are about 500ml, right?

If you fill your bottle more than 6 times a day… you are in trouble. This trouble we’re talking about is called “over-hydration”.

2. Unable to distinguish the colour of your urine from the toilet bowl water.

This means that it’s transparent or almost as clear as water.

3. You feel like vomiting.

If you feel nauseous or even cases where you have diarrhoea, this means that your poor kidney is unable to process the excess water so your body is rejecting it.

Be careful ah.

4. Waking up at midnight because you need to pee.

This sounds extremely familiar to me. If this happens to you, it means that you have drunk too much water the previous day.

5. Headaches and muscle cramps are your best companions.

Your cells will swell up due to low sodium count in your blood, causing your brain to expand in size. In turn, it causes your brain to be pushed against your skull, causing the painful throbbing sensation.

I think I fit all the above symptoms though. I didn’t know there was something called “over-hydration” before so just drink only.

I guess it’s time to re-look at my drinking habits.

You better do so too.

Featured Image: sonsart / Shutterstock.com