can you over hydrate

hearndenemma

I was out yestarday took 1.5 litres of isotonic drink although I over dilute ! the tablets say 1/500mls but i have 1/1500mls as don't like taste much. I don't suffer with cramp but always finish the amount of drink that I take, but my husband said that I drink too much (sports drinks that is )

My question is can you over hydrate? we did 24 miles yestarday and I think that I would have drunk 2 litres + if I had it !! as it was I finished my drink 30 minutes before ride was over which isn't nice.

OwenBird

It is possible, yes. That leah betts death was a complication of too much water intake.

I wouldn't have thought the numbers you're talking about here aren't anything to worry about in terms of performance.

antfly

You most certainly can drink too much and 2 litres is a lot. The worst case scenario is you slip into a coma and die.

bails87

But 2 litres over 24 miles of vigorous exercise is very different to drinking gallons of water while doing nothing else.

supersonic

2 litres should not cause any probems!

500ml per hour is normal for a cool day and moderate intensity for an average person. This increases as intensity and temperature rise. Plain water is sufficient if eating carb and mineral rich foods like bananas, but many use isotonic formulations.

antfly

I`m not saying it will kill her just that it is much more than she needs. I would say 500ml an hour is quite a lot.

supersonic

Depends on conditions - for many it is about average. And probably less than average in summer!

http://www.trifuel.com/training/bike/a- ... or-cycling

antfly

Drink when you are thirsty and keep an eye on the colour of your urine and you can`t go far wrong. It should be straw coloured.

FavouriteColour

I read somewhere that the body can process 13 litres of water a day. I've been through periods where I've drank 10 litres a day for weeks but it isn't totally necessary and is probably overkill.

The deaths caused by too much water are when you drink too much in a short period of time but I think 2 litres in an hour or two while exercising isn't anything to worry about.

antfly

I don`t know why anyone would want to drink that much, it certainly won`t do you any good and could do you harm.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... hours.html

supersonic

The problem with plain water is that it has no electrolytes. If that is all you are having, and you are vomiting and have diarrhea, you will be putting yourself in a dangerous situation (as was the person in the press clip, and had bee like that for 3 days).

The OP was having a hypotonic/isotonic drink, and no doubt foods too.

daver1

2 litres over 24 miles wouldn't be excessive and for that amount water would be fine, although you should add electrolytes if you are going to continue drinking at that rate for more than 2 or 3 hours. I drank 12 litres (9 of water and 3 of isotonic drink) over 7 hours while doing a 100km race in 30 plus degrees. It was 2 hours and another 2 litres before I needed my first wee since starting the race so I wouldn't have liked to drink any less. You are far more likely to harm yourself by not drinking enough than drinking too much.

antfly

It`s 3 degrees at the moment though, not 30.

.blitz

Any doctor will tell you that our obsession with being hydrated and drinking litres of water every day is pure twaddle. Water is readily available to us and as such our thirst reflex is subdued, so now when we feel thirsty we are heading towards dehydration.

Sipping from a bottle Evian all day will suppress the thirst reflex even more. Don't drink unless you're thirsty.

daver1

How many of these "any doctors" have had to deal with cases of over hydration and how many have had to deal with cases of dehydration? The average person may not have to drink litres of water every day but anybody engaging in vigorous exercise should drink as much as they feel they need. If they are drinking a large amount (>500ml to 1 litre an hour) over a sustained period they should think about adding some electrolytes. It sounds like the OP felt like that they needed more water "as it was I finished my drink 30 minutes before ride was over which isn't nice" in which case I don't think that it's sensible to discourage them from drinking more.

daver1

double post

cee

OK...from what I know...

If you drink too much water, it can casue an electrolyte imbalance, which can have major implications including death. Its not the water that kills you...more the lack of sodium concentration.

Remember that in cold weather, you can lose as much fluid as in hot conditions....if you can see your breath then that is fluid loss in action.

The general rule is put in about as much as comes out, but as this is hard to calculate (or impossible outside a lab!) I generally just take a sip (not a great big gulp...just a sip..less than half a mouthful) every 15 minutes. So I reckon I take in about 60-100 mililitres an hour to start with, then if I fell really thirsty at a stop point after that I take another couple of sips.

tsenior

what blitz said

i used to work on the ovens in a bakery and would get through about 6 litres in a 12hr shift. when i climbed up a big mountain in the tropics i drank 8l and only went for a wee once :shock: no electrolytes in either (though i use isotonics now).

cee; thought it was lack of potasium...drink water, eat banana.

pint and a pack of nuts = fine recovery routine.