Drinking water is a great source of health and has been well-documented; however, there is no guarantee that drinking more water is healthier.
The Vanity Fair article detailing Chris Pratt’s intense workout and diet regimen raised questions in the last few days due to the staggering amount of water that the actor is said to drink every day.
The newspaper initially reported the fact that Chris Pratt drinks 200 cups of water every day. The publication later modified the story, stating that Pratt is actually drinking approximately one 1 ounce of water for every pound of weight as he was advised to do this by an expert in nutrition.
If Pratt weighs in excess of 200 pounds, that’s over 5.6 milliliters of water per day. According to some experts, this is a high-risk quantity and could cause water poisoning.
Water poisoning, also known as water intoxication, as it’s also referred to, was a hot topic during the summer months when a lot of individuals developed the awful condition after taking on the 75-hour TikTok Challenge.
In addition to encouraging people to establish different physical and fitness practices, The trend is to drink 3.7 daily liters of water – the amount that can cause you to become sick.
How can I reduce the health risks associated with drinking a lot of fluids?
Drinking water has been proven to aid in weight loss, boost physical energy levels, and increase the brain’s function. However, it is also possible to over-hydrate.
Bari Stricoff, a registered dietitian at WellEasy sta,tes that she’s “taken aback” by the assertions that Pratt is consuming more than 5.6 Liters of water per day.
“It’s a significant amount of water, even for someone who is active and weighs over 200 pounds,” she declares. “Drinking based on the ‘one ounce per pound’ formula might work for some but it’s not typically advisable and can be quite dangerous.”
Consuming too much water could result in a potentially dangerous condition called hyponatremia. The basic concept is that hyponatremia refers to an imbalance in which there is an unusually low level of sodium in the blood.
Stricoff declares this to be dangerous since sodium is an important electrolyte, which plays a crucial role in ensuring fluid balance as well as nerve function and muscle contractions.
“Sodium regulates the quantity of fluid both inside and outside our cells. When blood levels of sodium are low enough it is when water flows from blood into cells in order to even out the levels. This results in cells swelling,” she explains.
When your cells expand and your cells grow, you may experience uncomfortable – and in some instances, life-threatening negative side results. They include:
- nausea and vomiting
- headache
- fatigue
- fatigue
- muscular cramps
- muscle spasms
At the end of the range, you may suffer a seizure or be in a coma.
If you continue drinking excessive amounts of water over the long run, the risk of chronic hyponatremia increases. Possibility.
“Over time, consistently low sodium levels can have detrimental effects,” Stricoff warns. “These include neurological issues such as persistent headaches, cognitive disturbances, and in severe cases, neurological damage.”
As per Jane Hutton, nutritionist at The Functional Foodie, Making a habit of drinking a lot of water may also cause stress on your kidneys. It can also accelerate the decline in kidney function as time passes.
“Excessive fluid intake can go beyond needing the bathroom, impacting fluid concentrations within the body and cells and electrolyte ratios and placing extra pressure on the kidneys,” she writes.
“If we are drinking more than our kidneys can deal with, the excess has to go somewhere and it will be distributed into the tissues and intracellular fluids, and into cells, diluting the electrolytes and throwing off how we function.”
How much water do you need to drink each day?
You must likely consume eight glasses or two liters of water every day. In actuality, there’s no set and unchanging standard for the amount of water you should drink each day. It’s highly personal and is contingent, in part, on the way you live your life.
Examining Pratt’s consumption habits in particular, Stricoff says when deciding the amount of fluid you’ll need in a day, it is important to think about the larger perspective of your everyday life.
“The extent and length of Pratt’s training, his potential use of techniques for recovery like saunas or even elements of the environment like heat could affect the hydration requirements. For instance that if he lived in a hot area or in summer the higher intake of water could be justified,” she notes.
However, 5.6 liters or more daily is a large amount for the majority of people. Due to the different individuals’ needs, Stricoff says a more specific approach is the best.
It’s important to think about the body composition of your. “Larger individuals or those with more muscle mass typically require more fluids than smaller individuals or those with a higher fat percentage,” Stricoff notes.
Active and in humid, hot conditions can also mean that you require more water to stay hydrated. Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, may also cause thirst.
One of the main elements that impact the level of your hydration is the food you eat.
“Diet and other habits can influence the drinks we consume. For instance, if you take fresh fruit and vegetables water is one component of these that counts in your consumption,” Hutton explains.
On the other hand, when you eat many salty or spicy food items, you may notice that you’re thirsty.
How do you gauge your levels of hydration?
The process of deciding the amount of water you require to drink every day requires some experimentation. And it’s often difficult to determine if you’ve consumed too much or not enough.
“The color of your urine is the best indicator,” Hutton says. Hutton. “A straw-like color is the right color. You’re too light, and drinking too excessively. Too dark and you might require a little more.”
“Remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated, so it’s best to try to have a drink with each meal or snack, and maybe a medium bottle of water to sip throughout the day,” she says.
The frequency at which you must go to the bathroom can reveal a lot about how well-hydrated you are.
“On average, a hydrated person might have to urinate about at least every three to four hours. In the event that it’s more frequent or in smaller amounts, it may be a sign of dehydration.” Stricoff says.
If one notices that they are urinating on a regular basis or more often, it could indicate that they’ve gone to the limit.
