Water! Our bodies need water to function. The human body consists of about 60% water. I've read many article touting the significance of drinking lots and lots and lots of water. So, I did...and my body didn't like it.
I made a goal last July to drink 3 Liters of water a day - roughly 100 ounces - or between 12 and 13 glasses - as a minimum - some days it was up to 120 ounces of water. After a couple of months I began to notice some changes in my body. I had slowly began to gain a couple of pounds and my digestive system was off. But, I didn't pay too much attention to it. I thought I might be eating something that wasn't agreeing with me, I was getting older and thought my body was just slowing down. But, then a few more months passed, and my immunity began to weaken. My daughter came home with a cough, and all of a sudden, I had a cough. Then she came home with a stomach bug, and I got the stomach bug. Now, I'm annoyed! It was just small potatoes when I gained a couple of pounds, and my body was digesting differently - but I went from having an awesome immunity to a weakened one.
So, now I'm beginning to worry. Google is not your friend in these situations because you of course find out the worse case scenarios of any symptom you might be exhibiting. It was time for my yearly check-up with my doctor, so I made my appointment and thought it would be an easy fix. I would get a diagnosis, receive a magical perscription, and my body would be back on track. So, after running a gamut of tests, they all came back negative. There's nothing wrong with me, except - there was. So, I was referred to a Gastroenterologist.
I waited for my appointment, thinking again, I would meet with someone that had all the answers. I would be given a diagnosis along with a magical pill, and all would be well. At my appointment, I was asked lots of questions, then I'm examined - the normal poking on my stomach, seeing if things hurt, etc. And, then he asks me - What do you drink when you're thirsty? Very proudly, I prounounce, "I drink 100 to 120 ounces of water a day." At that, the Dr.'s eyes bugged out of his head, and I thought his head was going to begin spinning on his neck. He immediately began to show me a math formula in how the abundance of water in my body was actually diluting my blood, and was beginning to create hyponatremia (described well here -http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/). Basically, for my body's size, that was significantly too much water for my body to process effectively.
The doctor told me to cut my water intake by at least half and come back in 6 weeks to see how things were going. After three weeks of reduced water intake, there were some changes, but not dramatic. I was asked to cut out some unnecessary supplements, and that did help some. After a colonoscopy, and finding out there truly was nothing wrong with me - and making an effort to only drink when I was truly thirsty, very slowly, several months later, my body is beginning to get back on track. I still haven't lost the weight I gained, but I have significantly repaired my immunity, and my digestive system is slowly beginning to regulate. I may still have reactions to certain foods, but it's not a consistent daily issue.
As, I was told by the GI doctor, our bodies are a fine-tuned machine. It's designed to tell us when we are hungry, thirsty, need nutrients, have too much sugar - caffiene - etc. Sometimes, in our effort to be at our healthiest, we end up hurting ourselves - as I did. There are a multitude of different "plans" to jump on to find the magic cure to weight loss, ultimate health, longevity, etc. But, following a clean eating pattern - focusing on the food pyramid and having the mix of nutrition our body was designed to process is the best plan. Calories in, calories out is the best way to maintain a healthy weight pattern. Choosing nutrient rich foods - instead of highly processed, chemical filled foods is the best way for our body's optimal health.
This isn't a plea to tell you not to drink water - because our bodies do need it. And, if you're drinking sodas - or other chemically (rather than nutrient) based beverages - you should definitely be drinking water instead. But, forcing so much water in your body to be "healthy" will have a reverse effect.
So, I apologize to anyone that began drinking an abundance of water following my lead. I sent you down the wrong path. I hope that we can all begin to pay better attention to our bodies to know when our bodies are trying to tell us something. I went 6 months before I met with a doctor to discuss my symptoms. I should have made that appointment much sooner, and my problems could have been alleviated much more quickly.
I am now on a path to increase my metaboism and reverse the negative effects of diluting my blood and organ functions. It will likely be a slow path that will include creating a different environment to my body to find more heat to generate more calorie burn. But, I am extremely grateful I do not have a major health issue that does require daily medication for my survival, and only more body awareness.