Drinking water is essential for our body to function (since we lose water every day through sweating, breathing or urine); however, excess can be so dangerous as to cause death , especially for all those people who regularly practice intense sports. This is the conclusion of the latest study carried out by an international team of scientists and published in The Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine .
Athletes are the highest risk group for what is called exercise-associated hyponatremia. So much so, that at least 14 deaths of marathon runners or soccer players have been linked to excessive water intake during physical activity. What happens in the body is that the kidneys are overwhelmed by so much fluid forced to process during exercise , so the cells become inflamed. L hyponatremia therefore occurs when blood sodium concentration falls to a level too low, causing a rapid swelling of the brain which can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death.
” Every death of this type is tragic and avoidable , if we only listen to our bodies and put aside the penetrating advice that if a little is good, that more must be better,” explains Tamara Hew-Butler of Oakland University (EE. .UU.) And study leader.
Symptoms of exercise-associated hyponatremia include: dizziness, vertigo, nausea, bloating and weight gain during exercise, vomiting, headaches, confusion, agitation, or delusions.
The preventive solution is to drink when you are thirsty, neither more nor less : “Using the innate thirst mechanism to guide fluid intake is a strategy that should limit heavy drinking and the development of hyponatremia while providing enough fluid to avoid excessive dehydration ”, the scientists clarify in their report.
