What happens if you drink too much distilled water? | What happens if you drink too much water?

What happens if you drink too much distilled water?

Distilled water differs from normal mineral or tap water in that it contains no minerals. It therefore does not contain any toxic components and it is initially harmless when drunk. Once ingested, it is mixed with minerals in the stomach anyway.

However, if you drink exclusively or at least large quantities of distilled water, your body will lose important minerals such as sodium or potassium in the long run. This can be explained by the fact that the body can only excrete water in combination with minerals. As a result, deficiency symptoms can occur.

This danger exists particularly with an additional one-sided nutrition as well as with load, by which one must sweat much. The myth that even the intake of small amounts of distilled water can cause stomach bleeding and the bursting of cells is still widespread. However, this is not possible unless one ingests extreme amounts in a short time.

On the other hand, some people regard distilled water as a health product because it is free of harmful substances such as heavy metals or pesticides. The alleged purifying effect has not been scientifically proven. There is nothing to be said against the occasional use of distilled water, for example to brew a tea. However, the German Society for Nutrition warns against the exclusive use of distilled water.

What happens if you drink too much water too fast?

If you drink about five liters in a few hours, this can be enough to upset the body’s salt balance. Especially the sodium level drops due to a dilution effect. The kidneys are no longer able to excrete the excess water.

Instead, it flows into the body cells, causing them to swell. This has particularly serious consequences for the brain, as it cannot expand due to the limitation of the bony skull and instead the pressure increases, which in the worst case is fatal.At a certain point, the body is no longer able to normalize the salt balance through its regulatory mechanisms, which can lead to life-threatening heart rhythm disturbances. The danger of drinking too much water in a short time during or after a major sporting activity is particularly high.

Due to the salt loss through sweating, the described effects occur even more drastically due to an already existing reduced sodium concentration. For example, a woman died during the Boston marathon due to brain edema after drinking 16 cups of water at one water level. Another example comes from college students in the USA.

A student was also killed in a drinking contest with water in a short time due to excessive water intake. If they had drunk beer instead, at least a fatal brain edema would not have occurred due to its rather isotonic properties.