PHOENIX — These scorching temperatures are not letting up anytime soon and as constantly as many people say to stay hydrated, how much should we be drinking? Is it possible to drink too much water?
ABC15 Health Insider Dr. Janice Johnston provides some insight on how to take care of your health.
Johnston, who is the chief medical officer for Redirect Health, says people should be drinking about eight ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes or so.
Does water consumption depend on how much you weigh or your size?
Dr. Johnston said there’s no “perfect answer” for it but said the general rule of thumb is to take a person’s weight and divide it by two.
“That’s generally how many ounces of water you should be drinking on a regular day,” she said. “It can fluctuate depending on your weight, but there are other things that are important to take into account: how much activity are you doing? What time of day are you going out? What medical conditions that you may have?”
The amount of water can vary depending on medical conditions. Johnston says those with congestive heart failure or with kidney diseases should be limiting the amount of water. People who are breastfeeding or are sick should also take in more fluids. Patients should talk with their doctor about how to handle the heat with their medical condition.
Is there such thing as too much water?
Dr. Johnston says yes. She said people should be hydrating adequately but if they’re drinking more than two to four liters per hour, that might be a lot.
“What happens with that is your level of sodium can start to drop. And our body and our organs need a certain amount of sodium in order to function properly,” Johnston said.
She said people should be sipping on water constantly throughout the day and that hydration starts the day before.
“Oftentimes just feeling tired is a big sign of dehydration. When you start to feel the symptoms of dehydration, where you're already kind of behind the ball, you want to get ahead of it, right? So you don't want to wait till you feel thirsty to start hydrating. You want to do it before,” Johnston said.
Some people have also started using electrolyte powders to help stay hydrated, such as Liquid IV packets or other different brands. That, as well as sports drinks such as Powerade and Gatorade, Johnston says are good but should also be limited. She adds that water is the best source.
“Be careful about the amount of sugar that you're ingesting,” she said. “We definitely recommend avoiding things like alcohol. So even though it's liquid, it can be dehydrating, avoiding the sugary drinks like soda and caffeinated products as well.”