Can drinking too much water be harmful to your health?
FREE Catholic Classes
The advice "drink lots and lots of water" is one of the world's longest-standing cliches, that no one would ever consider it to be dangerous or deadly.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
6/12/2015 (1 decade ago)
Published in Health
Keywords: health, drinking, doctors, deadly, dangerous, water
MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Is there really such thing as over-hydration? In the case of marathon runner Frederic Lecao, there was. The athlete experienced cramps during some of his previous racing competitions and wanted to do everything he could to avoid that again.
Lecao recounted, "I was literally taking a sip every five minutes." Lecao suffered the consequences of drinking too much water, which unfortunately were severe. "I was literally on the ground screaming in pain," he said.
According to Lecao, he consumed almost 13 cups of water halfway through the marathon. "My whole body shut down." In medical terms, Lecao suffered from what is called hyponatremia, a dangerous low level of sodium or electrolytes in the blood.
Â
Dr. Scott Weiss explained that when there is too much water and the sodium levels drop, "there can be issues with the heart, there can be issues with the muscles, there can be issues with the central nervous system."
It could have been worse for Lecao, and he is considered lucky. In another unfortunate report, a 28 year-old woman named Jennifer Strange was killed after drinking water in excessive amounts while participating in a radio contest to drink as much water as possible. A 17 year-old football player reportedly drank 2 gallons of water after practice and died a short time later.
Dr. Weiss suggests that there is no specific amount of water consumption that is going to work for everyone. However, he considers this guideline, "Two-thousand calories most people will take in on an average diet and with 2,000 milliliters, that's really 2 liters. So really, 2 liters of water is normal for a day."
---
'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'
Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online
Come Grow With Us
Sign up and walk the Catholic journey with millions around the world.
Receive inspiring emails on saints, daily readings, and free faith-building resources—no cost, ever.
Catholic Online Is Free. But We Need Your Help.
Please Watch
- 7 Morning Prayers
- Mysteries of the Rosary
- Litany of the Bl. Virgin Mary
- Popular Saints
- Popular Prayers
- Female Saints
- Saint Feast Days by Month
- Stations of the Cross
- St. Francis of Assisi
- St. Michael the Archangel
- The Apostles' Creed
- Unfailing Prayer to St. Anthony
- Pray the Rosary
Copyright 2026 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2026 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.