Drinking sufficient amount of water can help fix a lot of health issues. It helps maintain body fluid balance, smoothen bowel function, and assist in better metabolism. Especially when the mercury surges, our fluid requirements too go up, but over-drinking water can backfire and have deadly side-effects. (See pics: 10 wonderful benefits of drinking copper water)

Many people drink water even when they are not thirsty and many others tend to overconsume liquids during or post workout. Professional athletes too are at risk of overhydration and although it’s rare, drinking too much water can at times lead to serious health complications.

One of the ways to check if you are going overboard with water consumption is checking the colour of your urine. If the pee is colourless, it’s a sign you are having much more water than is required by your body.

“Hydration is very important and not drinking water can lead to various complications. However, did you know drinking too much water can lead to water intoxication. It happens when the salt and other electrolytes in your body gets diluted and your kidney can’t flush out all the water through urine,” says Smitha Shetty, Lifestyle Nutritionist.

When your kidneys can’t remove all that water, you may experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. You may also suffer from headaches and trouble in breathing. You may also spot swelling in your feet, hand or lips when you are overhydrated or have muscle cramping.

“Too much water can disturb the balance of sodium and water in the blood. Appropriate intake of water is as much important as eating right food or getting good quality sleep,” says Shetty.

If you are not sure about how much water you should drink, 8 glasses of water is a safe limit.

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