Drinking too much water can be harmful: Expert

Tribune News Service

Ambala, February 21

Dr Parmeshwar Arora, a senior consultant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, today said drinking too much water could be bad for health.

He is on a mission to break the myth that drinking as much water was essential for a person’s well-being.

Dr Arora, while addressing mediapersons here, said: “Drinking too much water can actually harm one’s health. Various studies have proved that water is elixir only when taken in the right quantity. There are terms and conditions applied on its consumption too as excess water could be poison as well.”

He, however, added that the right quantity of water for a healthy person could not be determined. “It depends on the weather, the body’s condition and the amount of physical activity one does,” said Dr Arora.

He said everybody was inclined to drink the maximum possible water for keeping healthy, but the ancient ayurvedic texts and Vedas surprisingly directed people to drink the minimum possible water to remain healthy. There were certain diseases where water had been contraindicated or was allowed in minimum quantity, he added.

Dr Arora said every dietary item, including water, was explained in detail in ayurvedic texts. Unfortunately, instead of following these texts, they had been following foreign countries blindly and the result was that the quality of health was constantly deteriorating. “We are constantly becoming weaker and ill despite the fact that medical facilities have improved,” he said.

Dr Arora said these days it was a common practice that if you had to fix your digestion, detox your body, lose weight or if there was burning while passing urine then drink lots of water. However, all these were only myths. “Our sluggish digestion power is the reason behind all the problems related to digestion such as constipation, acidity and boating. Even the modern science says that for all these conditions the reason is decreased secretion of digestive enzymes,” he added.

He said drinking water in excess could result in indigestion, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney ailments.