Water Intoxication

Water intoxication (also known as ‘hyper-hydration’ or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.[1] Normal, healthy (both physically and nutritionally) individuals have little to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume more than 10 liters (2.2 imp gal; 2.6 U.S. gal) of water over the course of just a few minutes, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet massive amounts of fluid are still consumed.

Water intoxication is rare during fasting but an incidence was posted on fasting.ws. “A friend of mine actually gave herself water poisoning and had to be rushed to the hospital to get rid of the horrible water build up. I want to make sure I avoid this problem…. I think she just felt dehydrated all the time during her water fast that it caused her to overload herself with water.”

Signs of Water Intoxication

The signs of water intoxication are excessive constant thirst no matter how much water you drink.

Water Intoxication Prevention

This is a water fast problem and never occurs during juice fasting as the body has a massive amount or electrolytes to replenish any lost by drinking excess water. As to the exact amount of water during a water fast. I think 8 glasses would be more than enough. Constant thirst is an indicator to move to juice fasting for a few days or a week as something is going out of balance. Two to 4 cups a day is normal for extended water fasting. Adding fresh lemon, can be a great benefit during water fasting as it make the blood alkaline and give electrolytes.