A medical doctor and nutritionist, Dr Modupe Akinyinka, has said excess water intake can lead to death.

 Ms Akinyinka, who works with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

She said that water intoxication was a rare but serious health condition that could cause death.

According to her, as much as water intake is good for health, too much of it can actually cause some negative effects, of which, if not effectively managed, can result in death.

She noted that too much of anything was bad, advising that people should be taking enough but in moderation.

Ms Akinyinka explained that an individual should take two to three litres of water per day, saying that proper spacing of the intervals/time at which the water would be taken was important.

She said, “Avoid excessive water intake particularly when taken within a short period of time as it could cause water intoxication, which might result in death. But before one takes too much of it, the person would have taken a lot. That is why it may not be easy to find somebody who has taken too much water to the extent that the person can die. But truly, it is possible that excessive intake of water can kill.’’

The medical doctor emphasised the need for people to be taking enough water, saying that water helps the human kidney to function better.

She explained that people could use the colour of their urine to detect when their system needed water.

According to her, people should take water as long as they are thirsty and even when not thirsty, to pave the way for optimum functioning of the body.

“The right and normal colour the human urine should be is light-colour – meaning that the body is at least getting the needed water. But, the more concentrated the urine is, the more is an indication that the individual’s body system needs water. Lack of water in the body, which is dehydration, kills even faster, hence, the need for adequate water intake,” Ms Akinyinka said.

Contributing, Dr Moyosore Makinde, a consultant family and lifestyle medicine physician with LASUTH, described ‘water’ as the best drink anyone could take.

Makinde said that the quantity of water intake by an individual depended on the kind of region/environment, weather and nature of work the person performed.

“The quantity and demand for water intake might increase when the weather is very hot and when an individual is involved in a very demanding labouring work, while in  cold weather, there will be less quantity of water intake. As much as the body needs water for effective metabolic functions, do not go drinking water anyhow. Drink water as the need arises; when thirsty, before, in between and after a meal. However, if one takes a lot of water at any time without the demand for it – maybe during a water competition to know how many people that can drink five litres at a time, it may be excessive. What happens is that the excessive water intake will dilute the sodium in the body, causing hyponatremia and this may result in swelling of the brain and other life-threatening health conditions. So, the two to three litres of water recommended for an individual per day should not be taken at a time but should be spread throughout the day,” Makinde advised.

(NAN)