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Rethinking Hydration: The Hidden Dangers of Overhydration and the Truth About Water Quality
Is drinking too much water actually harmful? And is the advice to drink eight glasses a day really right for everyone? In this episode of me&my health up, clinical nutritionist and lifestyle medicine specialist Anthony Hartcher challenges these common beliefs.
Join us as we explore the surprising health risks associated with overhydration, including high blood pressure, poor circulation, and digestive problems. Discover why individual hydration needs vary greatly and debunk common myths about daily water consumption.
Learn about the science behind water quality, the impact of metabolic water, and the potential dangers of deuterium. Could drinking too much water be doing you more harm than good? Tune in to uncover the truth and transform how you think about hydration.
About me&my health up & Anthony Hartcher
me&my health up seeks to enhance and enlighten the well-being of others. Host Anthony Hartcher is the CEO of me&my wellness which provides holistic health solutions using food as medicine, combined with a holistic, balanced, lifestyle approach. Anthony holds three bachelor's degrees in Complementary Medicine; Nutrition and Dietetic Medicine; and Chemical Engineering.
Podcast Disclaimer
Any information, advice, opinions or statements within it do not constitute medical, health care or other professional advice, and are provided for general information purposes only. All care is taken in the preparation of the information in this Podcast. [Connected Wellness Pty Ltd] operating under the brand of “me&my health up”..click here for more
Welcome back to another insightful and exciting episode of me&my health up. I'm your host, Anthony Hartcher, a clinical nutritionist and lifestyle medicine specialist with an expertise in behavioural change. And today we're talking about water and hydration, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And this comes from my personal experience with water consumption. So I was a copious consumer of water. I used to drink lots of water, probably in between two to three litres, and maybe on some days up to four litres of water, just because I thought it was good for me. Recently, I found that this may have been contributing to some of my health problems, such as high blood pressure, poor circulation, and, and like some other things, such as I noticed poor digestion was the other thing I noticed from excessive water consumption. Obviously, water will dilute our stomach acids, and drinking copious amounts of it, you've got the diluted stomach acid, and that can also create a pH change in the stomach acid, which is a protector from microbials that we don't want in our body. And so if we don't have adequate pH in our stomach, we, we struggle with the digestion of proteins as well as keeping out the nasties. So we certainly don't want to dilute our stomach acid. And if we have excessive volume of water in our circulatory system, then it can result in increased blood pressure because the heart needs to work harder in order to move the fluid around the body, and you don't get as great circulation when it's working harder and the circulatory system is not working efficiently. So that's some of the things I've noticed from excessive water consumption, and subsequently I've reduced my water consumption. And then I thought, where does this come from? Is there a scientific proof that we need to drink two litres of water a day? And I found nothing, nothing of scientific literature to say we need, it's an arbitrary number that we need two litres of water a day. I've come across clients in my consulting that drink very little water, but there's no signs of dehydration in their body. And so it's very much dependent on the individual and where they're from and where their genetics come from. So those that come from Africa are very good at not needing much water, or the subcontinent. And, and then you've got other, other places around the world that, you know, probably may need more water, but I question that because is it our poor diet that is subsequently resulting in our need for water, such as, are we consuming too many carbohydrates and sugars, and we have blood sugar dysregulation, and is that making us copiously thirsty? So that's the questions I propose because I've changed my diet and I've reduced my carbohydrates and I consume more fat. And what I've found through the study of metabolism is that we produce metabolic water. And the advantage of metabolic water is it doesn't contain deuterium. Deuterium is a heavy substance that really affects our energy production systems. So we drink, if we drink water that's just filtered, then we are consuming quite large amounts of deuterium, which really affects our energy system, affects our mitochondria, and it can result in really poor health outcomes, such as chronic diseases and cancer. So we certainly don't want to be consuming excessive amounts of water because we've only got the ability to remove so much deuterium from our body. So that's another question is, you know, is excessive water consumption or is it the consumption of too much deuterium, which is contained, you know, we consume most of it through water and also through vegetables and through, I guess, processed foods contain a lot of deuterium in them. So that's another question, or the ugly side of it. I mentioned the not-so-good side is poor digestion and the increased, uh, you know, increased susceptibility to microbial infections. So we certainly don't want that as well. And we don't want increased blood pressure. The other concern that I have with consuming too much water is what I just mentioned around deuterium, because that, if it builds up in excess in our body is quite toxic to our body, and that can result in inflammation. And is inflammation coupled with blood pressure causing more heart disease? Well, that's another question that's proposed through consuming excessive amounts of water. And the other concern is when you're consuming water and it's not good quality water, then you're taking in a lot of rubbish, such as if you're not drinking filtered water, then you are taking in a lot of rubbish that is in unfiltered water. So I thoroughly recommend if you are drinking water, that you drink filtered water, but you don't drink copious amounts of it. How much should you drink? Well, based it, based on your thirst. Okay. So if you're thirsty, then have a sip. Does that sip satisfy the thirst? Just wait a while and you'll find out. So go more on thirst. And the second one is start shifting around what you're consuming around your macro. So eat less sugars and eat more fats. We make more metabolic water through fat consumption. So if you become better at burning fat and being more meta metabolic flex, you know, have more metabolic flexibility, then you're going to produce more metabolic water. And that's what I found. I've been on this diet for probably a good seven, seven, eight months now, and I'm consuming a whole lot less water. So my water consumption has gone from, you know, two up to four litres a day down to less than one litre per day. And I'm running really well, and even when I'm exercising, I find I get less thirsty and I need less fluids, even when I'm exercising, and it's most likely because of this metabolic flexibility I've created through changing around my macros by eating more fat and less carbohydrates. So that's really served me well, and no doubt, will serve you well in terms of creating some metabolic flexibility. I also create this metabolic flexibility through fasting, so that's really been of great service to me. And so just in wrapping up this short episode, this insight around water and hydration, don't follow the recommended guidelines. Go based on your thirst and how you, uh, um, how thirsty you are, and then when you're consuming water, consume filtered water and drink it slowly. Don't drink it fast, and continue to look at shifting your diet so that you create more metabolic water by consuming more fat. So that's it for this insightful but short episode of me&my health up. Please leave any comments or any suggestions in terms of future episodes in the comments below. And I look forward to sharing more insightful content over the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more insights. Thank you.
Podcast Disclaimer:This podcast and any information, advice, opinions, or statements within it do not constitute medical, healthcare, or professional advice and are provided for general information purposes only. All care is taken in the preparation of the information in this podcast. Connected Wellness Proprietary Limited operating under the brand "me&my health up" does not make any representations or give any warranties about its accuracy, reliability, completeness, or suitability for any particular purpose. This podcast and any information, advice, opinions, or statements within it are not to be used as a substitute for professional, medical, psychological, psychiatric, or any other mental healthcare or healthcare in general. me&my health up recommends you seek the advice of a doctor or qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Inform your doctor of any changes that you make to your lifestyle and discuss these with your doctor. Do not disregard medical advice or delay visiting a medical professional because of something you hear in this podcast. This podcast has been carefully prepared on the basis of current information. Changes in circumstances after publication may affect the accuracy of this information. To the maximum extent permitted by the law, me&my health up disclaims any such representations or warranties to the completeness, accuracy, merchantability, or fitness for purpose of this podcast and will not be liable for any expenses, losses, damages incurred, indirect or consequential damages, or costs that may be incurred as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way and for any reason. No part of this podcast can be reproduced, redistributed, published, copied, or duplicated in a form without prior permission of me&my health up.