Dehydration's the obvious problem for most walkers in summer, but
drinking too much water, in an attempt to compensate, can actually
kill you according to a report on the deaths of three US military
recruits.
In each case the servicemen drank more water than they needed with
the result that the body was unable to excrete all the excess liquid.
The fluid then goes into the bowel where it pulls salt into it and
lowers the concentration of sodium in the body, which is
dangerous.
The change in the concentration of salt then, apparently, causes
fluid shift within the body and swelling of the brain which can press
against the skull causing damage. The US army has guidelines
suggesting a maximum intake of 1 to 1.4 litres per hour and no more
than 11 litres per day - which is still a fair amount.
In his book Extreme Alpinism, Mark Twight suggests that the
optimum level for climbers on alpine routes is between 0.6 and 1.2
litres per hour.
The good news is that you have to drink a huge and often
impractical amount of water to cause damage and for most of us
dehydration is still the real enemy with a 5 per-cent decrease in
hydration leading to an estimated 30 per-cent decline in performance
and a significant increase in heart rate.
Original
story from Reuters
joan collins
