Challenging the popular notion that we should drink eight glasses of water a day for good health, researchers have found that drinking too much water can put people in danger of water intoxication. The findings showed that excess of water in the body can cause water intoxication or hyponatremia — a condition that occurs when vital levels of sodium in the blood become abnormally low. The study revealed that a ‘swallowing inhibition’ is activated by the brain after excess liquid is consumed, helping maintain tightly calibrated volumes of water in the body. For the study, the team asked participants to rate the amount of effort required to swallow water under two conditions: following exercise when they were thirsty and later after they were persuaded to drink an excess amount of water. “We found effort-full swallowing after drinking excess water which meant they were having to overcome some sort of resistance, as the swallowing reflex becomes inhibited once enough water has been drunk,” Farrell said.

Source: The Hindu October 08, 2016 06:33 UTC