by Packard » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:29 am
Last week one of my co-workers took a day off to attend the funeral of her best friend's son. He was 41.
Yesterday they got back the results of the autopsy. Since he was considered to be in "good health" the autopsy was mandated.
The immediate cause of death was "heart failure". But the underlying cause of death was an electrolyte imbalance due to drinking excessive amounts of water.
I've mentioned this in the past: Our body has an extremely fine tuned method of maintaining hydration; it is called "thirst". When you are thirsty, drink; if you are not thirsty, don't.
There are a few notable exceptions: When first entering a desert area (like Phoenix, Arizona), make an effort to drink extra until your body acclimates. Also when you know your are going to be very active in very hot weather an extra 16 or 24 ounces of water prior to the activity is OK.
But bloating yourself with water, for whatever reason you might have, is a bad idea. And it can kill you.