Questions 1-10

particular, it seems to increase the rate at which digestion takes place, 
which overall has a number of health benefits. 
Another interesting study I read about took place in the US. And this 
one was investigating the effects of dehydration – that is, not having 
enough water in the body. And what the US study indicated was that 
when a subject was low on water, their body’s ability to regulate its 
own temperature was compromised, compared to a properly hydrated 
subject. 
Now there’s another frequent claim about water that I was interested 
in looking into. But in my reading anyway I could find no evidence at all 
to support the idea that hydration improves or enhances the skin in any 
specific way. So that claim may be a bit of a myth as well. 
Another interesting aspect of this concerns the brain. And I read about 
a couple of research studies investigating how water intake may affect 
brain function. In the first study, the research subjects were female. And 
the less hydrated group were affected more frequently by headaches 
compared to those who drank more water. 
In the second study, the research subjects were all male. And this time, 
a lack of water in the body was associated with a number of findings. 
In particular, the subjects in this group reported increased feelings of 
anxiety when dehydrated. 
So, in summary we can see that, yes, there are some health benefits from 
drinking plenty of water. But in many of these studies, the benefit was 
quite small. And it’s probably true that in general, on the internet and so 
on, the benefits of drinking lots of water are overstated. 
But what about the opposite – can you drink too much water? Well, it’s 
possible, but it’s not a common problem. Actually, the human body kind 
of prevents us drinking too much. Australian researchers discovered 
that when subjects were fully hydrated, they actually found swallowing 
problematic – their bodies just wouldn’t allow it so easily. So that’s an 
interesting finding. 
It is true that people do occasionally become sick from drinking too 
much water, although it is rare. So, I mean, there are recorded instances 
of illness among athletes who have been encouraged to drink a lot, for 
example.
According to doctors, people who have drunk too much water, too 
quickly, have become what’s called ‘hyponatremic’. Basically, this means 
that the make-up of their blood has changed and it now contains such a 
high proportion of salt that they suffer an adverse effect. But it’s very rare 
for this sort of hyponatremia to be a dangerous condition. 
So, based on the reading I’ve done, the best advice is to trust your body. 
Drink water when you’re thirsty, but you probably don’t need to drink 
more often than that. 
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