Drinking water flushes retained water?

Factual Questions
1

Buh??

This has always confused me…if I am retaining water, how does drinking more flush it out? Or does it?

It’s one of those mysteries of the human body that I could never get a grasp on.

So…how DOES that work exactly?? :confused:

2

IANAD, but hopefully one will be along shortly…

I surmise the body goes into drought mode if you dont get enough liquids in your diet, so if you get enough fluids in, your body will flush any excess out since it doesnt have to conserve.

3

It could be more an issue of body salts and osmotic pressure. If you consume too much salt you will feel thirsty and take on more water and release less, but if you then drink lots of water you will lose salt faster than you replace it. So maybe the issue is more one of the salt to water ratio in your diet, though if you hold the salt at a constant rate and increase or decrease your water it amounts to the same thing.

4

That’s correct.

When you’re slightly dehydrated (1-2% loss of water), your pituitary secretes a hormone called (unimaginatively) antidiuretic hormone*. Also when your body senses your sodium/potassium levels out of whack, it will make antidiuretic hormone in response. This hormone, shockingly enough, acts as an antidiuretic. That is, it makes your body retain water. Drinking more water throughout the day stops the kidneys from producing antidiuretic hormone.

There’s a catch, though - your body can only process so much water at once, so drinking a gallon of water at once doesn’t help - most of that will go right to the bladder and out and you’ll still be dehydrated and retain water. “8 glasses”, throughout the day, really is better for you, as more of that water can be absorbed. (Not everyone literally needs 8 glasses, but the point is that drinking your daily allotment in divided doses is better than all at once.)

http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?vasopressin

*It’s also called “vasopressin”, but most people call it antidiuretic hormone. Go figure.

5

Wuh?

For any water to reach your bladder, it will have to pass through your kidneys via your bloodstream (so it’s been absorbed, and will affect your electrolyte levels and ADH levels). I’m not sure what you mean by “processing” water either.

Water is absorbed in the colon, so excess water results in loose stools.