Is there actually a couch-potato gene? Obama admits he has it. Sarah Palin can even see it from Alaska.
Why are some people so lazy? Is there a couch-potato gene?
Is ‘water intoxication’ a real thing? The answer is yes.
Question: Can You Drink Too Much Water?
Answer: You’ve probably heard that it’s important to ‘drink plenty of fluids’ or simply ‘drink lots of water’. There are excellent reasons for drinking water, but have you ever wondered if it’s possible to drink too much water. Here’s what you need to know:
Can You Really Drink Too Much Water?
In a word, yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body, hyponatremia. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes can also suffer from water intoxication. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.
What Happens During Water Intoxication?
When too much water enters the body’s cells, the tissues swell with the excess fluid. Your cells maintain a specific concentration gradient, so excess water outside the cells (the serum) draws sodium from within the cells out into the serum in an attempt to re-establish the necessary concentration. As more water accumulates, the serum sodium concentration drops — a condition known as hyponatremia. The other way cells try to regain the electrolyte balance is for water outside the cells to rush into the cells via osmosis. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from higher to lower concentration is called osmosis. Although electrolytes are more concentrated inside the cells than outside, the water outside the cells is ‘more concentrated’ or ‘less dilute’ since it contains fewer electrolytes. Both electrolytes and water move across the cell membrane in an effort to balance concentration. Theoretically, cells could swell to the point of bursting.
From the cell’s point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviors resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.
It’s Not How Much You Drink, It’s How Fast You Drink It!
The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to intaking an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it’s possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.
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Eating your nose boogers and snot is gross, but could there be a benefit to the nasty habit?
Educator Michael of Vsauce explains that there just might be in his new outlandish video What Does Human Taste Like.
In a nutshell… Global Warming makes you fat!
Will shivering help you lose weight? It’s unlikely, but exercising in the cold might be beneficial! The body burns energy to keep you warm through a process called “temperature training,” and Trace is here to tell you how getting use to the cold will help you burn away those unwanted calories.
Read More:
Cold-Weather Benefit: Shivering May Count As Exercise
“Shivering triggers a response in muscles similar to that of exercise, new research suggests. The study, published today (Feb. 4) in the journal Cell Metabolism, found that the muscles of shivering people triggers the release of a hormone that activates brown fat, a type of fat that burns energy to generate heat.”Evidence That Shivering and Exercise May Convert White Fat to Brown
“A new study suggests that shivering and bouts of moderate exercise are equally capable of stimulating the conversion of energy-storing ‘white fat’ into energy-burning ‘brown fat’.”Brown Fat – Keeps You Warm And Keeps You Slim
“People with more brown fat seem better able to stay warm when it is cold, Canadian researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. They added that the findings of their study could eventually be used to find ways of fighting obesity. Not much has been known about brown fat, a type of good fat, until recently.”Cold Air Could Help You Lose Weight
“‘Temperature training’ may be what is missing from your weight loss plan. New evidence suggests that regular exposure to mildly cold air may help people lose weight by increasing the amount of energy their bodies have to expend to keep their core temperature up, researchers say.”Turn Down The Thermostat To Support Weight Loss, Say Researchers
“New research suggests weight loss isn’t just about living a healthy lifestyle — the temperature of the space you live in may have an impact too.”
The belly button can be a difficult area on your body to clean, especially because we forget about it so often. The good news is that, aside from taking baths or showers once a month, you don’t need to clean your belly button much, especially because it contains a team of very helpful bacteria. But if you’ve recently gotten a piercing in your umbilicus, or you haven’t peeked down there recently and think it could stand a good clean, this informative and detailed video will guide you.
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