Is it possible to drink too much water?

The short answer is "no" as long as you stay within these guidelines.

1) Try to stick with high-quality water. In most cases, "high-quality" means spring water or filtered water. Mineral waters are also excellent for exactly what their name says - many contain significant amounts of calcium and magnesium. Plain tap water, in most cities throughout the United States, contains a variety of contaminants, including pesticide residues and heavy metals.

2) Try to drink the most between meals. Excessive intake of water along with a meal can compromise stomach acidity and stomach function, and will not allow you to get the most nutritional value from your food.

3) Be careful drinking too much too late in the day. Waking up to go to the bathroom will not help your overall health.

4) Replenish water whenever you have obvious water loss: the most easy to recognize situations include sweating and diarrhea. After a heavy workout and profuse sweating, for example, you may easily need an additional quart of water.

5) Be consistent, and keep your water intake adequate on a morning-afternoon-and-evening basis. Although the exact amount of water needed each day may vary, you can use a general guideline of 6-8 glasses (8 ounces each) daily.