Topics: Brooke Shields, Celebrity, Film and TV, Health, Mental Health, US News, World News, Food and Drink
Experts have revealed how much water is too much water - because yes, that is very much a thing.
Yes, Mother Nature's juice can pack a deadly punch if you over-consume it and Brooke Shields found out the hard way.
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor was rushed to hospital in September this year after suffering a 'full blown grand mal seizure' before a solo show at Café Carlyle in Manhattan.
And it was all because she guzzled too much water.
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In an interview with Glamour, Shields explained she was preparing for the show and drunk 'so much water,' unaware she was 'low in sodium'
She says: "I was waiting for an Uber. I get down to the bottom of the steps, and I start evidently looking weird, and [the people I was with] were like, 'Are you okay?'"
Shields explains she left her house, made it to the corner, got confused why she was out there, walked into L'Artusi restaurant to 'go to the sommelier who had just taken an hour to watch [her] run-through' and then quickly deteriorated.
"I go in, two women come up to me; I don’t know them," she continues. "Everything starts to go black. Then my hands drop to my side and I go headfirst into the wall."
Shields describes her seizure as a 'grand mal seizure' and was 'frothing at the mouth, totally blue, trying to swallow my tongue'.
And the shocking story doesn't end there.
Shields says the next thing she remembers is being loaded into an ambulance and given oxygen. "And Bradley f**king Cooper is sitting next to me holding my hand," she adds.
The actor continues: "I didn’t have a sense of humor. I couldn’t really get any words out. But I thought to myself, This is what death must be like. You wake up and Bradley Cooper’s going, 'I’m going to go to the hospital with you, Brooke,' and he’s holding my hand. And I’m looking at my hand, I’m looking at Bradley Cooper’s hand in my hand, and I’m like, 'This is odd and surreal'."
But why did Shields have this reaction?
Well, Shields notes she had low sodium levels and drunk 'too much water' which 'flooded [her] system' and basically means she 'drowned' herself.
"And if you don’t have enough sodium in your blood or urine or your body, you can have a seizure," she says.
Indeed, according to the Mayo Clinic, when you drink too much water 'your kidneys can't get rid of the excess water'.
"The sodium content of your blood becomes diluted. This is called hyponatremia and it can be life-threatening," it explains on its website.
Medical News Today adds: "In severe cases, water intoxication can cause seizures, brain damage, a coma, and even death."
Although, Mayo Clinic reassures: "Drinking too much water is rarely a problem for healthy, well-nourished adults."
And if you didn't know how much water is suitable, the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determines that an adequate daily fluid intake is: "About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. [And] about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women'.
The MayoClinic resolves: "These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks."
