Dear all -
I would like to relate an occurance of mine and see if you guys had any advice for how I can avoid this problem.
I would like to do a water fast, however I usually can only manage a fast that is mostly water, plus fruits/vegetables or fruit/vegetable juice. I wanted to try a water fast, however had a problem this summer which worries me, and need specific information about how much water I can have, and how often.
I was in southern Italy for 3 weeks, then Tunisia (northern Africa) for a week. The temperature was in the high 90's, even sometimes over 100 degrees Farenheight approximately ( in celsius, the temperature was showing 35 - 40 degrees).
I was in the sun for most of the day, doing archaeology. I did not have coffee in the morning (nor any other caffeine) nor did I have beer or wine etc. at lunch, all drinks which I know dehydrate one. My husband and I drank LOTS of water (we were thirsty, plus sweating a lot, and a bit of diarrhea and nausea - though no vomiting, thank goodness - so we drank a lot). I drank approximately 2 liters of water per day for the 4 weeks, but in the 3rd week, we got dehydrated with too much sun.
One day, we woke up nauseous with diarrhea. By mid-day, I almost fainted right in the street, and had to sit down. I don't remember part of the day, and there was a real danger that I might injure myself falling on the cobblestone streets if I passed out. I was eating food every day, by the way - not on any sort of diet. I am 30 years old, healthy weight for my height, and active, regularly marching around from about 8 in the morning to 1 p.m. on various archaeological sites, with only one hour for lunch. I do belly dance, ballet, and yoga.
I thought drinking water would keep us hydrated, however found that it made things worse. In fact, we had to go see a doctor this summer who told us the same thing that we heard 10 years ago when we were hospitalized for dehydration: we were drinking TOO MUCH water, diluting our electrolytes. He said to quit drinking water, and to drink sprite or 7-up (or the local version in Tunisia, "Boga".) In addition, he said eat plenty of food with salt and
Sugar (fruit and potato chips!). Our headaches, dizzy heads and nausea went away. We drank fruit juices, sweet sodas, and plenty of sweet and salty foods - it saved us from being hospitalized.
So, my question is: to do a water fast, what is the safe amount to drink, so as not to dilute the electrolytes, and how many days can one do this? I really want to do it, but have found that I get bed-ridden with too much water, and not enough salts and sugars. 10 years ago, we had friends who said to put
Sugar and salt in some water and drink that, but it made us so nauseous, it made us puke and that was actually what hospitalized us. We told the doctor - who was an expert in treating these kinds of problems, since he worked in the southern Greek isles - what we had drunk. He told us never to drink any concoction like that, and to never, ever drink anything at all if we are nauseous. He said after nausea is gone, one can sip sprite or 7 up (which he said was precisely
Sugar and salt, but in a non-nauseating form), but that anything that turned our stomachs like the sugar/salt concoction should always be avoided. The doctor this summer in Tunisia said the same thing, and handed us bottles of sprite. Does this mean that the human bodies need that balance of electrolytes replenished daily, or was it just because of the sun and heat that we needed them replaced daily? I am confused, as I figured that water (the Greek name of which is "hydros") would "hydrate" us.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Gildersleeve