I have been aware for years that if I develop a headache it is either because I haven’t had coffee for more than a day or it is because I am dehydrated. In the latter case a glass of water resolves the issue.
I have read that when you are in ketosis, from low carbing, and therefore burning fat, it is a good idea to up your consumption of water to flush the ketones.
The issue I am having is that every time I increase my water consumption, I am ending up with a headache.
I’d love to know what causes this, but googling for the matter is not helping. The results I get from searching, for variations on this subject matter, all cover dehydration and the “should drink lot’s of water” versus “should drink moderate water” debate.
I have not found one single article discussing headaches resulting from increasing water intake.
I’d like to know if anyone else experiences this and I would like to know what causes this bizarre reaction.
Most odd.
Tracie said,
February 8, 2012 at 8:15 pm
I have increased water intake extremely for 4 days, I have had an almost debilitating headache for the last 3. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I’d be interested to know if you find anything out, thanks
coralf said,
February 9, 2012 at 10:31 am
What is interesting is the search terms finding this article!
“increased water intake headache”, “headache increased water consumption”, etc
Also we don’t appear to be the only two:-
Tracie said,
February 9, 2012 at 10:41 am
I’m thinking it was just a coincidence for me, just found out my BP is way up, so I’m sure that’s what’s causing mine.
coralf said,
February 9, 2012 at 11:01 am
As a matter of interest, I did find research articles discussing that increased water consumption temporarily increases BP slightly! I didn’t bookmark the study though!
Tracie said,
February 9, 2012 at 2:15 pm
WOW, THAT’S INTERESTING! WELL MAYBE INCREASED WATER CAN INDIRECTLY CAUSE HEADACHES BECAUSE BP BEING HIGH CAN DEFINITELY CAUSE THEM. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP.
coralf said,
February 9, 2012 at 2:22 pm
Here is one study: Doubling of water intake increases daytime blood pressure and reduces vertigo in healthy subjects http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20860537
On the other hand, as usual, there are contradictory studies
Thanks for your comments.