Water is one of the things we can’t live without. We need to take it every day, and it’s impossible to survive without it. Still, despite its essential nature, it can be surprising to hear that some people crave such. If you feel the same, you may ask:
Why am I craving water? There are many reasons why you may crave water. The heat could cause your craving, or you may have a severe medical condition. In most cases, water cravings are due to high blood pressure, dehydration, kidney problems, or too much sodium or salt.
Water cravings don’t happen often. Further, it’s likely tied with a health condition or problem when it does occur. In short, you should always understand the cause of your craving since it can help you address the main problem that can affect your overall health.
In this article, we’ll walk you through all you need to know about water cravings and how you can deal with them. This way, you can know what’s happening to your health and what safety measures you can take to solve it.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
- Why do I crave water?
- Why am I craving water all of a sudden?
- Why am I craving water all the time?
- How to stop craving water?
- What to eat when craving water?
- Craving water during pregnancy
- Craving water before period
- Craving water on period
- Craving water at night
- Craving water when sick
- Can you have a water addiction?
- Is craving water a sign of pregnancy?
- Can you drink too much water?
- Frequently asked questions
- Summary
- Resources
Why do I crave water?
What does it mean when you are craving water? If you’re craving water, it’s likely because of a health-related condition. In most cases, it can be due to dehydration, high blood pressure, kidney complications, or overconsumption of sodium.
Let’s take a look at each one!
High Blood Pressure
Diabetes occurs when your body cannot utilize glucose from your blood as fuel because it cannot draw glucose out of your blood. Excessive thirst is an indication that your glucose level is too high.
If you drink more water than usual, it might be due to increased urination, another sign of diabetes. When you urinate more, you become thirstier.
If you don’t stop drinking, it seems as if there will never be enough. Controlling diabetes can help combat the symptoms of high blood sugar.
Dehydration
Dehydration occurs when the body loses too many fluids. When dehydrated, you tend to feel thirstier, causing you to drink more water than usual.
Your mouth may become dry and sticky. You can alleviate dehydration symptoms by drinking water and restoring essential fluids.
Dehydration is also manifested by lack of sweat or tears, sunken eyes, extreme fatigue, and decreased urine output.
Every day, your body needs between eight and twelve glasses of water. Each glass of water contains eight ounces. During sickness or when experiencing vomiting or diarrhea, your body needs more water than usual.
Kidney Complications
If you’re urinating a lot, you may crave more water than usual. Diabetes insipidus affects your kidneys and has nothing to do with blood sugar levels.
Usually, your body produces a certain amount of antidiuretic hormone, or ADH, which helps your kidneys determine how much fluid to eliminate from your body.
Diabetes insipidus causes your body to release excessive amounts of this hormone, which leads to frequent urination. For example, a person with such a condition might produce 100 to 500 ounces of urine each day.
To keep your urine output from being so high, your doctor can prescribe medications to balance your ADH levels.
Too Much Salt
Combining salt and diuretics like caffeine can cause people to crave more water than usual. When you taste salt, your throat becomes dry, making you thirstier.
Sodium and salt are present in processed foods such as canned foods, potato chips, frozen meals, and smoked meats. If you avoid or limit these foods, your body will absorb less fluid, reducing your thirst.
Why am I craving water all of a sudden?
If you’re craving water all of a sudden, it can be a sign of dehydration, which means you need more water.
Thirst is the main symptom of dehydration, which occurs when your body does not have enough water. There are many reasons why this can happen, including exercise, diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive sweating.
In short, you should give in to your cravings and drink more water to stay hydrated and avoid the risks of dehydration.
Why am I craving water all the time?
If you’re craving water all the time, it can be because you’re not drinking enough water every day.
Your body needs between eight and twelve glasses of water per day. Eight ounces of water equals one glass. You need more water when you are sick or have diarrhea or vomiting.
To avoid craving water all the time, you should drink eight to twelve glasses of water per day. It would be better to drink from time to time to stay hydrated.
How to stop craving water?
If you want to stop craving water, you should make sure you drink enough all the time.
In general, the main reason for water cravings is your lack of water intake. Thus, it would be best if you bumped up your water consumption to stop your cravings from occurring.
What to eat when craving water?
If you want to eat your water rather than drink it, you can consider taking water-rich fruits and vegetables.
The foods to include are watermelons, tomatoes, oranges, pineapples, peach, plums, celery, spinach, cucumber, and others.
If you want to replenish your body’s nutrients and water content, drink lemon water or cucumber, mint water instead of just water.
Craving water during pregnancy
Why are you craving water when pregnant? If you’re craving water during pregnancy, it means you need more water to stay hydrated.
Staying hydrated during pregnancy is very important since your body needs extra fluids to support the baby’s growth. Here’s what your body might be telling you if you feel like you’ve just stepped out of the desert all day long.
In short, you should give in to your cravings to make sure you and your baby remain safe and hydrated all the time.
Craving water before period
Why are you craving water before your period? If you’re craving water before a period, it’s because estrogen and progesterone affect your body’s hydration levels.
When estrogen and progesterone levels are fluctuating, as they are during PMS, you may need to increase your fluid intake to stay hydrated.
In short, it’s normal to crave water or thirst at such a time, and you can give in and stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
Craving water on period
Why are you craving water when you are on your period? If you’re craving water during your period, you need it because your estrogen and progesterone levels decrease.
Your body retains more water as your estrogen and progesterone levels decline. As a result, your digestive system may be affected, and you may experience constipation, gas, and bloating.
You should drink 9 to 10 glasses of water a day to flush waste from your system and avoid feeling bloated during your period.
Craving water at night
Why are you craving water at night? If you’re craving water at night, it may mean your body doesn’t process sugar properly.
Your kidneys will work overtime to remove excess sugar from your bloodstream when your body cannot process sugar properly.
As a result, your kidneys produce more urine, which triggers a thirst response, which encourages you to increase the amount of water you drink.
In short, you should drink more water to help your body get through your condition until your body completely recovers.
Craving water when sick
Why are you craving water when you are sick? If you’re craving water when sick, you’re probably not drinking well, and you’re dehydrated.
You might become dehydrated if you do not increase your fluid intake to compensate for cold and flu symptoms such as runny noses and sweating, which often accompany fever. Therefore, if you are ill, make sure to drink plenty of water, juice, or soup.
Can you have a water addiction?
It’s difficult to be addicted to water, although it can happen since we always need to drink such.
Some people still drink water even when they do not need to because they have an uncontrollable urge to do so.
It is called psychogenic polydipsia. Among the mental illnesses that can cause polydipsia are schizophrenia and other personality disorders.
Is craving water a sign of pregnancy?
Craving for water or simply thirst can be a sign of pregnancy. However, the feeling of thirst is among the first signs of pregnancy.
It may be time to test if you’ve been hoping to see two pink lines! But, unfortunately, you will likely experience this thirst or water craving for the entire nine months.
The feeling of being thirsty and urinating more often than usual is a common pregnancy symptom, and you shouldn’t worry about it.
Can you drink too much water?
Yes, you can drink too much water, and it’s not a good idea to do so. When you drink too much water, your kidneys cannot eliminate the excess fluid. As a result, the sodium content in your blood is diluted, causing hyponatremia, a potentially life-threatening condition.
Frequently asked questions
If you’re craving water, you probably have several questions in mind. Here are some of the other things you may ask about water cravings. In addition, you may find some helpful answers to your concerns below.
What does craving water mean emotionally?
Water cravings don’t come from an emotional cause. Instead, in most cases, water cravings affect an underlying health condition.
In short, you don’t have to worry about any emotional cause when you crave water. Instead, it would be best to focus on finding what’s wrong or lacking in your body. In most cases, that would be water.
What deficiency causes you to crave water?
If you’re craving water and you suspect that a deficiency causes it, it can be severe anemia.
Excessive thirst is generally associated with severe anemia.
The condition of anemia refers to low levels of healthy red blood cells caused by faulty red blood cells. As a result, various organs of the body lack oxygen.
How to quench thirst when water doesn’t work?
If you can’t quench your thirst after drinking water, you can consider taking water-rich fruits and vegetables.
The foods to include are watermelons, tomatoes, oranges, pineapples, peach, plums, celery, spinach, cucumber, and others.
If you want to replenish your body’s nutrients and water content, drink lemon water or cucumber, mint water instead of just water.
Craving water but not thirsty
If you’re craving water but aren’t thirsty, it’s a sign of dehydration. When dehydrated, your body doesn’t have enough water to perform its normal functions, and thirst is the main sign.
The cause of this condition can be due to a variety of factors, including exercise, diarrhea, vomiting, and excessive sweating.
In short, you should drink more water even if you aren’t thirsty. This way, you can hydrate yourself and prevent further complications. If you don’t want to, you can replace it with water-rich fruits and vegetables.
Craving water after drinking
If you’re craving water after drinking, it may be a sign of dehydration. Dehydration typically causes your pituitary gland to release a hormone that stimulates your body to retain more water, helping to reverse any dehydration.
Alcohol causes less of this hormone to be released, so your kidneys release more water than they usually would.
In short, you would do well to drink more water than usual and mix in some water-rich food, such as fruits and vegetables.
Why am I craving water and salt?
Water and salt cravings suggest your body needs to keep a certain amount of fluid to function. Therefore, you may start craving salt if those levels drop below healthy levels. Basically, this is the body’s way of telling you to drink or eat more.
In short, you should solve such cravings by drinking more water and eating more food. While you can drink water, always make sure you control the sodium in your food intake to avoid overdoing it.
Summary
In a nutshell, there are many reasons why you may crave water. The heat could cause your craving, or you may have a severe medical condition. In most cases, water cravings are due to high blood pressure, dehydration, kidney problems, or too much sodium or salt.
Water cravings don’t happen often. Further, it’s likely tied with a health condition or problem when it does occur. In short, you should always understand the cause of your craving since it can help you address the main problem that can affect your overall health.
Related:
Resources
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