LONDON: A woman was left disabled after following a “detox” diet which involved drinking large quantities of water.

Although doctors stress the need to avoid dehydration by drinking enough fluids, drinking more than enough is a different matter.

The human body may be mostly water, but you can have too much of a good thing.

In the most serious cases, “water intoxication” can kill, and there is, say experts, scant evidence that drinking even slightly more water than usual can improve your health.

The current popularity of detox diets which recommend drinking many litres of water a day, and drinking even when not thirsty, could cause problems if taken to extremes, they say.

Kidney specialist Professor Graham MacGregor said there was no evidence that either had any benefit.

He described how too much water could “overwhelm” the body’s natural mechanisms for keeping levels in balance.

“The body already has a brilliant system for doing this, but if water levels in the blood rise too high, it just can’t cope.”