People become oddly religious about diet and exercise, repeating odd mantras about stretching before a workout and drinking plenty of water, even though there’s little or no science to support their beliefs. From Too Much Water May Be Deadly for Athletes:
Researchers who studied 488 runners in the 2002 Boston Marathon found that 62, or more than one in eight, had a serious fluid and salt imbalance from drinking too much water or sports drinks. Three of them had extreme imbalances.One 28-year-old woman died after the race from the condition, called hyponatremia, in which the excess water dilutes the salt level in the body too much.
‘More is definitely not better when it comes to fluids, but it’s a hard message to get across,’ said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at Pittsburgh Medical Center.