2 ms·
Actually this very practice is described in the book "The Old Way". The natives in a dry region in Africa would drink massive amounts at a watering hole before
by gregwebs 5y ago
Actually this very practice is described in the book "The Old Way". The natives in a dry region in Africa would drink massive amounts at a watering hole before setting off for a journey. It was probably more than 2 liters.
I try to take a similar approach when hiking of drinking as much water as I can before starting a hike. In a hot and dry climate you don't end up urinating out as much as you might think.
Exposure to this practice over time in a particular environment might be able to alter gene expression to better support the practice much like the hunter reflex develops with cold exposure. People often make the mistake of thinking their personal modern experience is close to some human limit.
"The Old Way" also points out that persistence hunting (mentioned in this article) could only be used under particular environmental conditions (mud after rain that slows down animals) with a particular animal that overheats more than others so it didn't seem a reliable hunting method.
- systemvoltage 5y agoTo others reading this there needs to be a big bold WARNING: Do not drink liters of water as people have died doing just that. Google it and you’ll find horror stories of people in competition to chug tons of water only to make an ER trip and die on the way. There is a myth on the internet that drinking shitload of water beyond comfort is acceptable and has zero risks because hey it’s just water right? Here is some literature: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-drinking-too-much-water-can-kill/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-...
- msrenee 5y agoTo be more precise: do not chug liters of water without supplemental electrolytes. What kills people is the fact that salts are water-soluble and are flushed out as you drink water. It's not the volume of water that's inherently dangerous. It's that it flushes out water-soluble electrolytes that are necessary to muscle function.
- gregwebs 5y agoI can't edit my comment anymore but did upvote yours. I agree with those warnings about imitating this practice. My "drinking as much water as I can" is perhaps 1 liter, much less than what seemed to be described in "The Old Way". In the article you point to the main issue seems to come from inhibition of urination. I think native people knew their bodies extremely well and could avoid any problem here whereas in modern times we have been training ourselves since being a small child to ignore or hold back urination. Combining that with other suppressors mentioned in that article can end in tragedy.