Is drinking a lot of water before dawn good for your body?

Many people think that drinking water before the Fajr prayer, in large quantities after the Suhoor meal, avoids thirst during the fasting hours.

Dr Hazem Al-Masry, a therapeutic nutrition specialist at the Egyptian British Centre for the Study of Obesity, confirms that the human body needs from 2 to 3 litres of water per day in Ramadan, which is the same normal rate that the body needs on normal days.

However, he warned against drinking large quantities of water at once during the suhoor period or immediately after breakfast. He explained that it is harmful and does not prevent feeling thirsty at all. 

The best way is to take a sip of water or milk with dates – or any fresh juice after the Maghrib prayer and before breakfast. He added that we can drink the rest after breakfast, gradually, for two or three hours until pre-dawn, which is the best way to avoid feeling thirsty during the fasting window.

But why that?

Dr Hazem Al-Masry explained that the body expels the excess of water through urine and sweat, indicating that thirst comes when the percentage of water in the body decreases.

Drinking large quantities of water that the body does not need leads to an imbalance of sodium levels in the blood. Such imbalance may harm the brain, lead to brain damage or coma, and in some cases it even to death, according to the website “cnbc” and confirmed by the therapeutic nutritionist. He explains that these cases occur between 20-25% of people who drink water frequently but restrain for a certain period (such as Ramadan). 

Cnbc also affirmed that water poisoning is one of the most serious health problems that a person may face, because of the stretching that it causes to the flexible body tissues, such as fat and muscles, especially to the brain. To avoid this, it is recommended that you drink 3 to 4 litres of water daily.