Water is second to air in the Big Three. The three things that we all need to stay alive; air, water and food. You can live only a few minutes without oxygen, a few days without water, and just a few weeks without food. Everything else with the exception of shelter is a want, no matter how much you might crave or desire it.
Water, (or at least hydration) is something you can’t live without. In the health industry one of the most common pieces of advice you will hear is – “drink more water.” You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day or you need to drink a gallon a day or even, you need to drink an ounce of water per pound of bodyweight or some other outlandish recommendation. It keeps you from getting hungry, it keeps your skin moisturized, it’s the essence of life…
But more is not better! Life’s about finding balance, even with the three most important things for survival. Oxygen, the most vital ingredient to sustain life, can also destroy life. It can become toxic at an elevated concentration, elevated pressure or a combination of both. Food will destroy life too if not kept in balance and water is no different. The advice to drink more water is based on the concept that dehydration is bad, thus hydration is good.
Having spent decades as a surveyor, working out under the hot sun, I can attest to dehydration being bad, but just drinking more water isn’t going to solve the problem. Your cells require minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium, as well as energy before they can use the water. Most water doesn’t contain enough of these important minerals or any substrate for energy production, so drinking it won’t improve your hydration and can even reduce it.
Over-hydration has many of the same problems as dehydration; headaches, impaired cognition, and death to name a few but there’s even a bigger problem that comes from drinking too much water. It dilutes your blood and reduces the concentration of electrolytes. The sodium level in your blood is tightly regulated, and if it drops too low your body’s stress systems get activated.
A lowered sodium concentration in the blood is extremely stressful to your body and has a number of dangerous consequences. Drinking excessive amounts of water can lead to stress and cell swelling which creates metabolic dysfunction or the ability to produce and use energy, which is disastrous for your health. Forcing eight glasses of water or a gallon a day, as is commonly suggested probably does more damage than good.
“Of hunger and thirst, thirst is the greater imperative.” ~ Yann Martel
Your body has the perfect hydration sensor built in. It’s called thirst and it tells you how much you need to drink and when you need to drink it. Pro tip: When your thirsty! One unsubstantiated piece of advice is that by the time you’re thirsty you’re already dehydrated, but it’s simply not true. Numerous studies show that thirst manifests significantly earlier than dehydration according to plasma osmolality.
Salt, like cholesterol and saturated fats has been demonized for decades and they got it completely backwards again. More salt not less is what’s required to optimize health, it’s time to overcome the salt-phobia. USDA dietary guidelines still blame salt for America’s declining health, ahead of fat, sugar, and alcohol. They say it raises blood pressure, causes hypertension, and increases the risk of premature death. The CDC has stated that reducing salt consumption is as critical as quitting cigarettes.
Recent research however shows that reducing salt leads to increased heart rate, compromised kidney and adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism, higher triglyceride, cholesterol, and insulin levels as well as insulin resistance, obesity, and type-2 diabetes. Perhaps we need to question whether the possible reduction in blood pressure is worth the multitude of disfunction and disease created by reducing sodium.
In other words, “Get Salty.” We use an electrolyte drink mix in our water that mimics the concentrations of these important minerals in our cells. It contains 1000mg Sodium, 200mg Potassium and 60mg magnesium. We also enjoy a fresh blend of fruit and vegetable juice several times a week. Apple, carrot and ginger juice is a favorite and besides the hydrating minerals and crystalline water it contains, it’s loaded with vitamins and antioxidants.
There is no reason to limit your hydrating beverage to water. There are plenty of options that add nutrition and taste better. Fruit juice, milk, and tea or coffee with honey are excellent options. They have minerals and carbohydrates that produce energy and effective hydration, which water cannot do alone. We’re not saying water is bad or that you need to avoid it, just that other drinks can be even better for good hydration.
Forcing yourself to drink more water when you’re not thirsty is not beneficial to your health. Listen to your body, along with the hydration sensor it contains a sodium sensor. When you get that crazy craving for potato chips, it’s telling you – “get me some salt, now.” Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium hydrate your cells. The minerals are as important as the water.
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