It’s been hot as hades in many areas of the northern hemisphere this summer! Recently, a couple of folks were asking me about how to best hydrate in the heat, so it’s clearly on a lot of people’s minds.
Hydration is one of those health habits that is easy to ignore, and fulfilling hydration needs can both be quite simple and quite complicated. In today’s episode, I’m going to break it down for you – how to tell if you are dehydrated, how to ensure you get enough water, and the role and importance of electrolytes when considering your hydration needs.
How to Tell if You Are Dehydrated
Signs of dehydration appear long before our thirst kicks in. And while hydration itself only becomes a topic of discussion during heat waves, many of us live in a state of chronic dehydration and subsequent electrolyte imbalance, yet don’t realize it!
Water does more than just quench thirst. Our bodies use water to transport nutrients and waste, help regulate body temperature, protect tissues, and support cell growth and communication, cushions bones and lubricates joints, in addition to much more! Long before we are thirsty, our body gives subtle cues that we need fluids and electrolytes. Common signs can be general fatigue, brain fog, poor mood, muscle cramps, and even cravings for sweets. These signs begin with as little as 2% dehydration. Given the average adult body holds about 10-13 gallons of water, this equates to less than 3 ounces of water loss before symptoms can appear!
How Much Water Do You Need?
How much water we need in a day various significantly from person to person, activity level, ambient temperature, use of heating and air conditioning and medication use. This makes it hard to give proper, accurate guidance – so while general recommendations like 8 glasses a day or half your bodyweight in pounds consumed in fluid ounces isn’t grounded in hard science, it does highlight to most of us that we need more fluids than we often think we do, especially if we are not consuming a diet rich in watery foods such as soups and watery fruits and veggies.
My general recommendation is to drink enough liquids that your urine is a pale yellow. If it is dark yellow, orange, or highly aromatic, you are dehydrated. That said, certain medications as well as B vitamins can alter the color of urine and its odor so even this recommendation may not apply to you! It’s easy to see how easy even something like fluid consumption can feel complicated and overwhelming!
The Role of Electrolytes
Our bodies are made mostly of water, and historically, aside from food, we received electrolytes from water we took from streams, rivers, and lakes, as trace minerals were abundant in these sources. With water filtration and purification, many of these trace minerals are no longer available in our water supply, especially in large cities where there is no well water usage. So it becomes even more crucial to replace these minerals, lost from the water supply, through our foods.
Sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium are the electrolytes the body uses to maintain an appropriate balance of fluid inside the cell vs outside the cell, and also for the very necessary requirement of muscle contraction and the electrical impulses that keep our heart beating and our cells communicating. A lack of potassium or magnesium in the diet leads to high blood pressure, muscle cramps – including period cramps and restless leg syndrome – headaches, and can even lead to the heart stopping if it gets too severe. Low sodium is less common but can also lead to headaches, nausea, lightheadedness, low appetite, poor energy and brain fog, as well as muscle twitching or cramping. While general guidance on the internet suggests we can get these trace minerals through our food alone and we needn’t worry about it, a closer look at population data shows that the majority of individuals consume a diet that is chronically lacking in potassium and magnesium, which I maintain is due to our general aversion and neglect in procuring and eating green vegetables.
The industrialized western diet is also high in concentrated foods which are generally low sources of water, such as breads, pastas and meats. Fruits and vegetables supply a great deal of water as well as electrolytes, and when 70-90% of a population is not consuming the minimum daily recommendation of these foods, they will need to find essential fluids and electrolytes elsewhere. Current data suggests that nearly 50% of American adults and upwards of 20% of UK adults are not meeting minimum magnesium needs, and less than 2% of the American population meets potassium needs through diet.
Yes, the industrialized diet provides ample salt, but it does not supply enough magnesium and potassium to balance that sodium. Thus conditions such as fatigue, headaches, lightheadedness, constipation, high blood pressure and muscle cramps are commonplace and considered ‘normal’ by many people. Chronic insufficient intake of potassium is associated with higher incidence of heart attacks and studies also point to those who consume the most dietary potassium have less heart disease and high blood pressure than those who consume the least.
If you experience headaches, nausea, lightheadedness, low appetite, brain fog, or muscle twitching and cramping regularly, looking at hydration and electrolyte balance might be a valuable consideration! This is especially true if you are on a low carbohydrate diet, which increases fluid and electrolyte needs, or on medications such as diuretics, blood pressure medications, kidney meds, diabetes meds and laxatives.
Other, more subtle signs that you may have increased electrolyte needs are a general love of salty foods, low blood pressure or orthostatic hypotension of unknown cause, and having that experience of all the water you drink going right through you or feeling water sloshing around in your stomach after drinking it. The latter two are directly caused by a lack of electrolytes in your beverage, preventing the water from being properly absorbed by the cells. Anecdotally, I have also found that people who avoid drinking water because they don’t like it find that adding electrolytes makes it much more palatable and enjoyable. So this may be something to try if you generally don’t care for water by itself.
What About Electrolyte Beverages?
When it comes to electrolyte beverages, there are scads of them on the marketplace now, and you can find them everywhere, even at convenience stores. Many of the most commonly available ones are actually not ideal for high levels of activity due to companies prioritizing taste over effectiveness. But if you are sitting on the porch feeling parched, they will probably be just fine for you.
On that note, if you prefer to avoid weirdly colored electrolyte beverages, you can make your own by salting your water, adding a touch of lemon juice and maple syrup to further encourage mineral absorption into the cell. This is a great way to make water taste better and encourage hydration while adding in a few trace minerals to facilitate absorption. Coconut water can also be helpful to replenish electrolytes on a hot day.
If you are outside in the heat walking around, working or exercising, this may not be an effective enough means of hydration. There are also some people who have higher electrolyte needs that will not find lightly salted lemon water effective enough to alleviate symptoms. I am, actually, one of those people. In cases such as this, relying on an electrolyte formula designed for athletes is a better choice to ensure adequate hydration.
With sports formulas, many ready to drink options that are the most accessible tend to have more sugar in them than is ideal, and this can inhibit absorption of the electrolytes into the cell! If you are grabbing a bottle of ready mixed electrolytes, check the label to make sure there is no more than 9 grams of carbohydrate, coming from sucrose and glucose, per 8 ounce serving. You’ll also want around 180-225 milligrams of sodium and 60-75 milligrams of potassium; effectively a 3:1 ratio of potassium to sodium. This is what hydration research is suggesting is optimal balance with just enough sugar to enhance absorption but not inhibit it. Beverages sweetened with maltodextrin or fructose can cause gut issues and interfere with absorption, so stay away from those.
You’ll find most electrolyte beverages lack magnesium, and this is in part because an excess of magnesium can lead to loose stools. Given how widely varied magnesium intake is in the diet, this is not something athletes want to mess around with when training or competing. LMNT, an electrolyte designed for those on a low carbohydrate diet, does contain some magnesium as well as higher amounts of sodium and potassium to compensate for this. This is my preferred electrolyte support for low carb folks and is wonderful for this demographic. I have also found it useful for those who have tend to get lightheaded when they stand up, such as those with orthostatic hypotension or individuals with POTS symptoms. Unfortunately, LMNT does not yet support Blasphemous Nutrition, but I am open to their sponsorship if they want to support this podcast!
How much and how often you need electrolytes is as variable as the amount of water you need to be drinking. The nice thing about electrolytes is that our palate for sodium is pretty well attuned, and when you are in need of electrolytes, that beverage is going to taste like the most amazing thing in the world. As your sodium needs get topped off, you’ll find your thirst for that beverage wanes a lot. Folks who have high sodium needs, regardless of activity level, will find a more concentrated electrolyte like LMNT to be very tasty, while others will find it too salty. Here, our body is giving us clues about how much is enough as well as too much. On a particularly hot or active day, you may find that you feel your best with more electrolytes than you expected, and that’s ok!
Caveats….and the ‘safest’ way to meet general electrolyte needs
Now, as with everything, there are some caveats. Some medications alter fluid balance and so too do electrolytes, so you will want to talk to your doctor about electrolyte supplementation if you are taking medication, especially if you are considering regular consumption of electrolytes.
The safest way to get most electrolytes is through our food supply. A diet high in vegetables and fruits will supply you with an abundance of potassium and magnesium. In clinical practice, I have seen this change alone lower blood pressure and eliminate cramping, low energy and mood, as well as reduce headaches. The great thing about food, unlike supplements, is that those known electrolytes come packaged with other compounds that support proper balance and absorption. Some are known and others are yet to be discovered. While there are some foods which can definitely interact with medications, they tend to be less severe than supplements can be.
That’s a wrap for this week’s episode of Blasphemous Nutrition! I hope that you’re feeling more inspired to reach for another glass of water, perhaps with a splash of lemon, so you can stay hydrated and energized today! If you’ve found this helpful or if you know someone who you think might need a bit more hydration, restack this podcast episode or share it with them! Most people don’t realize the impact of dehydration and they will thank you for clueing them in.
Until next time, my Blasphemous Buddies!
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