Hydration Station – Its More Than Just Water
Here’s an everyday conversation I have in my office:
Dr. Sydne: “So, how is your hydration?”
Patient: “Good, I drink water.”
Dr. Sydne: “Great! Do you know about how much?”
Patient: “No, not really.”
This is a great starting point to dial in your hydration needs.
Have you ever thought why we really need to care about how much water we drink? There are all sorts of reasons why we need water but one of the major things to consider is every tissue in your body needs water. Your bones, muscles, tendons, organs, skin, brain... they ALL need it. You probably don’t think “well, this cup of water is for my brain and this cup of water is for my muscles...” isn’t it amazing how much our body does without us even having to think about it?
We learn pretty early how important water is but most people are chronically dehydrated. In the short term this can cause loss of energy, focus issues and even headaches. In the long term, it dries out our soft tissues, stresses our kidneys and makes our lizard brain go into high alert. Dang, don’t you just want to take a drink right now?
How Much Water Should I Be Drinking?
My go to equation is take your body weight divided by 2 and that is the amount of ounces you want to consume a day, increase this if you are very active or sweat a lot.
Let’s use a sample human named Sunburst. Sunburst weights 200 lbs. Sunburst is trying to have 100 ounces of water a day. That might seem like a lot at first, so you can dial it back 10 to 20 ounces if needed to start. Sunburst has a goal of 80 ounces.
To help all our tissues appropriately use the water we are consuming, there is another part of the equation we don’t talk about enough....
ELECTROLYTES
If you were with me in person I would be showing you “lightning bolt” finger movements because just as the name implies, electrolytes support electrical signals in our body (think your nervous system and every nerve signal you have). They also regulate how our body uses water, how our body holds on to water and how our body releases water. Let me give you an example. Have you ever had one of those days where you were like, “Yes, I’m going to drink all my water today!” and then you ended up peeing 1000x times getting discouraged by this water thing? This is where electrolytes comes to play.
There are a ton of supplements on the market, it gets a little overwhelming. So let me make this hydration thing simple for you.
Make Your Own Electrolyte Mix:
My go-to electrolyte mix:
10-15 ounces water
Squeeze of lemon or lime
Pinch of sea salt
Ta-Da! Electrolyte magic. Make sure the salt you use is not a processed salt like Morton’s, we want a sea salt or a Real Salt (a brand of salt) to get all the benefits of the minerals and electrolytes.
If you want to try something store bought PLEASE check the sugars. There is no need for added sugars when it comes to your hydration. Gatorade is not an appropriate option here, and in my opinion, even the “sugar free” options are full of other chemicals you don’t need for hydration. If shopping the market, the primary things you are looking for are sodium, magnesium and potassium with zero sugar and stevia as the sweetening agent.
How much electrolyte mix should you be drinking? I recommend getting half regular water and half with the electrolyte mix. Let’s bring it back to Sunburst. Remember, Sunburst is trying to have 80 ounces of water a day (you can do it, Sunburst!). The goal for Sunburst is going to be 40 ounces with electrolyte mix and 40 ounces without.
Unless you have kidney issues, this amount of salt is negligible when it comes to overall health so don’t worry you are getting too much salt. Also, when paired with the appropriate amount of water, our kidneys will remove any excess salt we don’t need for most people. However, you will be shocked how good you feel when you get your salt levels on point (you need more than you think).
If you start this process and you are still peeing all the time, up the amount of ounces that get the homemade electrolyte mixture. More electrolytes will help your body tissues absorb and hold on to water. If you find you aren’t peeing very much, decrease the amount of electrolyte mixture you are using. It’s all about learning what your body needs and you’re off to a great start!!
Welcome to true, real hydration. You’ll find its way easier to hit your water goals, you’ll be peeing an appropriate amount, you’ll increase your energy because all your tissues can better use this water and the side effect of being properly hydrated is more focus, better reaction to perceived stress (just 1% dehydration makes our lizard brain go on alert), and better looking skin. Glow on, hydrated one!
Try it and let me know what you think.
One small step on your path to thriving,
Dr. Sydne
