What Does It Mean to be Properly Hydrated? + The Importance of Minerals
My fiance and I have been very fortunate to enjoy abundant travel opportunities this past year, and during these excursions, it came to my attention that I can be something of a “drill sergeant” when it comes to staying hydrated. I can’t help it. It alarms and disturbs me to watch someone go a whole day (or even a few hours) without taking a sip of water – something we can easily forget when we’re in a new place, outside of our regular routine.
It’s just that I know how I feel when I’m dehydrated: overly fatigued, head-achey, moody and shaky, with weird food cravings and brain fog that makes it nearly impossible to string two thoughts together. And that’s no way to enjoy a vacation.
It’s no mystery that proper hydration is essential for everything from immune and brain function to digestive health, hormone regulation, cellular ATP production (i.e. energy), nutrient absorption, and even body temperature regulation. And I know I’m not alone in my borderline-neurotic “drink more water” compulsion.
But what does it really mean to be properly hydrated? Our ancestors, after all, did not have constant access to potable water. They did not set timers to remind themselves to drink it. They certainly were not gulping two-plus liters of it per day (the modern bare-minimum recommendation for proper hydration).
How is it that we, as a society, are drinking more water than ever before, and yet we’re the most dehydrated that we’ve ever been?
The answer, it may surprise us to learn, is not in the water itself, but in our soil.
Chemically, there are 3 components to proper hydration: Hydrogen, Oxygen, and electrolytes. Pure water (H2O) is not an electrolyte, but in its most natural state (as we would have sourced our drinking water in the pre-industrialized world), fresh ground water picks up salts and minerals from the earth, which then function as electrolytes in our bodies.
Very simply put, electrolytes are elements that conduct an electrical current. And electricity is the very essence of our energy as human beings. It’s how our nerves transmit signals to our muscles, how the neurotransmitters in our brain and body communicate, how we think, how we animate, how we love. This why experts estimate that we can live up to 70 days without food, but only about 3 days without water. It’s not just the water that’s essential to our survival; it’s the electrical conductors it supplies that keep our hearts beating.
Chief among these electrolytes are minerals such as sodium (yes, adequate sodium is actually essential to our health), potassium, and magnesium. Once upon a time, these minerals would have been abundant in our earth and soils. But as a result of industrial farming practices such as tilling and monocropping, these minerals have been depleted over time. When the American Department of Agriculture examined the nutrient levels of crops from every corner of North America in 2002, they found that all nutrients had decreased by an average of 50% since the last study in 1963.
This, combined with the fact that many of us are consuming more processed food and treated or ultra-filtered water, has led to the startling estimate that as little as 10% of us are getting adequate electrolytes, which essentially means up to 90% of us are chronically dehydrated.
So what can we do to fix this?
On an individual level, and perhaps most importantly, we can make sure that the water we are drinking contains minerals. This means that, if we are drinking municipally-treated or filtered water, we should add in trace mineral drops (which you can easily purchase at your local health food store), or an electrolyte supplement (my favourite is LMNT). This is especially important if you are drinking distilled or reverse osmosis water, as these forms of purification remove all essential minerals, leaving nothing but pure H2O, which can actually deplete our bodies further of minerals when we drink it.
If you’re not a fan of supplements, or hesitant to invest in expensive powders and drops, you can also simply add a pinch of Pink Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt to every litre of water that you consume. These types of salts, sourced from natural, third-party-tested harvesting sites, and left unprocessed, contain the proper ratios of essential minerals that we need to stay healthy.
You can also find my homemade “DYI Electrolyte Booster” recipe HERE.
Fun Fact: Salt in and of itself is not actually the culprit of high-blood pressure; It’s high amounts of sodium, consumed without other essential minerals such as magnesium and potassium to balance it out. The most common type of salt that we find in pre-packaged foods, in restaurant kitchens, and even in most household cabinets is refined white table salt, which has been chemically treated and stripped of essential minerals. This, combined with a diet high in inflammatory seed oils and sugars (also commonly found in ultra-processed and packaged foods) is a recipe for high blood pressure.
On the global/policy level, it’s important that we vote with our dollar whenever we can to have a positive influence on our food system. This means purchasing our produce from local farmers and sustainable producers, or even growing it ourselves. Look for food producers in your community who value regenerative farming practices. These are traditional farming techniques that protect soil health and produce more nutritious, mineral-rich food.
Mineral deficiency is something that affects nearly everyone. And without adequate minerals, our cells cannot produce the energy we need – and our bodies cannot conduct the electrical impulses – for us to live our most vibrant and prolific lives. But together, we can turn healthy mineral status back into the right it once was, rather than a privilege. We can affect change, and play a role in a more mineralized (and hydrated) world.