Saltwater for Hydration: Myth or Miracle?
Investigating the facts from the fiction. Is sole water a hydration booster?
A few years ago, I noticed a blossoming trend. While juggling my job in the fitness industry, a client asked if he should add salt to his water to hydrate and replenish his electrolytes.
Caught by surprise, I wondered where he had learned this. I told him to drink plain or coconut water instead. I recently had to confront this trend up close again with some friends, on different occasions, who have adopted this as a daily practice.
Admittedly, I started to doubt my position on hydration and electrolytes. Is saltwater, or sole water, better for hydration? If friends are swearing by it? Shuffling through my memory's rolodex of information, I wondered if I had missed something.
I am biased because I spent eight years in the fitness industry. Among other certifications, I also completed a level-one nutrition certification from Precision Nutrition. In my free time for the last decade or so, I’ve also become entirely transfixed with the literature and science around nutrition, health, and well-being, and drinking salt water instinctively felt counterintuitive.
Despite my reservations, I tried it. Yet, I still wasn’t convinced. I decided it was only fair to investigate the claims and the science. Here’s what I found out.
Some facts to clarify:
Electrolytes are the minerals in the fluids in your body, like your blood, sweat, and urine, that consist of positive or negative ions. Remember, you, a human, is made of 60% water. Electrolytes are present in this water mass.
Electrolytes are an umbrella term for essential bodily minerals, including sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and bicarbonate.
Electrolytes affect your body's functions in many ways, including the amount of water in your body, the acidity of your blood (pH), your nerve and muscle function, and other critical bodily processes.
The most common way people lose electrolytes, especially sodium, but not exclusively sodium, is through sweat—especially those of you living in hotter climates, which induces more sweat and guarantees more electrolyte loss.
Electrolyte replenishment is vital to your functioning and survival. If you’re an athlete or as active as an athlete, muscle cramps, twitching, or quick-to-fatigue muscles are some signs to note—as they can indicate insufficient electrolyte levels.
Salt is sometimes used interchangeably with sodium, but salt is only 40% sodium and 60% chloride.
The recommended upper limit of daily sodium intake is 2,300 mg, while the recommended lower limit is 1,500 mg or less daily. That’s about one teaspoon of salt versus a little more than 1/2 a teaspoon daily.
To help gain a more practical perspective of what these amounts mean, consider first that common table salt or sodium chloride (our greatest source of dietary sodium) contains approximately 40 per cent sodium by weight. Therefore, a full teaspoon of salt weighing 5,750 mg contains approximately 2,300 mg of sodium, the equivalent of the UL suggested for adults, whereas a little more than a ½ teaspoon of salt provides the recommended 1,500 mg of sodium. — (Comana, “Salty Facts on Sodium.”)
A look online will reveal both sides to the argument. Though, look closer at the sources.
Articles that support salty water:
Smith, John. "All the Benefits of Drinking Water with Salt." Vogue, Condé Nast, 18 May 2024, www.vogue.com/article/all-the-benefits-of-drinking-water-with-salt.
Millard, Elizabeth. "Does Salt Water Hydrate You After a Workout?" Nike, Nike, Inc., 27 July 2022, www.nike.com/sg/a/does-salt-water-aid-hydration.
Smith, Molly. "Why Are People Adding Salt to Their Water for Hydration?" Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda University Health, 19 Jan. 2024, news.llu.edu/health-wellness/why-are-people-adding-salt-their-water-for-hydration.
Articles on unnecessary consumption of salty water:
Brown, Stephanie. "Will a Pinch of Salt Make Your Water More Hydrating?" Verywell Health, Dotdash Media, 8 Sept. 2023, www.verywellhealth.com/salted-water-tiktok-7964134.
"Should You Be Drinking Salt Water for Hydration?" GQ, Condé Nast Britain, www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/drinking-salt-water-hydration.
Kubala, Jillian. "Sole Water: Benefits of Himalayan Salt Water." Healthline, Healthline Media, 28 Oct. 2019, www.healthline.com/nutrition/sole-water#recipe.
Sole water is a drink made from pink Himalayan salt and water. It’s often touted as a natural aid for sleep, energy, and digestion.
In reality, it’s low in nutrients, and research on its benefits is lacking.
Since most people already consume too much salt, it’s likely best to avoid sole water.
If you’re interested in healthy drinks, coffee, lemon water, and kombucha tea are better options.
— Kubala, Healthline
The potential dangers of too much sodium:
What’s Missed:
The ones pushing the virality of the salt water trend are wellness influencers on social media and lifestyle publications, who may lack the scientific background to explain why salty water is not an essential health habit, especially for the average person who already consumes too much salt.
While these online trend pushers are correct that more sodium intake equals more water retention, they’re overlooking important details that the science does not ignore:
Yes, increasing sodium intake increases water retention, but it increases water retention in the blood vessels, not in hydration.
Water retention is not to be mistaken as hydration, even though the words seem interchangeable. Water retention occurs when the body cannot maintain sufficient fluid levels and thus results in swelling to retain enough fluids. Symptoms include bloating, swollen and stiff joints, and puffiness on the abdomen, face, and hips.
Hydration is “the process of making your body absorb water or other liquid(s),”—and your body is hydrated when “having absorbed enough water or other liquid.” (Cambridge.org)
You know you’re sufficiently hydrated if your urine is pale yellow or clear urine if you don’t feel thirsty, if you’re not feeling fatigued, and if your mouth and lips are moist versus dry.
As stated in the video above by the British Heart Foundation, sodium increases water retention in blood vessels, which increases the pressure in your blood vessels and results in higher blood pressure.
Higher blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, can quietly damage the body and blood vessels for years, even before symptoms appear.
With high blood pressure, the blood vessels thicken and condense, demanding the blood vessels work harder to pump blood through the body. Hypertension increases your blood pressure and your risk for cardiovascular disease today and in the future.
If you drink salt water daily, please clarify with a health professional. This habit is not to be taken lightly, as it can increase your risk for cardiovascular disease and, over time, slowly damage your blood vessels.
The Verdict:
The average person eats enough sodium in the modern diet. Most health bodies, especially heart associations globally, generally recommend less salt intake, so unless you’re not consuming enough salt, you won’t need to drink salt water to replenish your sodium. There are plenty of natural ways to replenish sodium and other electrolytes.
The cynical take is that a marketing person thought it was clever to invent this trend to trick you into buying those expensive electrolyte salt sachets. But, the trend morphed through TikTok and Wellness influencers as homemade saltwater. But, if you look closer:
The average person will consume the recommended upper limit on sodium intake of one teaspoon of salt daily or more through their regular diet. (By diet, I mean your daily eating habits and meals versus a particular diet you’re following).
Unless you’re a professional athlete or someone who trains like an athlete, you’re not losing enough sodium to need additional replenishment beyond your daily meals; that’s if you’re eating balanced whole foods or a plant-forward diet.
If you are an athlete or train like one, you should consider additional intake of electrolytes post-workout. But instead of replenishing with salt water, which only provides sodium and chloride, find natural whole-food alternatives with more diverse electrolyte profiles like coconut water, avocadoes, or bananas to help you replenish the other essential minerals, too.
While many experts still recommend sports drinks as another way for post-workout replenishment for active populations, a core principle I abide by is always to find natural, whole-food alternatives whenever possible. Here’s a list I found.
Modern-day sports drinks are loaded with sugar and sometimes other preservatives and unnatural flavouring, which are more damaging to the body in the long term than the immediate benefits.
Yes, if you’re going through intense exercise bouts and your muscles are cramping or fatiguing too quickly, a small packet of salt might help your muscles reboot. However, this is for high-performing athletes or those executing physical workloads equivalent to professional athletes.
Hydration shouldn’t be so complicated. If our ancestors survived with normal water, why can’t we? Sometimes, modern-day trends unnecessarily complicate basic behaviours. Hydration has always been essential. Today’s average life is much more sedentary anyway, so if hunters, gladiators, warriors, and armies survived on plain water, why can’t we, too?
The general rule of thumb, especially for anything related to your health, is to speak to a medical professional. Also, for any health trend you hear about, even if it’s one you learn about through this newsletter, double-check, consult a health professional, and most importantly, do your research from reputable resources. Not every trend you see online is legitimate.
Additional Resources:
Those already listed above and…
"Body Water Percentage: Everything You Need to Know." Healthline, Healthline Media, 17 June 2023, www.healthline.com/health/body-water-percentage#maintenance.
Hickman, Kiersten. "I Added Salt to My Water for 30 Days: Here's What Happened." EatingWell, Dotdash Meredith, 19 Apr. 2024, www.eatingwell.com/salt-water-for-30-days-8634866.
"High Blood Pressure Dangers: Hypertension's Effects on Your Body." Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 28 Nov. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045868.
Kowal, Amanda. "How to Hydrate: Water, Salt, and Electrolytes." National Geographic, National Geographic Partners, 16 June 2023, www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/how-to-hydrate-water-salt-electrolytes.
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