Let me answer your question with a question. Are you a human on a western diet? If so, then you’re probably dehydrated, and you probably need saltwater. Mainstream beverages, while tasty, have lackluster nutritional values and actually increase your thirst. Salties is a beverage that consists of all of the electrolytes (minerals in body fluid) your body’s most intricate processes need to hydrate.
How is my diet making me dehydrated?
Potassium is an essential nutrient, which means the body needs it but cannot produce it. In the United States, the recommended daily average of potassium is 4,700 mg/day, yet studies show that adults aged twenty and over are deficient in this essential nutrient. The average male is 1,700 mg short on potassium, and the average female is around 2,400 mg short [1]. Low potassium symptoms include headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue, and other bad stuff in the form of hyponatremia [2]. The bad news is, you may be entering this state every day without knowing. Drinking too much of those mainstream beverages could flush your body of its essential nutrients. Simply put, as the liquid runs through your body, it pulls your salts with it through urination.
What about the recommended daily average of sodium?
The recommended daily amount of sodium is 2,300mg—what a joke. The only person that would only need 2,300mg is someone who never moves. If you move, you need more sodium. The more active you are, the more sodium you need. People in hot climates burn even more essential nutrients from their bodies in the form of sweat. If you’re sweating like a pig, it’s not uncommon to hit 8,000, 9,000, or even 10,000mg of sodium. If you’re fasting or eating keto, you’ll have low insulin. Insulin is the storage hormone. When your insulin is high, it holds onto not only fat but also sodium. You’ll be dumping crazy amounts of sodium when your insulin levels are low.
How do I know if I’m dehydrated (aka low on sodium)?
You’ll feel weak. You’ll hold onto water and bloat. You’ll urinate less. When you’re low on salt, your body freaks out and does anything it can to retain it. There’s a hormone called aldosterone that is released when you’re dehydrated. In an attempt to maintain your body’s sodium levels, aldosterone will store water. Unfortunately, the low-salt hormones also end up increasing fat absorption too. A low salt diet may cause you to absorb two times the fat for every gram you consume [3].
How much sodium do you consume? How are sodium and potassium
interlinked?
I will consume anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000mg of sodium a day. Sodium is potassium-sparing. That’s very important. If you let your body get low on sodium, you will lose a truckload of potassium. If you’re high on sodium and low on potassium and consume potassium, you’ll hold onto it.
Who should avoid consuming or retaining too much salt?
People that should steer clear of retaining too much salt are people that have:
• Hyperaldosteronism (a disorder that increases the amount of the salt retaining hormone we mentioned earlier)
• Cushing’s disease (a pituitary gland disorder that spikes cortisol levels in the blood)
• Liddle Syndrome (an inherited form of high blood pressure that absorbs too much salt in the kidneys)
What can I do to fight dehydration?
Well, you could go through the hassle of buying sodium and potassium, then mixing them into a drink several times a day. Or you could drink some Salties and properly reclaim your hydration! We’ve prepared a delicious mix of the three big essential nutrients with American-made flavors. Drink two or three cans a day, and you’ll be golden.
[1] National Institute of Health
[2] The Challenge of Hyponatremia
[3] Weidemann, B. J., et al., 2015. Dietary sodium suppresses digestive efficiency via the renin-angiotensin system. Sci Rep 5: 11123.
