Is Water Enough To Keep Us Hydrated? Functional Nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan Answers

The nutritionist cautions that drinking too much plain water can actually displace electrolytes in the body and contribute to dehydration.

Water is an essential element for human survival, and we all know that we need to drink enough of it every day to stay hydrated. However, just drinking plain water by itself is not enough to keep us hydrated. We also need to replenish our electrolytes and minerals, particularly sodium, potassium, and magnesium, to keep our bodies properly hydrated, says Functional Nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, CEO and Founder, iThrive.

Plain water alone is not enough for hydration

The nutritionist explains:

The reason why plain water by itself is insufficient for hydration is that water movement in the body is controlled by solute concentration. This process is called osmosis, and it involves the movement of water from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. Electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium, are critical for maintaining the solute concentration in our cells, which helps with water retention.

When we lose water through sweat and urine, we lose electrolytes and minerals along with water, so simply drinking plain water is not optimal to replenish what we have lost. In fact, drinking too much plain water can actually displace electrolytes in the body and cause more dehydration.

Add some electrolytes to your drinking water

Mugdha suggests that we should always add some electrolytes to our drinking water to keep our body well hydrated.

She says, "We see this in cases of therapies to treat dehydration such as ORS solutions and sports drinks for athletes. Thus, it's actually well known that water alone will not work to treat cases of extreme dehydration. However, when it comes to moderate needs of people in general on an everyday basis, we ignore this fact. It's recommended that you add some electrolytes to your drinking water at all times for the most effective hydration."

How to get enough sodium, potassium and magnesium

Are you getting sodium from your diet? Many people are deficient in electrolytes, particularly sodium, according to Mugdha.

"It's well established in the medical literature that a vast majority of the population remains deficient in electrolytes, particularly sodium, leading to symptoms like muscle aches, stress, headaches and palpitations. The myth of eating a low-sodium diet just adds to the problem," she expounds.

She recommends opting for natural salts like pink Himalayan salt or sea salt instead of refined salt for getting sodium.

The expert continues, "For potassium, potassium-rich foods like bananas, coconut water, avocados and sweet potatoes are easy options. Supplemental forms of potassium should be used with caution because overdosing can cause acute reactions. However, getting magnesium through food alone is very difficult in today's modern environment. Our soil is very depleted. So, supplementation is universally recommended. Chelated forms like magnesium glycinate are the most optimal."

She advises people to avoid consuming too much alcohol and coffee as both can contribute to dehydration, especially alcohol as its effect is much worse.