Good hydration

Making sure your body has the right amount of water to keep it flowing!

Striking the right balance between water & salt

Water is vital for transporting nutrients and waste products around the body,

• too little and your body systems and organs literally 'dry up'!
• too much, without enough electrolytes, and you actually become more de-hydrated
• e.g. from diarrhoea/vomiting or cramps after heavy exercise

Likewise salt, on a cellular level sodium and chloride, are essential for the nerve conduction, your ‘electrical wiring’.

They facilitate:

• Muscle contractions
• Allowing you to move, heart to beat, and lungs to breathe.
• Nerve impulses
• Sending signals from the brain to the rest of the body.
• Digestion
• Chloride is a key component of bile and stomach acid (HCl), which breaks down and digests your food.

Salt, the water magnet

Think of salt (it's actually sodium that creates the effect) like a magnet for water.

• Too much salt
• traps water in your tissues (this is why you get puffy fingers or ankles after a salty meal).
• This stagnant water puts a heavy burden on your lymphatic system because it has to work much harder to move that extra weight.
• Too little salt
• Water won't stay in your bloodstream or your cells; it will just run right through you.
• If you drink a gallon of plain water but have zero salt, you'll just pee it out without actually hydrating your lymph fluid.

How much salt do you need?

The average modern diet is already high in sodium. Even if you don't add salt, it is naturally present in most foods. If you are eating a standard diet, your focus should be on increasing plain water to help flush out the salt you’ve already consumed.

However, you might need a little extra salt if:

• You are eating a very 'clean', whole-food diet with no processed foods.
• You just finished a heavy workout or a sauna session where you sweated a lot.
• You drink a lot of tea, coffee or alcohol (which are diuretics and flush out minerals).

Best types of salt

• Sea Salt or Himalayan salt: 
• These contain trace minerals (like potassium and magnesium) that help regulate the 'pump' of the lymphatic vessels better than plain sodium chloride.
• Coconut Water: 
• This is often called 'nature’s IV' for the lymphatic system because it has a perfect balance of potassium and sodium, which helps pull fluid out of the tissues and back into the drainage system.

Signs of too much or too little salt

Your lymphatic system is like a pressure gauge - it reacts quickly when the salt-to-water ratio is off.

Here is how to tell which way your balance is tilting:

Signs you have too much salt:

• When you have excess sodium, your body holds onto water to dilute it. This creates 'stagnant' fluid that the lymphatic system struggles to move.
• thirst: Your brain is screaming for water to help flush the excess sodium out.
• 'salt headache': A dull, throbbing headache often caused by increased blood volume and pressure
• ring test: Your rings feel tight, or you have "sausage fingers" in the morning.
• pitting oedema: If you press your thumb into your shin or ankle for 5 seconds and it leaves a visible "dent" or pit in the skin.
• shiny, stretched skin: Swelling in the lower legs that makes the skin look tight or glossy.

Signs you have too little salt:

• If your sodium is too low (hyponatremia), your cells can’t hold onto the water they need, and your 'lymphatic pump' loses its 'prime'.
• muscle cramps or twitches: sodium is essential for the electrical signals that tell muscles to contract and relax.
• dizziness when standing: Also known as a 'headrush'. This happens because your blood volume is too low to maintain pressure when you change positions
• brain fog or fatigue: You feel 'spaced out' or lethargic despite drinking plenty of water.
• 'running through you': You drink water and have to pee 15 minutes later, but the urine is crystal clear.
• This means the water isn't actually staying in your system to hydrate your lymph.