128. HOT TAKE: Should You Be Adding Salt or Electrolytes to Your Water?

Let's talk about salt, because half the Internet says to avoid it at all costs and the other half says to dump it straight into your water bottle. So what's actually true here? Is salt actually something you need to be supplementing with? Or is this just another wellness trend? If you've ever felt confused about electrolytes, mineral salts, or the role of sodium in your diet in general, especially if you're a woman trying to balance hydration and hormones and energy, this Hot Take episode is for you. Today we're breaking down what the research actually says about salts, electrolytes and hydration and giving you the clarity that you need to make informed choices for your health.

Welcome to well On Her Way, the podcast helping busy women cut through the noise of today's wellness industry to focus on what really moves the needle. I'm Dani Marenberg, nutritionist, women's health advocate and mom, juggling it all right alongside you. I know how overwhelming it is to do it all and still find time for you. Here we're done with wellness that overwhelms.

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Welcome back to the show. I'm Dani Marenberg and every month I do a Hot Take episode where I break down a trending topic, something that you guys want the real science back data on to know whether or not you should actually apply it to your day to day life, or if it's just another wellness fad and trend that you can pass on. So today's episode is actually one that was sent in from a listener. She said she was so confused on salt. Do we need to put it in our water? Do we actually need electrolytes day in and day out? Or is that just another marketing trend that we are being inundated with on the Internet? So in today's Hot Take episode we are talking all about salt and sodium and electrolytes. How much you really need when adding it can be helpful and the common misconceptions that can make it feel really confusing. So by the end of this episode you'll know how to make sodium work for your body without falling for the hype or overdoing it. So let's dive into why this conversation even exists. In the first place. For decades, I'm sure you know, salt has had a pretty bad reputation. And this is where the question comes up. Well, do I actually need salt? Sodium, do I actually need salt adding into my waters? Mainly because of its link to high blood pressure and heart disease historically. But lately, like I said, salt has made a major comeback. You're seeing electrolyte powders everywhere, like LMNT and hydrolyte. You're seeing sea salt and Himalayan salt trends claiming to help to hydrate on the cellular level. You're also seeing influencers telling you to mineralize your water, whatever the heck that means. Right. All of this has left so many women scratching their heads, especially those juggling fitness, hormonal balance, and energy needs. So let's clear it up first. I think it's important to understand what salt actually does first. Salt isn't inherently good or bad. It is a nutrient. And how it impacts your health depends on a couple things. It depends on the type of salt you're consuming, it depends on the source your salt is coming from, and it depends on your lifestyle. So these are things like your daily movement, your diet, your hydration, your hormones, and even heat exposure. So salt is a combination of sodium and chloride, and it is one of your body's main electrolytes. Along with potassium and magnesium, these electrolytes help your cells communicate, your muscles contract and your body move water where it needs to go. So when people say to hydrate at the cellular level, this is what they really mean. Sodium and potassium are moving fluid across cell walls. Magnesium keeps the balance steady. And then carbohydrates help pull sodium into cells. So in other words, real hydration is water plus electrolytes, plus balancing that all out and plain water alone is like trying to fill a sponge with no holes. It'll just run right off. So essentially, when people are saying hydrate at the cellular level, it's quite simple. Your cells need sodium, potassium and magnesium to absorb and hold the water. And without these three nutrients, you could be drinking a gallon of water and still feel dehydrated. The other important thing to note is that there are different types of salt. So you have table salt. This is the highly refined salts that are stripped of minerals, usually contains added iodine and anti caking agents. These are common in our processed foods. Then you have sea salt. This is evaporated. Seawater has trace minerals in it, good for water or seasoning, but still has higher amounts of sodium per teaspoon. Then you have the Himalayan or Celtic salt. And these are Ancient salt deposits. They contain trace minerals like your magnesium, your iron, your zinc. They're less processed and they help with that water balance that we talked about. But they're not full electrolyte replacement because they're missing the potassium. Then you have your electrolyte powders. These are the things that you're seeing everywhere. This is a ratio of balanced sodium, potassium and magnesium. And these are ideal for heavy sweating, for breastfeeding and prolonged activity. And we'll talk more about this in this episode. But these are really the four different types of salt that we are dealing with today. So how do you know if you're getting too little or too much sodium? Because this is really where it comes to play with how do you know if you should be supplementing with an electrolyte? It is going to be person dependent. But here are some signs to know if maybe you're getting too little sodium and could benefit from. So some electrolyte or adding some sort of salt to your water or to your meals, or if you're getting too much sodium and you want to be more cognizant of your sodium intake. So a couple signs that you are too little on your sodium intake include things like you are urinating constantly, but you're still feeling really thirsty. You're experiencing headaches or dizziness, muscle cramping or sluggishness. These are signs that you are not getting enough sodium in your diet. Now, some signs that you're getting too much sodium, often associated with higher processed food intake are things like puffy hands or fingers, swollen ankles, if your rings are tight, if you're feeling constantly bloated. Obviously there are a lot of things that can lead to bloat. But if you are one, recognizing you're eating more processed foods or you do have a lot of sodium in your diet, you start to really be more cognizant of it. That might be a reason for bloating or if you're experiencing high blood pressure. Some other ways you know if you need to add salt in or remove salt is if you are heavily sweating. So if it's really hot outside, if you're doing an intense workout, chances are you need to replenish with some sodium. If you're breastfeeding or you're just postpartum or you're pregnant, chances are your sodium intake, you need to up that a bit. So an electrolyte or some salt in your water can really help. If you're eating mostly whole foods, those aren't going to be highly salted. So you're not getting a lot of salt in from your diet, from your foods, so you can supplement with the salt or if you're drinking filtered or distilled water, where essentially what's happening there is, it is stripping the water of all of its minerals, it's stripping it of everything. So remineralizing it can really help. Other signs that you might need less sodium are if you're eating a lot of processed foods, you're going out to eat a lot, you're eating out at restaurants a lot, they add a lot of sodium to their foods. So chances are you might not need to supplement with additional sodium if that's the case. If you're salt sensitive, I mentioned high blood pressure, if you have any kidney issues, and if you are rarely sweating or omitting any sort of perspiration, you might not need additional salt in your diet. As somebody who would be sweating more. But a good general guideline is to aim for 1500-2300 milligrams a day. Most Americans today are getting well over 3400 milligrams a day. That is way more than the recommended average. But on a clean diet, many women are getting too little. So if you're eating primarily whole foods, maybe you're eating out a little bit here and there, but you're primarily eating at home whole foods. Chances are maybe you're not getting enough sodium. If you're eating out a ton, then you might be getting too much sodium. So there is this balance here and it's really understanding what your lifestyle habits look like to really understand where you're falling on this spectrum. So adding a pinch of mineral salt or an electrolyte powder can help if you're undermineralized. But the main problem here is usually the hidden sodium from ultra processed foods. Not just sprinkling salt on your eggs in the morning or adding a little bit of salt to your water. So how can you safely add in sodium to your diet? I would recommend if you are interested in an electrolyte, not all electrolytes are created equal. Find one that is sugar free, has very minimal added ingredients into it, and you want to make sure that you are getting an electrolyte that is quality focused. Another way that you can add in sodium is by taking some mineral salt and about a quarter of a teaspoon and adding that to anywhere from 25 to 30 ounces of water. It's gonna help remineralize your water and then naturally salty whole foods things like olives, pickles, broth, cottage Cheese, even salted nuts. These can help to increase your sodium too, without actually adding water or sodium to your water. If that's something that you don't want to do, you can increase your sodium if needed through some of these whole foods. And lastly here, I want to clear up some common misconceptions or fears around salt. Salt alone doesn't raise blood pressure. It is something that can exasperate the issue, but it itself isn't going to raise blood pressure. If you're looking for a salt that is mineral rich, these are not going to be toxic. The processed sodiums in junk food are really the main problems here. Adding electrolytes into your water, it's not dangerous. It is otherwise thought to be very healthy. But it's this combination of if you're eating an ultra processed diet, if you're eating packaged foods that are loaded with sodium, if you are going out to eat a ton and then you're also adding in electrolytes on top of that, the electrolytes aren't the problem, it's the ultra processed diet that's the problem. So all in all, the big picture here is if you're focusing on a very whole food focused diet, even if you're putting some Celtic salt in your meals, that alone isn't going to raise you beyond that threshold of what's recommended that 1500-23 milligrams a day of sodium. If you're one of the many Americans who are falling into the camp of, you know, getting 3,000 proteins plus milligrams a day of sodium, then that's something I would consider. If you're not sure the best first thing to do is really do an assessment of your lifestyle. How often are you going out to eat? How often are you eating packaged goods? If you're eating out more than you're eating in, if you're eating more processed packaged foods more than you're not, chances are you might be higher on that sodium spectrum. But if you're making a lot of your meals at home, if you're conscious of what you're putting in your meals, you're eating whole food focused, then you might benefit from adding in an electrolyte. I personally love my electrolytes. I put it in my water every single day. I start every single morning with a pinch of sea salt in my water and then I have an electrolyte in my water bottle throughout the day. And that's because I know for me, I am eating almost all whole food focused. I'm making most of my meals. And I can feel the difference in just overall hydration and energy when I am adding in that electrolyte. So as you get more familiar with your body cues, you're getting more in tune with your natural rhythm. You'll be able to tell if it is really benefiting you, or if you're experiencing things like swollenness or your rings are fitting tight, you're bloated, you're puffy, you're experiencing some of that high blood pressure, then maybe go it one step further and start to actually track what you're consuming. And that can help you inside a food tracking app. It can help you, it can be a resource to see how many milligrams of sodium you're getting per day. So as my closing hot take here, the bottom line is that salt is not inherently good or bad. It's all about the context that it's in. Hidden sodium is in processed foods and that is not great. But mineral rich salts or electrolyte powders that are clean electrolyte powders, they're not loaded with sugars or added ingredients fillers. These can be very helpful, especially if you are sweating, you're working out, you're active, you're breastfeeding, you're pregnant, you're postpartum, or you're eating a very, very whole food focused diet and you're not adding a lot of salt to or really any salt to your diet, then it can be extremely beneficial. Now, balance is key here. Like with everything, food, movement, hydration and stress are all going to have an impact with overall sodium. So don't just dump sodium in your water or avoid it completely. Consider your diet. Consider your daily activity. Pay attention to your biofeedback markers and your overall hydration, how you're feeling when you're drinking water, if you are feeling hydrated, or if you're still feeling thirsty after you're drinking your water. All of these can really help you decide if an electrolyte powder or adding salt to your water is the best benefit for you. That's it for this Hot Take episode. If you enjoyed this Hot Take episode and you want future trends analyzed, leave a review comment or DM me on Instagram at well on her waypod with whatever future trend you want me to analyze next. And as always, it means the world if you could leave a rating and review for this podcast, share it with a friend who would benefit and thanks for listening. I'll see you next time.