Ashley’s answer: Great awareness—water alone does not a hydrated person make! H2O is necessary to our body both inside and outside of our cells. However, water can’t get inside our cells (i.e. properly absorbed) unless a few conditions are met. You’re already savvy to condition #1: you have to drink or eat water to get it into the body. Condition #2: the body can’t be overloaded with sodium (we need this mineral, but we don’t want too much of it since sodium keeps water outside of our cells. Ever feel puffy after eating sushi or sundried tomato bruschetta?) Condition #3: we need adequate potassium, Mother Nature’s pro-hydrator. Potassium works opposite to sodium to bring water inside your cells. (Basically, it wins the tug of war at your cells’ doorsteps.) Insufficient potassium intake could be the reason that, despite practicing conditions 1 & 2, you may still feel dehydrated. Before you run out and get boatloads of potassium supplements, note that potassium should be consumed primarily from food. Try avocado, banana, coconut water, and even potatoes (unsalted please, especially because you’re trying to hydrate.) Keep in mind that there are times when someone who eats a quality diet might benefit from some additional sodium—if it’s excessively hot outside or you’re exercising—but the reality is that for most people, the issue is too much sodium, typically from salt. So take a look at your diet. Journaling is a great way to assess your food and drink intake; try it for a week, note when you feel most dehydrated, and see how your day stacked up in terms of conditions 1, 2 & 3. Chewing over a food quandary? Send it to AskAshley@Prevention.com Ashley Koff is a registered dietitian, Qualitarian, nutrition expert, and co-author of Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to Live Fully Charged (Hay House; 2011) as well as Recipes for IBS (Fair Winds Press; 2007).
