‘I drank a glass of salt water every morning to improve my hydration’
You don’t need me to tell you that drinking enough water is important. We all know the drill – drink plenty of water, and you’ll feel great. Why? Well, drinking water can support your skin and sleep, prevent headaches and even aid weight loss. But according to a new TikTok trend, simply drinking water isn’t enough to keep you properly hydrated.
In fact, people online are claiming that adding salt to your water is the game-changing health hack you need to try. That’s because salt, an electrolyte we often overlook, is what your body really needs to stay hydrated.
So, for those of us who feel like we’re drinking a lot of water, yet still feel dehydrated – yes, we’re looking at you and your emotional support water bottle – could salt water be the solution we’ve been waiting for?
Let’s dive in and find out if this health trend is just another fleeting fad, or whether it’s a super easy way to improve how your body feels day-to-day.
FYI: The NHS recommends drinking 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count.
Why is staying hydrated so important?
Good hydration is so much more than just avoiding the uncomfortable feeling of being thirsty.
‘Every part of our body is run and relies on water,’ explains registered dietitian at CityDietians, Sophie Medlin.
‘Being just 1% dehydrated can impact your mental and physical performance, memory and stress levels, so being hydrated – properly hydrated – is such an important part of everyday life.’
Proper hydration can also boost your gut health, as well as how your organs work. ‘Hydration improves our liver function which helps to detoxify the body, so it's such an important thing to make sure that we are well hydrated,’ Medlin adds.
Can adding salt to water improve your health?
Adding salt to drinking water has been described as a cheaper alternative to buying sport-specific electrolyte drinks. These drinks are designed to replenish the body with salts, which are crucial to hydration.
‘All of our cells rely on salt and other electrolytes to help make electrical conductivity,’ Medlin explains.
‘Salt plays a really important role in maintaining the fluid balance in our body, making sure we retain the right amount of water and don't retain too much water so that we feel well.’
If you’re chugging a lot of water but don’t feel rehydrated, this could be because your body isn’t retaining salts. ‘Often this will be either in specific circumstances, like you’re on holiday and are sweating a lot, or you’ve done lots of exercise, or you’ve had diarrhoea,’ Medlin says.
‘That’s because you’ve lost both salt and water,’ she continues. ‘Putting more and more water into the body without the right electrolytes, we can end up feeling like we’re not getting the hydration we really need, and that’s why using rehydration solutions can be important.’
With this in mind, for some people, adding salt to your water could therefore benefit your health.
Who can benefit from adding salt to drinking water?
Adding salt to your drinking water isn’t a solution for everyone. ‘There are plenty of people who struggle with high blood pressure so we do need to be careful with recommending that everyone adds salt to water,’ Medlin says.
On top of this, most of us are consuming a lot of salt in our diets, particularly if we consume processed foods and salty snacks. For this reason, the ‘vast majority’ of people don’t need to be adding salt to their water, according to Medlin.
‘People who are exercising excessively, who have bowel problems or sweat excessively may benefit from adding some salt to their water,’ Medlin says, caveating that you should speak to a GP or get support from a dietician or a nutritionist before doing so.
The NHS recommends that adults have no more than 6g of salt a day (around 1 level teaspoon). This includes the salt that’s already in our food and the salt added during and after cooking
How to add salt to your drinking water
With TikTokers making homemade electrolyte drinks – adding salt as well as other ingredients like lemon juice – Medlin says that adding a source of sugar to your drink alongside salt could be beneficial.
‘When we are replacing electrolytes, it’s useful to have some form of sugar in there which helps to drive the salt into the bloodstream and the water, through something called the solvent drag,’ Medlin says.
‘Including some fruit juice with some salt is a helpful way of improving your hydration on a day-to-day basis and it's one of the reasons why lots of the hydration drinks do include some sugar, because it can be very beneficial to hydration,’ she adds.
My experience drinking salt water for one week
I’ll admit that drinking water has never really been a problem for me. I’m one of those people with a 1.2 litre Stanley cup glued to my side, sipping away on it like it’s my full-time job – honestly, sometimes it feels more like procrastination than hydration!
And let’s not forget the ‘emergency wee’ situation. I’m that friend who always needs to stop for a bathroom break before doing anything.
But maybe, all that water I’m drinking isn’t actually doing the job? Maybe it’s not hydrating me properly? So when I saw TikTokers swearing by adding salt to your water for better hydration, I wondered if adding salt to my water could help.
For a week, I kicked off my mornings with a glass of water, a pinch of pink Himalayan salt (because, apparently, it’s packed with more minerals than regular table salt), and a squeeze of half a lemon. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad – it actually tasted pretty refreshing, which I was relieved about, especially since most liquid diet trends are... well, not always that appetising (cough cough, looking at you, apple cider vinegar).
At first, I didn’t notice much of a difference. I still drank my usual 4-5 litres of water (I know, I know – it’s a lot and more than the minimum 6-8 cups recommended for women), and while I did go to the bathroom a lot, it was pretty much the same as usual.
I continued to drink my salty, lemony water concoction for seven days, and as much as it was a nice ritual to start my day with, I can’t say I honestly noticed much of a difference. I felt more or less the same, and the bathroom trips were as frequent as ever.
Of course, a week isn’t a very long time in the grand scheme of things, and if I were to commit to drinking salt water for a longer period, perhaps I would notice an impact on my health. But chances are, as Medlin explained, I probably didn’t need the extra electrolytes, so adding salt to my water was just one extra step that wasn’t really necessary.
The bottom line
Overall, I don’t think TikTok’s salt water trend is a complete fad. After all, there are some people who might be lacking electrolytes and could benefit from it. Having tried it myself, however, I don’t think I’m one of them.
Key takeaways:
Hydration is key: Drinking enough water is crucial for your health, but it's not just about quantity, the quality of hydration matters too.
Salt may help: Adding salt to your water can help improve hydration for those who may be lacking electrolytes, especially after sweating a lot or exercising.
The TikTok trend isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution: While the trend of adding salt to water might be helpful for some, it’s not a miracle cure. It’s important to assess your own hydration needs and lifestyle before jumping on this trend.
Consult a doctor: If you’re considering adding salt to your water due to health reasons or symptoms of dehydration, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional to make sure it’s right for you.
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