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Hydration is a crucial topic that very few of us take into real consideration. This is shown by the fact that as much as 75% of the American population is chronically dehydrated.

Many people would likely suggest drinking more water or possibly even Gatorade as solutions to dehydration. However, neither of these are real answers.

Gatorade is full of artificial ingredients and sugar which makes you more thirsty. As for water, the tap or filtered water that most of us drink is almost completely devoid of the minerals it used to hold, making it a less viable source of hydration.

What to do about this then? How do we work with the options we have?

Use Salt

My first recommendation, and certainly the easiest, would be to add salt to your water. Anything from a pinch to a teaspoon works, I tend to go heavier on the salt because I don’t mind the taste.

I also really notice the water retention that the salt provides. For me that’s amazing because I feel like most things I drink go right through me and are therefore useless for hydration.

Get ready for another caveat though!

Just like our current drinking water isn’t ideal, neither is our salt. Most salt is too processed just like water, so you have to be specific.

In order from worst to best, the list goes iodized, sea salt, celtic, himalayan, and Redmond Real Salt. The higher up this list you go, the more natural and the less processed these salts are. Not to mention the natural mineral profile will increase dramatically as well, helping you absorb and retain the water you drink.

Find Better Water

As mentioned earlier, the water we usually drink is not ideal because it has been sitting in old pipes for a long time and will often be considered “dead water”.

Something I’ve recently started doing out of curiosity is foraging my own spring water. You can harvest spring water anywhere there is a continuously running spring that is preferably not tampered with.

I realized that one of the natural areas near me had a running spring within it and now I’ve gone several times just to collect water. By the way, the water tastes much better than what I am used to drinking, which is tap water put through a Brita filter. The only way I can describe it is that it tastes clean, as if the metallic flavor has been removed.

Spring water is often considered “live water” because is has risen up from under the earth to the surface and has been moving and holding onto minerals its whole existence. It is therefore more hydrating because it contains a more diverse mineral profile that is necessary for us.

Here is the website I used to find the spring near me. It has a built-in map to locate a spring no matter where you are and will provide details about the site as well.

Try Coconut Water

One of my favorite drinks in the world is coconut water. I remember when I used to run for several hours a week and was looking for a more sustainable way to remain hydrated instead of drinking gallons of water. I came across coconut water as an option and it really delivered.

The first few times I drank it, I felt noticeably better before and after I ran. This was because of the electrolyte (mineral) profile of it. Coconut water is a good source of sodium, potassium, and magnesium which are all crucial to our hydration levels.

It is an acquired taste but it’s one of the only things I drink besides water and coffee. Try to avoid the ones with other fruit juices added because that’s just a way for them to sweeten it up with a ton of sugar.

I prefer to drink Vita Coco’s Pressed Coconut because it leaves some of the coconut pulp in there, it’s never from concentrate, and it tastes very clean. 

Bone Broth?

I bet you weren’t expecting this one. Bone broth is one of the hottest superfoods right now, but make no mistake, it’s here to stay.

It’s known to be great for your hair, skin, and nails. I got interested in it because I almost always have dry skin and a dry scalp, and I got tired of chugging so many fluids with little effect.

Bone broth has a ton more benefits but for the purpose of this article, I just want to focus on the incredible nutrient density that it offers and why it’s great.

Now clearly, bone broths are made with the bones of animals primarily. But when simmered with vegetables too (and most pre-made ones are), you get the benefits of additional electrolytes (minerals) to help absorption, and carbohydrates to retain those electrolytes and water.

Bone broth made with bones and vegetables provides a great source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and many more. This is a recipe for success when it comes to hydrating yourself.

The brand I like to use is Kettle and Fire. I will use their beef or chicken broth as either the base of a soup I’m making or warm it up and drink it like tea.