Add a Pinch of Salt to Your Drinking Water
Salt has been getting a bad rap for years now, especially due to obnoxious levels of sodium in processed and prepared foods. However, we all need salt to survive, and the body uses it to bring water into cells and carry waste out. Believe it or not, having a little bit of salt with your next glass or bottle of water can actually do your body a lot of good.
Salt Promotes Hydration
Believe it or not, salt actually encourages hydration and ensures that the body is making good use of the fluids it ingests. It is true that drinking salt water or ingesting too much sodium at once can cause dehydration, taking it in small doses is incredibly beneficial. This translates into making better use of water, which is incredibly important during survival situations.
Better hydration means clearer thinking, less fatigue, more energy and more control over mood and feelings. It also involves ensuring that cells will be able to dispose of wastes, regenerate themselves and keep the body operating at peak efficiency.
Salt is Necessary in a SHTF Situation
The body needs around 3.5 grams of salt per day for optimal cellular functioning. We lose a lot of salt through exercise, perspiration and stress. We loose access to normal amounts of salt if we are living off the land from hunting and gathering. The very nature of being in a survival situation produces the double whammy of losing salt intake in addition to excreting what’s in our bodies in excessive amounts.
Just look at athletes and sports-junkies who consume lots of sports drinks. These drinks basically have ingredients that supplement what we lose during physical exertion. The reason they are so effective is that the salt, sugar and other minerals helps to re-hydrate the body more than water alone. If you plan on engaging in strenuous activity, make sure to drink a few bottles of water with a pinch of salt and perhaps some sugar to replenish what your body loses.
Pinch of Sea Salt
Drinking small amounts of salt water has been normal for centuries in many cultures. For example, Indians are known to drink a glass in the morning after waking up. However, there are fundamental differences between table and sea salt that are worth mentioning before downing a shot before having some coffee.
Sea salt has an abundance of minerals and micro-nutrients that are not available anywhere else. Table or iodized salt usually comes from mines and lacks all of those good things for the body that is found in the world’s oceans. Take a pinch of sea salt and toss it in your coffee in the morning, or put it in your drinking water bottle and imbibe.
Trial and Error
Putting salt in drinking water should be done on a per-serving basis for a couple of reasons. First, it will help you to determine a serving size that isn’t too much or too little. Secondly, it will enhance the chemical reaction that occurs in order to maximize its benefits. Each person will have a different tolerance level as well as response to this technique. It’s important to experiment and see how you feel with different proportions over the course of time until you find the best amount for your needs.
Keep in mind that your intake will need to vary based on your metabolism, level of physical exertion and how much you consume through food as well. Finally, try to lower sodium intake through food and focus on introducing it to water a couple of times per day to maximize its effectiveness and the speed of absorption.
Try it for yourself and see how different you will feel as your body soaks up more water instead of just peeing it out. Many people report that dry-mouth and fatigue disappear once they start drinking salty water, and there’s a really good chance that you can benefit as well.
