Hello,So I Am on the hclf life style for 4 years now, I have been 2 years raw but not eating enough then rawtill4 but not eating enough during the day and more at night which was not great. Then 8month more cooked"vegan" still mainly whole food. In beetween 5 weeks a year fully raw but with more fat in the evening.Anyway my point is that 10days ago since fruit are in season decided to go rawtill4 because I feel like it and wanted to try it while eating enough during the Day. My problem is that I feel as if I am dehydrated no matter how much water I drink, especially at night. I don't understand where the problem can come from, I have been fully raw and cooked but did not need that much water. I eat 2head of lettuce a day+some other veggies, even add some green juice again but it did not help. So any suggestion what is going on? Seems that I Could have a minéral imbalance? Too much fruit? Not enough fat? Salt?
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If you're eating high-water content fruit and veg, drinking water, not sweating excessively and yet feeling dehydrated, you're not absorbing the water you drink. You're not absorbing the water you drink due to an electrolyte imbalance, most likely inadequate sodium intake. (Unless you have a problem with your kidneys/adrenals and aldosterone, but you'd likely have lots of symptoms of ill health if so.)
You can make your own re-hydration drinks by simply adding salt to your smoothies.
You can get sodium from veggies, but the problem in doing this once your sodium levels are already too low, is that the veggies come with more water (and more potassium; you need a balance of sodium to potassium to maintain health, which is called the "life/death" ratio it's so important!) which does nothing to improve the ratio of sodium to fluid in your body. You need pure sodium at this stage.
Importantly, you need to reduce your water intake till you're more hydrated, and then consider going back to not drinking loads of plain water, which you mention you used to do.
And some more questions Nakd nutrition:) or anybody else do you think the imbalance is due to drinking too much water? how do you know your sodium body level are good again? And how much salt did you take to recover and now did you diminish the quantity?and how to know how much salt to take? I choosed to go for 3g for the moment...sorry for all the questions.
Thanks for your reply. I saw your post on another thread about hydration, so just thought I'd capture some points here.
Absolutely, thirst is a sign of dehydration. Broadly, dehydration is caused by either not consuming enough fluid, or by the fluid you're consuming not being absorbed by the body, and essentially running right through you (certain illnesses can also cause dehydration, but that isn't relevant here). The net result is the same: inadequate fluid levels in the body.
If someone is consuming a very high water-rich diet and drinking 4 litres of water a day, without sweating much/at all, in conjunction with a low sodium diet, it is fair to assume that the problem isn't an inadequate consumption of fluid, but rather the fluid consumed not being absorbed properly.
No doubt you already know, when people are suffering with dehydration, they aren't simply given water, they're given a solution of water mixed with sodium and glucose. In brief, the glucose helps with the absorption of the sodium and the water, and the sodium is needed alongside the water to further aid absorption and re-balance the electrolytes. The sodium and glucose co-transport one another, so each is vital, alongside the water.
Which is why for Wildy, the best remedy is to simply add salt to smoothies to aid fluid/sodium absorption, and reduce fluid intake to boost the sodium to fluid ratio.
I agree that you can get plenty of sodium from an adequate calorie intake, without the need for salt. But if you're consuming lots of fluid on top of this, then the electrolyte/fluid ratio becomes unbalanced and the need for extra sodium arises, as in hyponatremia or intense sports recovery.
Additionally, the kidneys can only process approx 800ml-1litre of fluid an hour. Drinking a full litre before each meal, and then consuming lots of water-rich food, is more fluid than the kidneys can handle, and simply serves to create stress. Water should be consumed in smaller, regular amounts throughout the course of the day to enable the body to handle it properly.
Apologies if you knew any of this already, just wanted to make sure I was being thorough, as I've typed this in a bit of a rush. Please shout if I've not been clear/missed something.
ETA Apologies for the formatting, the site isn't allowing me to insert double spacing between the paragraphs, hope it's not too much of a headache to read.
Yes, I definitely do think you got this way by drinking too much water. You'll be fine in the future if you can keep your fluid much lower.
I don't have the figures to hand, but the original, mainstream, recommendation to drink 2 litres of water a day was a misrepresentation of the amount of total fluid the body needs. It was 2 litres total, including that which is supplied by your food. From memory, the average Joe only needs to drink about 1 litre-1.5 litres a day (barring excessive sweating), and that's with minimal water-rich fruit and veggies in their diet.
Actually, you know I think Dr Gregor might have done a vid on how much water to drink at some point. Not sure, might be worth checking if you're concerned (you do sound a little worried about this!) as I know this falls someway short of the amount of water people tend to drink on this lifestyle. As with all things, the dose makes the poison.
You'll know when your levels are good from your bio-feedback, listening to your body. Feeling hydrated, no dry mouth, no racing heart in the night, good energy levels during the day, skin being healthy. That kind of stuff.
I don't remember how much salt I took to recover, I just added as much as I felt like till I was better. I also can't remember exactly how long that took either! Sorry. Try not to overthink this, it sounds like you're already getting results from just one day of adding in a bit of salt, so if you stick with it, presumably it won't take you very long at all.
Thanks a lot for your answer, indeed i added salt yesterday and drank less water and my mouth was not dry at night :), on the other hand don't know if it is the salt but feel a little strange today, don't know if it is the right word, i will say dizzy. Maybe i added too much.
And i have a few questions: how much salt à day should i take? Is it temporary and then i Will be able to go back to a low salt diet? And Is it good to eat salt?
Timings-wise, you simply need to salt your food, while reducing your water, till you feel better. I can't advise you on how much salt you need without knowing any info re your serum osmolality/sodium levels. Start off with smaller amounts if that makes you feel more comfortable. You'll get there quicker if you can be strict with reducing the water intake.
Yes, this absolutely is temporary. I suspect you got to where you are by consuming too much water in conjunction with your low sodium diet. Is it good to eat salt? Depends on the context. Yes if you're dying from dehydration, as it'll save your life, no if you've got high blood pressure, as it could well kill you. (Never table salt though.) For you right now, yes, it's good to eat salt.
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Also if you can give us some meals over a few days, that will give us more to work with.
If you're eating high-water content fruit and veg, drinking water, not sweating excessively and yet feeling dehydrated, you're not absorbing the water you drink. You're not absorbing the water you drink due to an electrolyte imbalance, most likely inadequate sodium intake. (Unless you have a problem with your kidneys/adrenals and aldosterone, but you'd likely have lots of symptoms of ill health if so.)
It does NOT sound like you were drinking too much water.
Eat enough calories per day and you get enough sodium in your diet. You do not need to add salt to your food
If you are feeling dehydrated then drink more water. If you are getting thirsty then you are getting dehydrated.
Drink a L before each meal and before bed. Sip throughout the night when you get up to pee.
You do not need to eat salt!!!!!
Celery does contain a high amount of sodium if you are looking to eat more sodium.
Hi Jacob,
Yes, I definitely do think you got this way by drinking too much water. You'll be fine in the future if you can keep your fluid much lower.
I don't have the figures to hand, but the original, mainstream, recommendation to drink 2 litres of water a day was a misrepresentation of the amount of total fluid the body needs. It was 2 litres total, including that which is supplied by your food. From memory, the average Joe only needs to drink about 1 litre-1.5 litres a day (barring excessive sweating), and that's with minimal water-rich fruit and veggies in their diet.
Actually, you know I think Dr Gregor might have done a vid on how much water to drink at some point. Not sure, might be worth checking if you're concerned (you do sound a little worried about this!) as I know this falls someway short of the amount of water people tend to drink on this lifestyle. As with all things, the dose makes the poison.
You'll know when your levels are good from your bio-feedback, listening to your body. Feeling hydrated, no dry mouth, no racing heart in the night, good energy levels during the day, skin being healthy. That kind of stuff.
I don't remember how much salt I took to recover, I just added as much as I felt like till I was better. I also can't remember exactly how long that took either! Sorry. Try not to overthink this, it sounds like you're already getting results from just one day of adding in a bit of salt, so if you stick with it, presumably it won't take you very long at all.
Thanks a lot for your answer, indeed i added salt yesterday and drank less water and my mouth was not dry at night :), on the other hand don't know if it is the salt but feel a little strange today, don't know if it is the right word, i will say dizzy. Maybe i added too much.
And i have a few questions: how much salt à day should i take? Is it temporary and then i Will be able to go back to a low salt diet? And Is it good to eat salt?
Thank you again for your answers.
Wonderful!
Timings-wise, you simply need to salt your food, while reducing your water, till you feel better. I can't advise you on how much salt you need without knowing any info re your serum osmolality/sodium levels. Start off with smaller amounts if that makes you feel more comfortable. You'll get there quicker if you can be strict with reducing the water intake.
Yes, this absolutely is temporary. I suspect you got to where you are by consuming too much water in conjunction with your low sodium diet. Is it good to eat salt? Depends on the context. Yes if you're dying from dehydration, as it'll save your life, no if you've got high blood pressure, as it could well kill you. (Never table salt though.) For you right now, yes, it's good to eat salt.
If the salt is correcting the problem then I would just eat a meal of cantaloupe for the next few days and lower the salt to nil in 3 days time.
How much water do you drink per day ?
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