Is drinking a glass of salty water the ultimate affordable health hack?

In typical British fashion, the weather is all over the place — but with forecasters predicting more record-breaking temperatures, it’s worth thinking about how to safeguard your health whilst making the most of what summer has to offer.

It might sound bonkers, but sipping salty water is the latest health craze that wellness influencers are hyping up as a means of hydrating, detoxing and improving digestion to help prep for summer. The idea is is simple. You upgrade your glass of plain H20 with some salt in order to reap serious wellbeing effects, but before you jump on the TikTok bandwagon, there’s a lot to factor in.

How much is too much?

“According to the NHS adults should have no more than 6g of salt per day. Visually, this equates to about 1 teaspoon of salt. If you consume too much salt it can raise your blood pressure which has its own health risks such as heart disease and heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease,” explains wellbeing expert Chloe Bowler (chloebowler.com).

So what’s the science behind the salty water trend? As temperatures creep up, you naturally sweat more as your body’s way of cooling itself down. If you work out in warm weather, you sweat even more, and which can further increase the risk of dehydration.

This is where salt comes in. Regular salt is made of sodium and chloride which are electrolytes. These are nutrients that help to transport water to your cells to maintain the correct fluid balance, which is why you may naturally require extra sodium when you sweat excessively, (although it’s worth mentioning that sweat rates and electrolyte losses vary from person to person).

General signs that you might need to replenish electrolytes like sodium include brain fog, headaches and lightheadedness, white, sweat stains on your clothes, salty-tasting sweat, and a craving for salty foods.

The detoxifying benefits of sodium

Salt, however, isn’t the only way to top up your sodium levels, in fact small amounts of sodium are found in fresh fruits and vegetables, and since the mineral is only needed by the body in very small amounts, you’re probably already obtaining enough. “However if you do exercise in regular endurance races or similar, or if you begin to experience muscle cramps or lightheadedness, then you may need to add a little extra salt to your body, but it is definitely important to not over-consume salt in your diet,” explains Bowler.

According to the advocates, (of which supermodel Elle Macpherson is one), the other benefit of drinking salty water is to stimulate detoxification, but salt devotees maintain that its best to sip your salty drink first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to kickstart cleansing, although there is no real research backing this up.

Sodium in the right quantities, however helps to support the kidneys to flush out toxins and other impurities from your blood via urine — but to complicate matters, too much sodium has the opposite effect and can actually place a strain on kidney health so it’s with making sure you’re not going over the recommended daily allowance.

If you are a healthy individual with no adverse medical conditions, there could be no harm in chugging back a glass of salty water, (think a tall glass of around 250ml with a 1/8 teaspoon of salt), a couple of times a week. And if you do jump onto the trend, switch to high quality pink Himalayan salt or sea salt (making sure to choose fine varieties as they dissolve better than coarse ones) over regular table salt. Table salt has been industrially processed transforming its chemical structure into one that your body is unable to properly digest, so you’ll want to give cheap table salt a miss.

You might want to try an electrolyte drink instead as these are finely tuned to include a specific balance of minerals like potassium and magnesium which together help regulate your body’s natural fluid levels. “Electrolyte drinks are also a good option but do be aware that some of these drinks may also contain sweeteners, flavourings and sugar so always read the labels,” says Bowler.