The science of hydration and the electrolytes you actually need

Eight glasses a day. An ounce per pound. A pinch of salt in your water. Everyone has a hydration rule, and most of them came from somewhere other than the research.

This live episode was recorded in front of an audience at the Friends of the National Arboretum in Washington, DC (@fonarboretum), with an outdoor yoga session led by Bikram Yoga Works (@bikramyogaworks). Thank you to both for making the night possible.

Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN, answers listener questions about hydration and explains what the research actually supports. She breaks down the four phases of hydration, which are intake, absorption, retention, and distribution, and explains why sodium and glucose work together to pull fluid out of your digestive system and into your tissues faster than water alone. That mechanism is exactly what an electrolyte drink mix like Liquid I.V. is built around, which is why it can be such a useful tool when you are sweating hard, training, traveling, or just trying to keep up on a hot day.

Monica also covers how much water you really need each day, how much of it you already get from food and other beverages, and how much fluid and sodium you lose through sweat.

Plus, she takes listener questions on whether sugar free electrolyte drinks work as well as the sugared kind, how to think about sodium guidelines when you are sweating heavily, whether it is possible to drink too much water, whether a pinch of salt or a squeeze of lemon does anything, whether coffee and tea count toward your daily fluids, what apple cider vinegar in your morning water actually does, and whether reverse osmosis water needs minerals added back in.

Topics include hydration, electrolytes, sodium, healthy habits, nutrition myths, viral nutrition claims, sports drinks, caffeine, and evidence based nutrition.

The science of hydration, presented by Liquid I.V. @liquidiv #paidpartner

Use the code 2026ND on liquidiv.com for 20% off your first order.

Special thanks to Friends of the National Arboretum and Bikram Yoga Works !!

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