Optimal hydration may slow down the aging process in humans

Personal anecdote. Experiences vary but for me over the past few years deliberately drinking a lot of water- generally 64oz+ per day, lightly salted (a couple of coarse grains per 32oz jug)- has had a huge positive impact.

I almost never feel thirsty when I don't drink and so have to put in conscious effort to do it but when I do many aspects of my psychic experience change. I am more awake, think more clearly, have more energy, on and on. Many more purely physical aspects improve as well- my digestion is better, I have better appetite management, my skin is clearer, etc.

Last year we had a temporary issue with our fridge ice maker so I used that as an excuse to get the family a super bougie standalone ice maker- the GE Opal. It has unexpectedly made the water habit much easier for everyone. Now I can't think of a better spent $600.

Really would like Huberman to do a hydration/water/salt episode.

OK so the extremes of this are accepted but I’m genuinely not aware of the evidence that sodium concentration varies with minor shifts in “hydration” (an odd term to see in a medical article).

For example, we know that destroying the ion gradient in the kidneys through massive overconsumption of fluid and underconsumption of solute can lead to hyponatremia (“potomania”).

But this mechanism is not relevant in normal physiology. So I’m again wondering whether it is appropriate to be attributing sodium shifts to hydration. In the Intro, the authors really dance around this and do not address it. So I assume that there is not actually good evidence for their assertion.

You could, in contrast, easily sell me on the notion that sodium set points change with age, but that could have nothing to do with volume intake.

I used to drink water only when thirst climbs up my throat; over the course of last year or two, I gradually increased the frequency and amount of water intake, to about 2.5 liters per day. Not an extraordinary amount, but quite effectively, it has alleviated my chronic stuffy nose.

Slowing down aging, improvements of digestive system, etc. I can't really feel. But the freedom to breath through my nose, which used to occur only after a hot shower, to be liberated from having to gape my mouth like a dazed cat all the time, is a huge reward in itself.

Anecdotal, of course. But I've rule out tons of other variables already (location, allergen, air humidity, temperature, diet, etc.) for this chronic---and inherited---condition, and I'm reasonably confident in my uneducated guess that hydration has something to do with it.

What is "optimal hydraton" here?

From the article:

> People whose middle-age serum sodium exceeds 142 mmol/l have increased risk to be biologically older, develop chronic diseases and die at younger age. Intervention studies are needed to confirm the link between hydration and aging.

I'm not really sure about how high that level is (relatively, are we talking dehydration levels or are we talking that you have to be a top 1% "hydro homie" to "not age too much").

In the abstract the researchers state:

We used serum sodium, as a proxy for hydration habits.

However they do not explain whether higher or lower levels mean more or less hydration, or vice versa.

I found the answer at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK306/

Only when such a patient is denied access to water or is unable to obtain water because of unconsciousness or disability does the serum sodium concentration rise, resulting in hypernatremia.

The study measured hydration in terms of sodium, but how do we know that the effective age reduction was not (or additionally) due to relatively higher consumption of potassium rich foods (such as fruits & vegetables)? Potassium can reduce sodium via membrane potential.

I've suffered acne pretty much my entire life well into my thirties. It used to get pretty bad. Over the past year I randomly discovered a correlation: drinking water helps, not drinking water makes it worse. I can't count how many times I've seen articles that end with generic off-hand advice to "hydrate" and just ignored it, because I consume fluid every day. Never occurred to me that this is actually the most important part - drinking enough water will literally improve your life.

Interesting. I'm a physician, and I'm often perplexed at what evidence my colleagues could possibly be referencing when they talk about the ideal water intake for human health.

The pubmedding I've done on the issue seems to intake that thirst is a more sensitive instrument than any easily available serum marker.

Another anectode, the 2 weeks ago I had some minor urinary tract infection and the solution was - drink more fluids. Water or tea.

I was sure how much was it, so I drank much more than usual of tea and a water intake was normal.

At some point I reversed it. Stopped drinking tea, but drank 1 liter of water conciously.

And man did that changed things quickly. In two days my uti was gone and I had such a great time working more, thinking more creatively, even having clearer skin.

Could it be that people who sweat have lower serum sodium?

I wonder if it's possible to lower the value not only by adding water, but by sweating out the sodium?

People who exercise or use saunas have much lower mortality rates.

Of course, maybe they have to hydrate, as they remove sodium through their sweat and their body might accentuate their sense of thirst.

additionally, people's sense of thirst is decreased as they get older.

I like to reuse large containers from orange juice and ice tea as water bottles.

I’ll keep several around the house, so I’ll always have a large bottle of filtered water right next to me.

For me it helps with staying hydrated, and I like to think that reusing these bottles is better than recycling them right away.

Also as a cheap skate the notion of a $30+ bottle is silly

I had a really bad chronic headache. Had it for most of my life. Came with bouts of over-eating, sensory overload. In the end there were months with few days below 5 on the pain scale. Nobody could find anything, nothing was wrong, but I was in pain. On a whim, on one of the bad days, I decided to “drink until I was no longer thirsty”. The thirst was not strong, but I was desperate. 6 liters of heavily salted water later I was better. And I’ve remained better. I always have a bottle at hand - mostly tap water, some mineral water or sport hydration thrown in for salt retention. When I feel a headache coming on, the day will include more (and more conscious) drinking. Not sure why this is or whether that’s only me. But it is something quite safe and quite accessible that might help someone.

A divulgative article over the submitted original is on MedicalXPress at:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-01-good-hydration-linked...

The older you get the higher the propability to get diabetes, not sure they tested for something like that. But kidneys ability to filter sodium goes down when there's a problem with fructose or so. I think I saw this on yt with Peter attia. He also notes that sodium should always be consumed with liquid

Lol All It shows is that It is way too easy to get published in this field

Rule of thumb: if expulsed urine volume (after fall) exceeds ripe lemon color, you have to drink more. How this relates to the paper? Only intuitively.

It would be interesting to run tests with this data on alcoholics. Most binge drinkers damage their bodies mostly due to dehydration. Could also explain how some get away with minimal damage to health

sleep

exercise

hydrate

pick two, ideally three :)