Keeping Hydrated at Sea
The old saying “water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink” rings truer than true for us salt dwellers making a life at sea. We’re surrounded by masses of ocean water, around 1,400,000,000,000,000,000,000.000000000000000000000000 litres (how do you even say that number?!) to be a bit more precise…
Yet, if we drink Seawater, it’ll kill us.
Why?
According to USGS - “Seawater is toxic to humans because your body is unable to get rid of the salt that comes from Seawater. Your body’s kidneys normally remove excess salt by producing urine, but the body needs fresh water to dilute the salt in your body for the kidneys to work properly. Normally that is not a problem, as you are always drinking water and eating food with water. Tissue in your body also contains freshwater that can be used. But if there is too much salt in your body, your kidneys cannot get enough freshwater to dilute the salt, and your body will fail.”
So, drinking salt water really isn’t an option. But there are still several options for you when it comes to having a freshwater supply on board:
You can ration the water supply you bring from land. (If this is you, supply generously and get lots of spare. Ration your water use in terms of showers and dishes, not in terms of drinking water).
You can have a desalination/reverse osmosis system.
Or, you can use a solar still.
Now, before we go further, let’s chat a bit more about hydration. The title of this blog is “Hydration Is More Than Consuming “X Amount” Of Water A Day - Especially At Sea!”. So what do we mean by that?
Hydration is impacted by the type of water you drink, how much structure it has, how your body is absorbing it, and how well it’s moving and being absorbed through your body. And actually, quite a lot more, but this is an excellent foundation to start really understanding hydration. Listen to this podcast Tracy Duhs did with Superfeast to begin chipping the tip of the hydration iceberg!
Not all water is created equal, so we need to be mindful of that. And unfortunately, in this day and age, a lot of our water is now contaminated, so it’s actually tough to know what water is best to drink. Before contamination was such a problem, the best type of water to drink would absolutely be fresh, natural spring water.
Our primary method of gathering water is through a technique called reverse osmosis. So basically, our handy dandy desalinator converts saltwater into freshwater. All the salt is removed during this process, but as are all the powerful minerals and any structure in the water. And because of this, reverse osmosis water is often labelled as the worst type of water to drink.
To add structure back into our reverse osmosis water, we add in trace minerals. Many trace minerals exist, but some are incredibly vital for our bodies to function correctly, especially long term. They are not something to be overlooked; they are essentially a part of our bodies main foundation. More on that here.
At the moment, we are using the brand called ConcenTrace and can confirm that they have made a significant impact on our hydration and wellbeing. We’re not getting headaches like we used to, we’ve got a lot more energy (we just did a bumpy 13hr sail, and it was a piece of cake!), and we’re also sleeping a lot better!
We love these trace minerals, and we’re feeling great. But, since we’re what we like to call “avid health experimentals”, there are a few more hydration powerhouses we’ve heard of, and will begin trialling soon”:
1 - Quinton Isotonic.
What is it? “A nutrient-rich, raw marine fluid harvested from the depths of plankton-rich ocean blooms and cold-sterilised to retain its healing properties. It contains up to 78 essential minerals and trace elements the body relies on for supporting cellular health. These bioavailable ionic minerals help replenish our cells with the same mineral-rich bath that nourished life on earth for so many millions of years.” - Revital Health.
2- Quinton Hypertonic.
What is it? “Quinton Hypertonic is pure seawater harvested from protected plankton blooms following the protocols of Frenchman Rene Quinton (1866–1925). Quinton Hypertonic supports electrolyte balance, normal energy metabolism, and improved alertness. Quinton Hypertonic supports normal functioning of the nervous system, protein synthesis, bone formation, and normal muscle function. The minerals provided by Quinton Hypertonic™ play an important role in cell division. Quinton Hypertonic is excellent for long-term use and is easily absorbed into the body when taken orally.” - Revital Health.
From our understanding, the main difference between these two Quinton Products is that Isotonic is produced from the Hypertonic. It contains the EXACT same concentration of mineral and trace elements as our blood plasma. Additionally, the sodium contact matches that of our blood.
Listen to the Tracy Duhs and Superfeast podcast we already linked above! They talk about how Quinton Water has even been used instead of blood transfusions (and may have even been more successful!).
3- Hydrogen
What is it? “Hydrogen water is regular water with hydrogen gas added to the water. According to some resources, adding hydrogen gas to the water increases its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It’s been touted for its ability to increase energy, slow down the aging process, and improve muscle recovery after a workout.” - Nourish by WebMD
So, as avid health (and hydration) experimentals, we will post an updated blog and link to it here once the results are in!
Love and hydration,
Lil & Haydo
TGT x
Additional resources:
Tracy Duhs - https://tracyduhs.com
Quinton Water - https://quinton.bio
