This time last year, I was recovering from severe dehydration.

I’ve never been great at staying hydrated—I rarely feel thirst and dislike plain water, though I enjoy lots of tea. Looking back, I was likely mildly dehydrated for years. That changed drastically last fall, thanks to our lovely new sauna. I used it frequently, sweating buckets but failing to replenish fluids and electrolytes, despite knowing better.

On New Year’s Day, my body sent its first warning: dizziness and near-fainting. Over the following weeks, I experienced brain fog, headaches, weakness, heart palpitations, and a persistent sense of unease. As a clinician, I searched for explanations—perimenopause, stress, thyroid issues—but missed the obvious cause.

January and February were a blur of exhaustion, barely managing work while caring for my father during his own health crisis. He passed away in the midst of it all. By mid-February, still unwell, I scheduled a doctor’s appointment but soon found myself in the ER with a racing heart and dangerously high blood pressure. After 12 hours of waiting for tests, doctors ruled out major conditions but never considered dehydration.

Driving home, sipping peppermint tea, clarity struck—what if I was simply dehydrated? I started drinking water with lemon, maple and electrolytes, committing to at least two liters daily. Within two days, I felt 75% better, like a wilted flower coming back to life.

Since then, hydration has become my priority and a key topic in my herbal practice. I’ve learned that plain water isn’t always enough—healthy fats, fresh fruits, and vegetables provide more bioavailable hydration. Quench by Dana Cohen and Gina Bria was an eye-opener on this.

I am intrigued by their research on plant sources of hydration. They share that consuming the water in fresh plants (fruits, veggies, herbs) appears to be better than drinking water alone due to its structure being absorbed easily into our cells. Plus, their fibre content holds the fluid inside the colon longer, so it can be absorbed into the body. “Eat your water”

Old habits die hard, and I still forget sometimes, but I’ve re-oriented by life around hydration – nothing like a health crisis to humble us into change. 

Lessons learned:

• Hydration needs vary, based on outputs and inputs of fluids and minerals
• A little salt added to water goes a long way; use natural sources such as sea salt, rock salt vs processed table salt
• Herbal teas, broths and smoothies are a great source of hydration
• Fresh, raw fruits, vegetables and herbs contain high quality fluid, eat daily (6-10 servings daily)
• Healthy Omega-3 fats are needed for cellular hydration; fatty fish and their oils (sardines, mackerel, salmon, trout, herring), oysters, pasture raised eggs
• Movement and exercise are essential for moving fluids throughout the body

Smoothie Recipe: By Dana Cohen of Quench

• ½ cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons rose petal jam
• ⅓ cup basil leaves
• ¾ cup blackberries
• juice from half a lime
• pinch of sea salt
• splash of apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup filtered water

Instructions:

Combine ingredients in a high powered blender. Enjoy immediately by serving over ice. 

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