Finding yourself craving water and other drinks, no matter how much water you drink? While reaching for a glass of water isn’t uncommon on a hot summer day, there may be more to it if you can’t stop feeling thirsty, even after you’ve consumed 4-5 glasses of water. 

There are several reasons for excessive thirst, and some of them are more serious than others. If your body demands more water than usual, it’s essential not to ignore it – there’s a chance it could be warning you of a serious underlying condition.

1. Dehydration

Dehydration is perhaps the most common reason that people feel excessively thirsty. 

There are several reasons a person may feel dehydrated, including^[1]:

• Not drinking enough water
• Overheating, especially if you’re unused to the heat in a new place
• Excessive sweating. This can be as a result of overheating, athletic exercise, or some other reason. If you don’t replace the fluids you lose when you sweat, you will become dehydrated.
• Increased urination. Excessive urination is usually due to another health concern, such as diabetes, which we will discuss below. 
• Fever. Higher fevers increase the risk of dehydration.
• Vomiting and diarrhea. These cause the loss of both water and electrolytes, and dehydration is a common result of severe diarrhea.

The solution to dehydration is usually consuming water. However, this must be done carefully, especially for people with severe dehydration. There is a risk of overhydration if a person is left to drink water unmonitored, which can be just as risky. 

Depending on the reason for dehydration, you should also consider consuming salt tablets. These are generally recommended when dehydration is accompanied by loss of sodium and other electrolytes, such as after intense workouts, exercise, and athletic activity^[2], and after excessive diarrhea^[3]. Klaralyte salt capsules provide you with 250 mg of sodium and 50 mg of potassium, helping to replenish the electrolytes you lost.

However, it is important to note that these should always be taken on the advice of a doctor, especially if you are severely dehydrated. 

If you aren’t interested in water, you can also rehydrate yourself using foods that have tons of water, like watermelon, celery, cucumber, and strawberries^[4].

2. Menstruation

Though this may seem like a surprising reason, the fact is, women tend to crave water during menstruation. The reason for this is the fluctuation in estrogen and progesterone levels during this period, both of which affect the fluid volume in your body^[5].

Additionally, the blood loss during menstruation only increases these feelings of thirst. If you have heavy periods, you can anticipate greater thirst. 

Unlike several of the points on this list, thirst during menstruation does not require an increase in your salt intake. However, it should be noted that women have also been known to crave salty foods during and right before their periods^[6].

Though anecdotal evidence suggests that you should cut down on salty foods instead of giving in to your cravings, as salty food can exacerbate menstrual symptoms, research indicates that this is not the case, and there is no change in symptoms as a result of increased salt intake ^[7].

So, if you’re worried about reaching for the salt shaker (or salt tablets), don’t. While some women may find their symptoms increase after consuming salt, this isn’t the case for everyone, and ultimately, you should listen to what your body is telling you. 

3. Overhydration

Overhydration is essentially the opposite of dehydration – it occurs when there is too much water in your body rather than too little. There are several causes of overhydration, including hormonal imbalances, but the most common cause is simply drinking too much water.

One of the biggest risks of overhydration is hyponatremia. This is also known as water intoxication, which essentially means that the increase in water content in your body leads to a dangerous dilution in the levels of sodium and other key electrolytes your body needs to function properly^[8].

Overhydration is a major risk after spending a long time outside in hot climates, especially if you’re exercising. By the time people return to shelter, they’re so thirsty they don’t pace their water intake. This is essentially a way for your body to counter dehydration – but without balancing the salts in your body as well, you risk being overhydrated. 

Some symptoms include:

• Headaches
• Nausea and vomiting
• Confusion and disorientation

If left unchecked, overhydration can lead to seizures, lack of consciousness, and falling into a coma.

Like dehydration, overhydration is best treated by a medical professional. However, you’ll almost certainly have to replenish your electrolytes as part of your treatment. 

Salt capsules are a quick and easy way to consume sodium and potassium. Swallow 2 Klaralyte capsules, or consume as recommended by your medical professional.

4. Keto Diet

Following a keto diet results in lower insulin levels. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does affect your blood sodium levels. 

Specifically, there are several^[9] studies^[10] show there is lower sodium in your blood when you have lower insulin levels. This is because you excrete more sodium than normal, and people who have low insulin have been shown to have lower levels of sodium in their urine after taking insulin.

Additionally, the keto diet requires you to lower your carbohydrate intake. Lower levels of carbohydrates cause you to urinate more often, and you’ll find yourself craving more water. 

The easiest solution to both concerns is to increase your water and salt intake. Salt will help address low blood sodium levels while preventing overhydration by ensuring your water and electrolyte levels are balanced. Salt capsules serve as the easiest way to boost your salt intake without further altering your diet. However, as always, you should always speak to a medical professional before making changes to your diet.

5. Dysautonomia

Dysautonomia in general and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in particular^[11]  can result in people feeling excessively thirsty. This is because they tend to have low blood pressure and volume and need to consume both extra water and salt to boost their blood volume. 

Because of this, people with POTS are recommended to have 2-2.5 liters ^[12] of water daily, besides boosting their salt intake. Depending on the type and intensity of your dysautonomia, you may have to boost your salt intake to as much as 3.5-5 g daily, from the daily recommended limit of 2.5 g.

People with dysautonomia find salt capsules like Klaralyte to be extremely helpful with their condition. It allows them to get the sodium and potassium boost they need without severely altering their diets. 

However, because salt is a medical treatment for dysautonomia, it’s always best to speak to a medical professional first before taking any. They’ll be able to advise you precisely how much salt you should consume daily to manage your dysautonomia, allowing you to determine how many Klaralyte capsules you need to take daily.

Cited Sources:

[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dehydration/symptoms-causes/syc-20354086 

[2] https://parade.com/409683/marilynvossavant/why-are-salt-tablets-okay-for-dehydration-but-salt-water-isnt/ 

[3] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/salt-tablets 

[4] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/reasons-why-you-may-be-feeling-really-thirsty/ 

[5] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20488867/why-youre-always-thirsty/ 

[6] https://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/diseases-conditions-womens-health/why-do-women-crave-for-salty-foods-before-and-during-periods-d0418-564442/ 

[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8815755/ 

[8] https://www.healthline.com/health/overhydration 

[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533616/ 

[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC301822/ 

[11] https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/484205