Flourish - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 30
NOURISH
MIND
BY ISABELLA HOURIHAN, APD
Water
Stacking
&
Functional
Hydration
WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS?
Hydration advice is
everywhere! “Drink
2 litres a day,”
“carry a bottle,”
“add electrolytes.”
Recently, a new term
has been 昀氀oating
around: water
stacking. It sounds
scienti昀椀c, but what
does it really mean?
and is it useful?
What is “water
stacking”?
“Water stacking” isn’t
a formal dietetics term.
In practice, it usually
refers to drinking larger
amounts of water at
set times (for example,
a big glass 昀椀rst thing
in the morning,
before meals, or after
exercise) rather than
sipping continuously.
There’s nothing
inherently wrong with
this approach. In fact,
drinking water before
meals can modestly
support appetite
regulation in some
people. However, the
idea that you can
“store” extra hydration
by drinking large
volumes at once isn’t
accurate. The body
tightly regulates
昀氀uid balance where
excess water is simply
excreted via urine.
