Hydration isn’t complicated: Just drink water

补水并不复杂：多喝水就行

Electrolyte mixes have a time and place — but less than influencers would have you believe. 电解质冲剂确实有其适用场景，但远没有网红们吹嘘得那么必要。

Europe is melting, the eastern US is currently trapped in a “heat dome,” the Midwest has the corn sweats to look forward to, and if you’ve never felt the oppressive, sticky misery of monsoon season in Asia — consider yourself blessed. But as folks duke it out on social media about who has it hotter (and whether air conditioning is ethical), it’s time to address a nonnegotiable truth of surviving summer: hydration. 欧洲正在经历高温炙烤，美国东部目前被“热穹顶”笼罩，中西部地区也即将迎来闷热的“玉米汗”季节。如果你从未体验过亚洲季风季节那种令人窒息、黏糊糊的痛苦，那你算是幸运的。但当人们在社交媒体上争论哪里更热（以及开空调是否符合道德）时，是时候谈谈夏季生存的一个核心真理了：补水。

Surely, staying hydrated isn’t a controversial topic. Something as simple as drinking water can’t possibly be twisted by the wellness wild west. But alas, a recent TikTok search proved me wrong. “Sometimes water alone just isn’t enough,” an influencer named Grace, a “holistic nutritionist,” says in a partnership video with Liquid IV. She mixes a packet in, stirring with an aesthetic glass straw while spitting general truths about why electrolytes are important. “It’s about what your body does with the water that matters.” 当然，保持水分充足并不是一个有争议的话题。像喝水这么简单的事情，按理说不应该被混乱的健康产业所扭曲。然而，最近在 TikTok 上的一次搜索证明我错了。一位名叫 Grace 的“整体营养师”在与 Liquid IV 的合作视频中说道：“有时光喝水是不够的。”她一边用精致的玻璃吸管搅拌着冲剂，一边抛出关于电解质重要性的通用真理：“关键在于你的身体如何利用这些水分。”

Next, I was blasted with a clip of actress Mayim Bialik’s podcast emblazoned with the words “You’re hydrating wrong!” In it, Bialik’s guest, who is billed as an “exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist,” claims that drinking a lot of water won’t hydrate you properly. You’ll just pee it out, she says, because plain water doesn’t have the “ideal pressure” due to a lack of sodium and glucose. Rounding out my cursed TikTok search, another so-called nutritionist stated that ice water is actually dehydrating based on traditional Chinese medicine principles because the “body cannot hold onto the water.” 接着，我被一段女演员马伊姆·拜力克（Mayim Bialik）播客的片段刷屏了，标题赫然写着“你的补水方式错了！”在视频中，拜力克的嘉宾——一位自称“运动生理学家和营养科学家”的人——声称大量喝水并不能让你正确补水。她说，你会直接把水排出去，因为纯水缺乏钠和葡萄糖，没有“理想的渗透压”。在这次糟糕的 TikTok 搜索最后，另一位所谓的营养师甚至根据中医理论声称冰水反而会导致脱水，因为“身体无法留住水分”。

It’s true that the body needs electrolytes, minerals that hold a positive or negative electric charge when dissolved in water: things like potassium, magnesium, and sodium. (Sugar isn’t technically an electrolyte, but it too is necessary for hydration.) They’re important because they help maintain appropriate fluid levels within your cells, contract and relax muscles, and play into several other chemical reactions within your body. You lose electrolytes when you sweat and whenever you pee as waste products. These are all facts that influencers and wellness brands use to establish credibility by letting you in on the “real science” of how hydration works. 人体确实需要电解质，即那些在水中溶解后带有正电荷或负电荷的矿物质，例如钾、镁和钠。（糖在技术上不是电解质，但它对补水也必不可少。）它们之所以重要，是因为它们有助于维持细胞内的适当液体水平，调节肌肉收缩与放松，并参与体内的多种化学反应。当你出汗或排尿时，电解质会随之流失。网红和健康品牌正是利用这些事实，通过向你灌输补水的“真实科学”来建立可信度。

The next turn in the playbook is then convincing you that “drinking more water” — a long-established, common-sense way to hydrate that’s often recommended by doctors — is not good enough. There is a more optimal way, a secret that you’re about to be let in on. To finish it off, you’re either fed a dubious but harmless hack (e.g., room-temperature water is better for hydrating than cold water) or told the electrolyte powder they’re shilling will hydrate you so much better or faster than plain water could. 营销套路的下一步是让你相信，“多喝水”——这种医生经常推荐、早已被公认的补水常识——是不够的。他们会告诉你有一种更优化的方法，一个即将揭晓的秘密。最后，他们要么给你灌输一些可疑但无害的小技巧（例如：室温水比冷水补水效果更好），要么告诉你他们推销的电解质粉比纯水补水效果更好、速度更快。

Take Liquid IV’s science page. “Hydration is essential,” the site says, as a video of stylish scientists clad in chunky glasses and crisp lab coats plays in the background. “We elevate it with science.” Specifically, “breakthrough technology, clinical programs, and scientific leadership.” Scroll a bit further down the page, and you’ll see the words “Water is the least studied nutrient” and “Just add science … We love water (it’s a phenomenal hydrator), but sometimes water alone isn’t enough.” 以 Liquid IV 的科学页面为例。网站上写着“补水至关重要”，背景视频中，戴着厚框眼镜、穿着干练白大褂的“时髦科学家”们正在忙碌。“我们用科学提升补水效果。”具体来说，就是所谓的“突破性技术、临床项目和科学领导力”。向下滚动页面，你会看到“水是研究最少的营养素”以及“只需加入科学……我们热爱水（它是极好的补水剂），但有时光喝水是不够的。”

The site then goes on to describe Liquid IV’s four-step hydration philosophy. It boils down to: (1) making drinks tasty so you drink more; (2) adding “hydration multipliers,” aka a proprietary blend of electrolytes; (3) taking credit for sodium in the mix helping you retain water; and (4) taking credit for the mix’s other electrolytes doing what electrolytes do. A separate page for its clinical study results says that Liquid IV helps people rehydrate quicker and retain fluids longer than water alone. Which, again, is how electrolytes work. It also says that the sugar-free version doesn’t spike blood glucose levels, which, to state the obvious, is an expected result from a sugar-free beverage. 网站随后描述了 Liquid IV 的四步补水理念。归根结底就是：(1) 让饮料好喝，这样你就会喝更多；(2) 添加“补水倍增器”，也就是一种专有的电解质混合物；(3) 将混合物中钠帮助锁水的作用归功于自己；(4) 将其他电解质的正常生理功能也归功于自己。其临床研究结果的独立页面称，Liquid IV 帮助人们补水的速度比纯水更快，锁水时间更长。而这，再次重申，正是电解质的生理作用。它还提到无糖版本不会导致血糖飙升，这显然是无糖饮料的预期结果。

This is effective at selling the message that, in a vacuum, Liquid IV — and other electrolyte mixes — are better than water at hydration. But it’s also missing a lot of key context. 这种营销手段在孤立的情况下，确实能成功推销出“Liquid IV 及其他电解质冲剂比纯水补水效果更好”的观点。但它忽略了许多关键背景。

The FAQ on Liquid IV’s site notes that the product is safe for daily consumption “during or after tough workouts, while traveling, after a night out, or for heat-related rehydration.” That’s not “replace all your water with Liquid IV.” It goes on to suggest one serving a day and to consult a doctor for further questions. That’s all fine, but electrolyte imbalances are a two-way street. There’s such a thing as too many electrolytes. Liquid IV 网站的常见问题解答指出，该产品适合在“高强度运动期间或之后、旅行时、熬夜后或因高温需要补水时”日常饮用。这并不意味着“用 Liquid IV 代替你所有的饮用水”。网站建议每天服用一份，如有疑问请咨询医生。这都没问题，但电解质失衡是双向的。电解质摄入过量也是一种风险。