I know a lot has already been said about dehydration and chronic dehydration on the adrenal fatigue boards but I am just starting to understand the importance of this. You can be thirsty all the time or you can be never thirsty and can still be chronically dehydrated. There is a very easy way to check to see if you are chronically dehydrated, look at your tongue. If it is cracked in the middle, almost looks like it was cut by something, then you are chronically dehydrated (extremely dehydrated). I don't know if this test is exhaustive or not, in other words, it could be possible to be dehydrated without cracking on the tongue, but if there is cracking on the tongue, you are guaranteed to be extremely dehydrated.

As most of you already know, dehydration occurs due to improper electrolyte balance, specifically, the amount of sodium in your body. I believe that you can have a blood test that shows a normal or close to normal amount of sodium and other electrolytes in the blood and still be chronically dehydrated, how? Because the body gives the blood first priority, since you can die if your electrolytes in the blood are out of balance, it will rob the elements it needs from other parts of the body in order to preserve the balance in the blood. So you can show a normal, or close to normal level of sodium in the blood, but your body may still be extremely low in sodium. As most of you know, sodium is the most important element that increases body hydration. How much water you drink, compared to how much sodium you ingest are crucial in body hydration or dehydration. If you drink a lot of water and not much salt, you will dehydrate your body MORE than if you drank less water. If you ingest a larger amount of salt and a normal amount of water, you will hydrate your body. Of course other electrolyte minerals need to be ingested as well, otherwise the extra sodium can throw of the balance. So it is best to go slow when replenishing sodium levels. I also believe that milk is the perfect hydrating substance for the body, it has a balance of all electrolytes that you might need, because it is basically what the cow's blood was made of. Of course you can't drink milk all day, but using some could be beneficial.

Edit: Also want to add that foods can act to hydrate the body as well. According to ayurveda, carbohydrates are the number one hydrating foods, including most grains, fruits and some vegetables and anything that has the sweet taste. So for those of you on low-carb diets, you are avoiding the very substances that could help to hydrate you the most.