Dehydration Markers in Standard Blood Work

By March 4, 2022

Leanne Vogel

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been sharing some information on your blood work and how it can be an invaluable tool to understanding what’s going on in your body.

Like, how to understand what the blood work is telling you about your thyroid, iron need, b12 need, what biofilms are… 🤓

Guide to blood lab work Guide to blood lab work

The best markers to look for in your blood work.

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If this blood chemistry thing is new to you, and you’re looking for answers about your health using standard blood labs, I hope this series is helping you look at your blood work in a fresh and exciting way.

Today, I wanted to talk about dehydration and its role in understanding your blood work.

DEHYDRATION can be seen on your blood work. For real, check it out! Grab a panel, any panel you have… and look at your Albumin level.

Is it around 4.7? 4.8? ding-ding-ding, this is a red flag marker that’s been shown to reflect dehydration!

And, another marker? Hematocrit. If its above 40% and you’re a woman, this is another potential indicator of dehydration.

Now, you may be thinking the solution is quite easy: drink water. But, you’d be wrong. Well, 50% wrong…

It’s to drink water AND electrolytes.

Why electrolytes? The balance of the electrolytes in the water actually helps the h20 get IN to the cells.

In a very healthy person with super healthy mitochondria, this is less of an issue. But for 100% of my clients (yes, 100%) their mitochondria aren’t totally perfect (mine aren’t either, so no judgement here). And, many of them require some form of electrolytes to reach proper hydration.

There are a couple of ways to make your water electrolyte rich, adding sea salt directly to the water is one of them (it’s disgusting just an fyi).

That’s why I love LMNT – it pumps that water full of electrolytes, makes it taste good, and gets that water into the cell, where it’s needed.

Signs beyond blood work that you’re dehydrated (even if you drink a ton of water):

  • Not peeing very much
  • Dark yellow urine
  • Dry skin
  • Joint pain
  • Dizziness
  • Muscle cramping
  • Itchy mouth
  • Fatigue

LMNT has put together a sample pack of my favorite flavors, for all of my people (you’re one of them) for $5.

Free sample pack – just cover the cost of shipping ($5 in the US)

Happy hydrating!


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Hi! I'm Leanne (RHN FBCS)

a Functional Medicine Practitioner, host of the Healthful Pursuit Podcast, and best-selling author of The Keto Diet & Keto for Women. I want to live in a world where every woman has access to knowledge to better her health.

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