Sole water is a drink made from pink Himalayan salt and water. It’s touted as a natural aid for sleep, energy, and digestion, but research on its benefits is lacking.
Sole water is water saturated with pink Himalayan salt.
Countless health claims circulate around this product, and proponents suggest that it can help you lose weight, balance your hormones, decrease muscle cramps, and improve sleep.
While these benefits sound impressive, there is no research to back them up.
This article examines sole water, its purported benefits, and whether you should drink it.
Share on PinterestWhat is sole water?
Sole water is made by saturating water with pink Himalayan salt, which is extracted from mines near the Himalayas in Pakistan (1).
This is typically done by adding pink Himalayan salt to a glass jar until it’s a quarter of the way full, then filling the rest of the jar with water and letting it sit for 12–24 hours.
If all of the salt dissolves, more is added until it no longer dissolves. At this point, the water is considered fully saturated.
Most proponents of sole water recommend drinking 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of this mixture in an 8-ounce (240-ml) glass of room-temperature water every day to reap a multitude of health benefits.
It’s suggested that this beverage balances your body’s positively and negatively charged ions, such as sodium and other minerals, which let necessary elements and signals in and out of cells (2).
Some people claim that sole water helps promote an optimal ion balance, thus maintaining fluid levels and overall health. Nonetheless, this theory has never been tested (3).
Additionally, several unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of sole water are related to the mineral content of pink Himalayan salt.
SummarySole water is water that has been fully saturated with pink Himalayan salt. Proponents assert that drinking this water balances ion levels and provides a number of health benefits.
Does sole water have health benefits?
Advocates of sole water suggest that it can benefit digestion, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, prevent muscle cramps, and more.
However, sole water’s effects have not been tested by scientific research.
Boasts a lot of minerals, but not in high amounts
Most of the claims surrounding sole water involve its mineral content.
Like other salts, pink Himalayan salt is mostly composed of sodium chloride, which helps maintain fluid balance and blood pressure in your body.
Unlike other salts, it is extracted by hand and doesn’t contain additives or undergo much processing. Therefore, pink Himalayan salt boasts over 84 minerals and other elements, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. These minerals give it a pink color (4).
While this may seem like an impressive number of nutrients, the amounts of each mineral in Himalayan salt are very low.
For example, Himalayan salt is only 0.28% potassium, 0.1% magnesium, and 0.0004% iron — negligible compared to the amounts of these minerals that you get from whole foods (4).
You would have to drink large amounts of sole water, thereby consuming excess sodium, for it to be considered a good source of these nutrients.
Still, advocates assert that this product lowers blood pressure and improves muscle cramps because of its very small amounts of potassium and magnesium (5, 6).
In reality, sole water does not affect your body in the same way as fruits, vegetables, and other foods that are high in these minerals.
Proponents also suggest that this drink improves bone health and energy levels due to its iron and calcium contents, even though its amounts of these nutrients are negligible (7, 8).
Sodium’s effect on sleep
Since pink Himalayan salt is mostly sodium chloride (salt), sole water is higher in sodium than it is in other minerals.
However, due to the large size of its crystals, pink Himalayan salt is slightly lower in sodium than regular table salt.
One teaspoon (6 grams) of pink Himalayan salt contains about 1,700 mg of sodium, compared to 2,300 mg in the same amount of table salt (9, 10).
Keep in mind that sole water likely contains significantly less sodium than pure pink Himalayan salt since it’s made by diluting salt in water.
Nevertheless, this drink still packs sodium. Because sodium is critical for proper sleep and adequate hydration, sole water proponents claim that it can improve sleep and hydration — though there is no research to back up these claims (11).
One 3-day study from the 1980s in 10 young men determined that a diet of less than 500 mg of sodium per day led to sleep disruptions (12).
Notably, this is an extremely low amount of salt. Most people consume much more than the recommended 2,300 mg of salt on a daily basis (13).
Even though this study is dated, included a very small sample size, and did not specifically assess pink Himalayan salt, proponents still cite it as evidence that sole water aids sleep.
What’s more, other studies have found the opposite to be true. Their results indicate that poor sleep may be associated with increased salt intake (14).
Sodium and hydration
Sodium plays an essential role in maintaining fluid balance in your body. In fact, inadequate sodium intake can lead to dehydration and water loss, especially if combined with heavy exercise and sweating (15, 16).
Since adequate sodium intake is necessary to maintain proper hydration, proponents of sole water suggest that it can help keep you hydrated.
However, drinking sole water is not a more effective way to meet your sodium needs than consuming salt or foods that naturally have sodium. In fact, sole water contains less sodium than regular table salt.
Plus, most people already consume more than the recommended 2,300 mg of sodium per day and don’t need to add more to their diet. Excessive sodium intake is linked to several health issues, including high blood pressure (13, 17).
Most other benefits are not supported by research
Additionally, proponents often claim that sole water:
- improves digestion
- assists in detox and balances pH in your body
- balances blood sugar
- improves bone health
- boosts energy levels
- acts as an antihistamine that fights allergic reactions
Notably, no research backs up these assertions because sole water has not been studied in humans.
These supposed benefits are often attributed to its mineral content, though this drink harbors minuscule amounts of nutrients. While some suggest that sole water can balance positive and negative ions in your body, this theory has never been tested or proven (3).
SummaryThough sole water is marketed as high in health-promoting minerals, it contains negligible amounts of these nutrients. It provides sodium but is not a better source of it than regular salt.
Should you drink sole water?
Since sole water is made from only water and pink Himalayan salt, it should not cause negative side effects in a healthy person who consumes it in small amounts.
However, as no research substantiates its supposed benefits, it should not be considered a health beverage.
Plus, drinking a lot of sole water on top of a diet that contains adequate or excessive sodium may cause you to consume too much sodium.
It’s difficult to assess how much sodium sole water contains, but it’s likely high in salt.
As the standard American diet is rich in processed foods that are loaded with added sodium, additional sodium from sole water could be harmful. In fact, most Americans already consume more than the recommended amount of sodium (13).
Excess sodium intake is linked to high blood pressure, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and other chronic diseases (18).
In addition, people who need to limit their sodium intake, such as those with high blood pressure, kidney disease, or heart failure, should not drink sole water (19).
If you don’t need to watch your sodium intake and are interested in sole water, this drink is unlikely to be harmful if consumed in small amounts. Just keep in mind that it has no proven benefits.
SummaryEven though the salt in sole water is diluted, this beverage may be an unnecessary source of sodium for those with adequate or excessive sodium intake. If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, avoid sole water.
How to make your own sole water
To make your own sole water, fill a glass jar a quarter of the way with pink Himalayan salt.
Then top off the jar with water, seal it with a lid, shake it, and let it sit for 12–24 hours. If all of the salt dissolves after you let it sit, add small amounts of salt until it no longer dissolves. At this point, the water is fully saturated.
When you want to try it, drop 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of sole water into 1 cup (240 ml) of water. It’s important to note that no recommended dosage exists due to a lack of research.
Even though sole water isn’t likely harmful, it’s also unnecessary and has no proven benefits. People who are on sodium-restricted diets or already consuming enough salt should avoid this drink.
SummaryTo make your own sole water, combine pink Himalayan salt with water in a glass jar until the salt no longer dissolves. Drink 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of this mixture mixed into 1 cup (240 ml) of plain water.
The bottom line
Sole water is a drink made from pink Himalayan salt and water. It’s often touted as a natural aid for sleep, energy, and digestion.
In reality, it’s low in nutrients, and research on its benefits is lacking.
Since most people already consume too much salt, it’s likely best to avoid sole water.
If you’re interested in healthy drinks, coffee, lemon water, and kombucha tea are better options.