Look around. Doesn't it seem like everyone is pouring little packages of electrolytes into their drinks these days? Pre-workout, post-workout, or no workout at all? Powders and tabs like LMNT, Liquid IV, Nuun, etc. Rets are everywhere, from TikTok ads to office snack counters.
The concept of serious hydration is not new. Athletes have been adding things to water for thousands of years. Additionally, electrolyte-containing beverages like Gatorade have been a staple of sports culture for decades.
But today's electrolyte supplements aren't just for soccer players and ultramarathoners. Companies like Nuun sell tablets to everyone from aspiring endurance athletes to everyday people who take a yoga class on their lunch break.
Samantha Coogan, a nutrition science educator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said these brands are “influencing people's perceptions of what health means.” And it seems to be working. According to Precedence Research, the global electrolyte beverage market is worth more than $40 billion and is expected to grow to nearly $75 billion over the next decade.
Although experts still don't fully agree on how much hydration you need or the ideal way to do it, the concept of hydration is gaining ground in wellness culture. Electrolytes have made their way from the world of endurance athletes to brunch cocktails, and it's tempting to believe that they might actually be the magic pill that cures everything from leg cramps to hangovers.
Electrolyte supplements are effective for athletes and life-saving for cholera patients, but they are not magic. Here's what you need to know about what electrolytes can and can't do and whether you need them.
What exactly are electrolytes?
For our bodies to function properly, we need to maintain a constant balance of essential minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate.
All of these minerals are electrolytes, substances that carry electricity throughout the body and control fluid balance, muscle function, and communication between the brain and body. The “electricity” in “electrolytes” comes from the electrical charge created when they dissolve in fluids such as blood. Without electrolytes, these electrical signals are disrupted, causing muscle spasms and spasms, headaches, and difficulty thinking clearly.
Sodium, in particular, is an important electrolyte because it helps control the amount of water in the blood. Electrolytes like sodium “basically help the water in your body go where it's supposed to go,” says Holly Samuel, a certified sports nutritionist who coaches endurance athletes.
When you sweat, you lose large amounts of sodium and chloride (also called salt). However, if a person who sweats profusely drinks only water without replenishing salt, the balance between sodium and water in the body will be disrupted, and too much water will be forced into the cells. This can eventually cause these cells to swell like raisins in water, a potentially dangerous condition called hyponatremia. Drinking water that contains electrolytes helps it stay where it needs to be in your body.
Electrolytes like sodium “basically help the water in your body go where it's supposed to go.”
It's important to note that “electrolytes don't just exist in magic packets,” says Stavros Kavras, director of the Hydration Science Institute at Arizona State University. In addition to tablets, packs, and powders, electrolytes are also present in the regular foods we eat, such as bananas (potassium), cheese and crackers (sodium and calcium), and spinach (magnesium). Electrolytes, as we think of them today, as prepackaged water supplements, have only existed for a few decades.
In the 1960s, assistant coach Dwayne Douglas noticed that University of Florida football players were having trouble recovering after practices in the swampy Gainesville heat. Athletes lose weight, and Douglas himself recalls losing up to 18 pounds per game when he was playing, but rarely felt the need to pee.
Nephrologist J. Robert Cade studied first-year college football players and found that in addition to experiencing hypoglycemia after exercise, they also sweat out large amounts of electrolytes, especially sodium and potassium. It turned out that the players were in a terrible mood. So he created a new sports recovery drink called Gatorade for the Florida Gators. Basically water, salt, sugar, and lemon juice for taste. This sodium-rich drink helped athletes retain water while sweating, and the results were amazing. In December 1966, after Gatorade's first season with the team, the Florida Times-Union said, “Take a sip of Kickapoo juice, Biff, Bam, Sox — Gators, 8-2.” celebrated.
Sports drinks became popular, and other companies began to capitalize on Gatorade's success. All sports drinks are variations on the Gatorade theme. That means water for hydration, sugar for energy, electrolytes to help absorb water, and flavor to keep it in check. Kaboulas said sports drinks serve as a “magic bullet” for athletes. “When you get one thing, it has everything in it.” This formula is so effective that the World Health Organization recommends it to people, especially children with cholera and diarrhea. Recommended for hydration.
Initially, these drinks were primarily marketed to professional athletes. Today, Powerade and Gatorade are promoted as soft drinks that anyone can drink.
In 2024, when giant water bottles arrive, a new wave of electrolyte supplements like Noon, LMNT, and Liquid IV will be plentiful in grocery and convenience store aisles, replacing sugar with ingredients like stevia leaf extract and allulose. Alternative sweeteners are used. It targets consumers who don't want to consume extra calories. These supplements advertise themselves as hydrating superfoods. Of course, it's not only something that helps athletes, but also a hangover cure and overall mood booster for the average health-conscious person.
Coogan said if you're eating a balanced diet and aren't training for a marathon, you probably shouldn't take large amounts of electrolyte packets.
If your body needs extra electrolytes, supplements, whether Gatorade or Noon, can effectively rehydrate you. But if you're eating a balanced diet and aren't training for a marathon, Coogan says you probably shouldn't take large amounts of electrolyte packets. “Too much of a good thing is not always a good thing,” Coogan says.
Okay, but what about a hangover? Pedialyte, an oral electrolyte solution for infants and children, has become the go-to hangover remedy for young people at music festivals and fraternity parties. College students even try to avoid the consequences of binge drinking by replacing their beer with a BORG (“Blackout Rage Gallon”), a half-gallon of water mixed with bottled booze and electrolyte additives. are.
Unfortunately, electrolytes aren't a magic hangover cure. Trying to get your nights out back on track with electrolyte supplements is “just going to be an uphill battle,” says Coogan. Pre-hydrating with an electrolyte supplement before a night out may alleviate some of the effects of impending alcohol-induced dehydration, but time is the only true cure for a hangover.
Electrolytes are great for periods of heavy sweating. Otherwise, well.
The best time to take in extra electrolytes is when you sweat profusely or lose a lot of water, such as from food poisoning. Training for a long distance run? Working on a construction site in a place like Phoenix on a summer day? Experts say electrolyte supplements are definitely a good choice.
Many people (myself included) fall somewhere between a couch potato and an ultramarathoner. We asked experts how you should think about electrolytes as someone who spends most of the day sitting in front of a computer and goes to CrossFit or pole dancing classes after work. For gymnasts and recreational athletes, how much hydration they should do depends largely on the amount of sweat they produce and the composition of their sweat, says Samuel.
“Some people go to a spin class and ride their bikes for five minutes and end up with puddles all around them,” Samuel said. “If that were you, you'd be wearing a thick sweater.” Sodium levels in sweat also vary from person to person, ranging from 200 milligrams per liter to 2,000 milligrams per liter. If sweat stains your eyes or leaves white streaks or crystals on your skin or clothes, it could be a salty sweater.
For regular gym goers and recreational athletes, how you should stay hydrated depends largely on how much you sweat and the composition of your sweat.
Whether you wear a heavy sweater or a sweater high in salt, you should consider replenishing your electrolytes before, during, and after exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that if you sweat outdoors for more than an hour, whether you're participating in sports or working outside on a hot day, consume at least 300 milligrams of sodium per hour. We recommend that you do so. Also read the label. Try to keep the amount of sugar under 14 grams per 8 ounces of liquid (which is about half the amount in Gatorade Thirst Quencher).
However, be sure to check the sodium content listed on the label of your electrolyte supplement. Popular supplements such as Liquid IV contain 500 mg of sodium, which is more than necessary for all but the sweatiest endurance athletes. These athletes typically need to consume more sodium than other people, Samuel said. For others, supplements with more moderate sodium concentrations (approximately 200 to 300 mg) are sufficient for hydration.
About a third of otherwise healthy people are sensitive to salt, and consuming large amounts of sodium can increase blood pressure. “This is why you've heard that high-sodium diets can cause high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease,” Kaboulas says. Those who are sensitive to salt should be careful. The FDA recommends that Americans limit their sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day.
Nevertheless, for most people, it is nearly impossible to ingest dangerous amounts of electrolytes. When you consume more carbohydrates, fat, and protein than your body needs, they are stored as fat. However, electrolytes are not stored and are excreted. “If you eat too much sodium, you'll pee more,” Kaboulas says.
It's not always necessary to replenish electrolytes after a workout. Low-fat milk (or soy milk for lactose-intolerant or plant-based athletes) provides enough electrolytes, carbohydrates, and protein to hydrate, repair muscle, and stabilize blood sugar levels, and smoothies include electrolytes plus It can incorporate protein and fat. Rich foods such as bananas, dates, leafy vegetables, and coconut water.
Electrolytes also have the counterintuitive benefit of making you more thirsty. “Electrolytes help keep you thirsty over time,” Kaboulas says. This is helpful for people who struggle to drink enough water, either because they're thirsty and can't reach it, or because they don't like the taste of water. “If you taste better and stay thirsty for longer, you'll drink more on your own,” Kavras says.
While it's rarely dangerous to take electrolyte supplements if you don't really need them, Samuel warns that consuming excess sodium without drinking enough water (or sweating it out) can lead to dehydration. did. For example, suppose you pour two LMNT packets into one regular-sized water bottle. That would taste pretty bad. “If you over-salt it, you're basically making yourself jerky,” she says. “We aim for a delicious steak that contains moisture.”
Although not always necessary, electrolytes help balance your sweaty body and make drinking water a little more enjoyable. Remember, they are salt, not magic.
