Eating a balanced, whole-food diet and staying hydrated are probably two of the best things you can do for your overall health and wellness. But, as a dietitian, I know that plain water and isn’t always enough. Electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium are important for cellular function and various physiological processes.
In this article, I'll explain what electrolytes are, how they work, the benefits of getting them, and why electrolyte mixes can be beneficial for daily hydration. I'll also touch upon why Live it Up Vital Minerals is the smart way to hydrate.
Potential electrolyte benefits:
- Helps maintain acid-base (pH) balance
- May help with muscle contraction
- May assist with digestion
- Can aid in recovery from illness
- Supports energy production
- Can help with exercise performance
- Can support cognitive function
- May influence bone health
What Are Electrolytes?
Electrolytes are minerals with a positive or negative electrical charge that keep our bodies hydrated and functioning. The most important electrolytes are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and phosphorus.
Electrolytes can influence
- Hydration status and pH balance
- Body fluid balance
- Muscle movement
- Bone density
- Nutrient absorption
- Waste and carbon dioxide removal
You can find many of the electrolytes your body needs in foods you eat every day, like fruits, veggies, nuts, and whole grains. In addition to a healthy diet, you may want to try electrolyte supplements to replenish you. These drink mixes are a concentrated blend of minerals available in powder, tablet, and liquid forms. For example, Live it Up Vital Minerals is an electrolyte drink designed for daily hydration that features sodium, potassium, and calcium.
Why Water May Not Be Enough
The standard recommendation for an adult's water intake is to drink at least eight glasses or 2 liters per day. But modern research doesn’t fully support this principle, especially if you participate in intense sports or live in hot and humid places. Instead, science has found that, for some individuals, drinking only water can lead to:
- Dehydration, as you don’t get enough sodium and potassium, which help you balance and retain fluids in cells and stave off dehydration symptoms.
- Hyponatremia (drinking too much water), as the body flushes out sodium and other essential minerals, tipping overall electrolyte levels.
Drinking plain water also turns off the thirst sensors present in our mouth, throat, and gastrointestinal tract before the water is actually absorbed by our body. This makes it harder for our bodies to catch up and replenish our fluid stores.
Top 8 Electrolyte Benefits
Here’s a detailed look at how electrolytes support our body's metabolic processes.
Benefit 1: Helps Maintain Acid-Base (pH) Balance
Bicarbonate and phosphate are the key players in helping our blood maintain a pH level, which is roughly between 7.35 and 7.45. This balance is essential for cellular life. If our blood becomes too acidic or basic, then it can compromise overall tissue, organ, and muscle functions, and may even impact oxygen delivery.
Benefit 2: May Help With Muscle Contraction
Multiple electrolytes play a role in muscle contraction. Sodium and potassium, through the sodium-potassium pump, help your muscles contract. When sodium enters the muscle cell, potassium leaves, creating the main electric charge that initiates contraction.
When the body receives the signal to contract a muscle, calcium is released inside the muscle cell. Calcium binds to specific proteins, allowing the muscle fibers to slide past each other and contract. Imbalances in any of these electrolytes may lead to improper contraction, muscle cramps, and weakness.
Benefit 3: May Aid With Digestion
Electrolyte imbalances can affect how the digestive tract muscles contract and move food through the system. If there aren’t enough electrolytes, which could be due to an illness or excessive sweating, your body’s ability to retain fluids is compromised. This negatively impacts how food passes through your system, and may cause issues like bloating, constipation, and slowed digestion.
However, emerging research also highlights the impact of a high-sodium diet on gut microbes and protein digestion. So while electrolytes are essential for optimal performance of your digestive system, too much of them may not be a good thing.
Benefit 4: Can Aid in Recovery From Illness
When we are unwell with a high fever or gastroenteritis, we tend to lose water and electrolytes through sweating, vomiting, and diarrhea. This can result in weakness, fatigue, and dehydration. Drinking electrolytes with sodium and potassium can help retain water and restore fluid levels.
Potassium plays a role in supporting the immune response, as it activates key immune cells like T cells, monocytes, and macrophages, which are critical to fighting off infections and recovering well. Similarly, studies acknowledge magnesium’s impact on regulating inflammatory responses that are crucial to recovery.
Benefit 5: Supports Energy Production
Maintaining proper hydration is essential for supporting energy levels because water transports nutrients throughout the body. What’s more, calcium influences energy production by stimulating the Krebs Cycle when it enters the mitochondria, which converts fuel into energy. This step enhances ATP production (our body’s energy currency).
Magnesium is critical for the structure and function of ATP synthase, the machine that creates ATP. Magnesium also stabilizes the ATP molecules, allowing them to operate properly. Without enough magnesium, the metabolic pathways leading to ATP creation become inefficient, and our bodies can’t break down the nutrients we eat into usable energy. This leads to reduced energy and fatigue.
Benefit 6: Can Support Exercise Performance
The relationship between exercise performance and optimal hydration is clearly established. During prolonged and strenuous physical activity, our bodies lose both water and electrolytes. Loss of electrolytes is linked to fatigue, weakness, cramps, spasms, and impaired performance. A study of cross-country athletes found that proper hydration resulted in a 2% performance gain and 3% strength gain.
Electrolytes also help the body regulate temperature during intense workouts or in hot weather, which is critical to performance. When there is significant water and electrolyte loss, blood plasma levels drop, and this, in turn, reduces blood flow to the skin, which impacts our sweat rate.
Benefit 7: Can Support Cognitive Function
Science acknowledges that electrolytes are required for optimum cognitive performance. Sodium and potassium are essential for nerve impulses that communicate messages from the brain to the body. Deficiencies in potassium have been linked to occasional brain fog and mild cognitive impairment.
Our brain relies on magnesium to function effectively as it harmonizes nerve signal transmission and preserves the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Recent research also suggests that balanced electrolyte levels are correlated with a potential lower risk of a range of cognitive and neurological conditions.
Benefit 8: May Influence Bone Health
Calcium and potassium are the secret to strong bones and teeth. Calcium is associated with bone development and metabolism. Multiple studies have confirmed the link between calcium supplementation and a reduced rate of hip fractures.
Potassium, on the other hand, contributes to bone health by preserving the minerals in the bone. When we eat a lot of acidic foods like processed grains and meat, our body tries to maintain blood pH levels by removing alkalizing minerals from the bones. Potassium serves as a barrier that keeps the minerals within the bones, therefore supporting them.
Plus, You Can Get More Electrolytes in a Delicious and Convenient Drink!
In today's busy lifestyle, it's not always practical to make our own hydrating drinks (like freshly squeezed orange juice or a cucumber watermelon cooler) or get enough from food sources. That's where electrolyte powders like Live it Up Vital Minerals come in handy. They offer balanced ratios of essential electrolytes that not only work to avoid dehydration and support overall energy levels, but are also simply convenient and delicious to sip on.
Potential Side Effects of Electrolytes
Electrolytes are powerful and beneficial for many people, but you don't want to push the levels too high. An electrolyte imbalance (when certain minerals are too high or too low) carries risk factors, including:
- Extreme thirst and dehydration
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness and spasms
- Numbness or tingling sensation
- Confusion
- Irritability
- Digestive upset
Excess electrolytes can put additional strain on your kidneys. Electrolyte imbalances can also interfere with the effectiveness of certain medications. If you are looking to incorporate an electrolyte supplement into your daily routine, consult your doctor about getting an electrolyte panel test that checks the levels of the main electrolytes.
How to Use Electrolytes
It’s a common misconception that electrolytes can only be found through neon-colored sports drinks. On the contrary, your kitchen is the best place to get your required electrolytes.
| Electrolyte | Healthy Food Sources |
| Sodium | Salt, cheese, pickles, soy sauce, kimchi, sauerkraut, and olives. |
| Potassium | Bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, raisins, apricots, prunes, beans, nuts, seeds, and coconut water. |
| Calcium | Nopal cactus, kale, tofu, broccoli, yogurt, canned salmon with bones, and cheese. |
| Magnesium | Spinach, kale, dandelion leaves, almonds, cashews, whole grains, and dark chocolate. |
When to use electrolytes? For most people, a balanced and healthy diet will take care of their electrolyte needs. However, it would be smart to turn to an extra electrolyte supplement to replenish your stores if you:
- Reside in hot and humid conditions that lead to high sweat rates.
- Are performing prolonged exercise that lasts over 60-90 minutes.
- Are a super sweater and usually notice white, crusty residue on your body.
- Are recovering from an illness that caused significant fluid loss through vomiting or diarrhea.
- Are starting or coming off a long flight journey.
- Are experiencing high stress and poor sleep.
Most powdered electrolyte drinks are meant to be mixed with plain water. However, I have also seen some electrolyte mixes that go well with a daily greens juice.
Feel the Difference with Live it Up Vital Minerals
There are many types of electrolyte mixes, and after testing a few of the popular brands like Liquid IV and Nuun, I found myself coming back to Live it Up Vital Minerals to support my daily hydration goals.
Live it Up Vital Minerals is a clean electrolyte formula featuring balanced ratios of sodium, potassium, and calcium. Designed to support daily hydration, the blend also incorporates vitamin C to help with immune health and heat tolerance. It’s GMP-certified, third-party tested, and made without fillers, colors, artificial sweeteners, or added sugar—just clean, thirst-quenching ingredients. Plus, Vital Minerals is a delicious treat that comes in two flavors and is so much easier to drink than plain water.
Our customer-forward approach makes it easy to try out this hydration mix. A one-time purchase costs $1.49 per serving, and our subscription plan brings the per-serving price down to $0.99. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and free shipping on all purchases.
Replenish your hydration and start to feel your best with Vital Minerals!
FAQs on Electrolyte Supplements
What are the benefits of drinking electrolyte water?
The purported benefits of electrolytes are vast—from keeping your body hydrated and ensuring proper muscle and nerve function to supporting digestion and overall vitality, electrolytes impact some of the most important physiological processes.
When should you drink electrolytes?
You can drink electrolytes during and after a tough and long workout, a trek, or a long travel journey. They can also help you recover from an illness that caused significant fluid loss. You can also use a daily electrolyte powder like Live it Up Vital Minerals to support hydration and sustained energy goals.
Do electrolyte powders cause weight gain?
That depends on the type of powder you go for. If the powder has added sugar, like in Liquid I.V., prolonged consumption, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, may result in weight gain. Also, high-sodium-content drinks, like LMNT, can lead to water retention.
What should I look for in electrolyte powders?
Look for a combination of essential minerals like sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Also, look at the sodium-to-potassium ratio. For optimal hydration, the sodium-to-potassium ratio should be roughly 2:1 or 3:1. Check for additional micronutrients the electrolyte drink provides, as well as signs of third-party testing as a measure of its quality and safety. Try and avoid electrolytes with added sugar, additives, and artificial colors and flavoring.
References
- https://www.revistanutricion.org/articles/an-overview-on-electrolytes-its-importance-function-and--imbalances.pdf
- https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes
- https://www.henryford.com/blog/2023/08/are-electrolyte-drinks-really-worth-it
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/electrolyte-water#what-it-is
- https://www.revistanutricion.org/articles/electrolytes-mechanisms-and-implications-for-internal-body-functioning-105950.html
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15656483/
- https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-many-electrolytes
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6fmeuCYXYI&t=279s
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318595#spinach
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-thirst-start-in-the-mouth-or-the-gut/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6950074/
- https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/03/413736/had-enough-water-brains-thirst-centers-make-gut-check
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/nutrition-and-fitness/sports-and-hydration-for-athletes
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373072768_Temperature_Regulation_During_Exercise_and_the_Individual_Differences
- https://www.brainfacts.org/brain-anatomy-and-function/genes-and-molecules/2024/calciums-vital-role-in-neurotransmission-121624#:
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5804294/
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/fight-fatigue-with-fluids
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