2025 Supplement Series: Electrolytes - What are they and are they necessary?

Fine Tuning Habits 

At the beginning of the year as I was embarking on some new wellness habits: blood sugar regulation, infrared sauna, more resistance exercise and tweaking sleep hygiene. Then in March, I began to have some serious sleep disturbances in the form of EXCRUCIATING calf cramps. The kind that send you out of bed like a bolt while panting as if going into labor and then trying beyond your might to get the stiff leg to move! 

The pattern of the cramps began to emerge... hydration & electrolytes were the likely culprits! 

Nowadays there is a huge fuss about electrolytes (remember, back in 2016 there was a fuss too!!) – but what are they are and do we really need them?  Electrolytes are essential minerals—like sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and chloride—that help your body absorb and use water effectively. They’re crucial for hydration because they help regulate fluid balance both inside and outside your cells.

Here’s how electrolytes support hydration:

💧 1. Balance Fluids in the Body

• Sodium and chloride help maintain the right amount of fluid in your blood and cells.

• Electrolytes keep water in the right compartments (bloodstream, cells, tissues), preventing dehydration or swelling.

⚡ 2. Enhance Water Absorption

• When electrolytes are present (especially sodium and glucose), your body absorbs water more efficiently through the small intestine.

• This is why sports drinks and oral rehydration solutions often contain a mix of salt, sugar, and water—it speeds up hydration better than water alone.

💪 3. Support Muscle and Nerve Function

• Potassium, calcium, and magnesium help muscles contract and nerves transmit signals.

• If you're low on electrolytes, you might experience cramps, fatigue, or dizziness, even if you’re drinking water.

🛡️ 4. Prevent Overhydration (Hyponatremia)

• Drinking too much water without replacing sodium can dilute electrolytes, causing a dangerous condition called hyponatremia.

• Proper electrolyte levels help avoid this and keep your hydration balanced, not excessive.

🏃‍♂️ When Are Electrolytes Especially Important?

• Hot weather or high humidity

• Intense or prolonged exercise

• Vomiting, diarrhea, or illness

• Low-carb diets (which cause the body to excrete more sodium)

✅ In Summary:

Electrolytes are key partners to water in hydration. They:

• Help your body absorb and retain fluids

• Maintain fluid balance in and around cells

• Support muscle and nerve function

• Protect against both dehydration and overhydration

Should You Drink Electrolyte Drinks?

A person eating a balanced diet usually won’t need to replace their electrolytes with a drink. However, there are instances when eating a balanced diet is simply not enough.  Humans constantly push their bodies to the limit.  Athletes, for example, constantly work their bodies causing them to sweat.  When you sweat, you lose electrolytes.  It is this reason that has made sports drinks such a popular drink among athletes for years. But losing electrolytes isn’t just a problem for athletes; anyone doing physical labor can lose electrolytes. Pregnant and active women often find their bodies need more electrolytes even if they eat a very balanced diet!  

So, while you don’t necessarily have to drink a sports drink containing electrolytes (this health coach does NOT recommend the sugar laden, "natural flavored" sports drinks), if you are pushing your body to its limits it could be one of the easiest ways you can restore your electrolyte levels while simultaneously quenching your thirst.

Benefits of Creating Your Own Sports Drink

There are benefits to choosing to make your own sports drink in your kitchen instead of just heading to the store to buy them.

1. Saves you money – This is by far one of the biggest benefits you will find.  After just a few trips to the store to buy name brand sports drinks, you will find that if you just buy the proper ingredients, you can save a lot of money compared to just purchasing them at the store.
2. Know Your Ingredients – If you are buying the ingredients and making them yourself, you know exactly what is going into each homemade sports drink.  When you buy a sports drink in the store, you don’t know for sure where their ingredients came from and what they quality of each ingredient is that you are putting into your body.
3. Flavor Variety – One of the best parts of making them yourself is you can create and customize the flavors of your drinks to your tastes.  This allows you to create new flavors so you aren’t limited to the flavors you will find at your local grocery store.

Make your own electrolyte water -- here are some recipes to get you started! There’s really no end to the combos you could use!  Enjoy these recipes! 

Cranberry-Pomegranate Electrolyte Recipe 

• 1/8 tsp. of unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1/8 tsp magnesium powder
•  ¼ cup pomegranate juice
•  ¼ cup cranberry juice
•  1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut water
•  2 cups cold water

Directions:  Mix all the ingredients together using a blender or using a pitcher and a whisk.  Chill and serve cold.

Lemon-Lime Electrolyte Recipe

•  ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
•  ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
•  2 cups of cold water (use unsweetened coconut water if you omit the sugar/honey)
•  1/8 tsp. of unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt
•  1/8 tsp magnesium powder
•  2 tablespoons of natural sugar or honey (optional)

Directions:  Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend the mixture until the honey is dissolved.  Chill and serve cold.

Breakfast Blend Electrolyte Recipe

•  ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
•  ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
•  2 cups of cold water (use unsweetened coconut water if you omit the sugar/honey)
•  1/8 tsp. of unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt
•  1/8 tsp magnesium powder
•  2 tablespoons of sugar or honey (optional)

Directions:  Pour all the ingredients into a blender and mix them until the honey dissolves.  Chill and serve cold.

 Strawberry Smoothie Electrolyte Recipe

•  3 cups of unsweetened coconut water
•  1 cup of strawberries
•  1 cup of cold water
•  1 cup of ice
•  1/8 tsp. of unrefined sea salt or Himalayan salt
•  1/8 tsp. of magnesium powder
•  2 tablespoons of natural sugar or honey (optional)

Directions:  Place all the ingredients into your blender at the same time and blend them until all the ingredients are smooth.  Chill and serve cold.