Using Electrolyte Drinks to Boost Hydration

In the last year or two, there has been an explosion in popularity of electrolyte drinks. New brands have rushed to market, the demographic image has changed, and I frequently get questions from clients about whether or not they should be regularly adding electrolyte packets to their drinking water.

I can understand the surge in confusion, because many of the newer brands of electrolyte drinks have shifted positioning from the sports field (i.e., Gatorade) to the wellness space (i.e., Liquid I.V.). In fact, brands like Liquid I.V. and LMNT use language in their marketing that – while not overtly prescriptive – certainly creates an image of sipping electrolytes at the computer for “sharped focus and clarity” (LMNT) or “faster hydration” (Liquid I.V.).

While it might sound like I don’t approve of electrolyte drinks, the opposite is actually true – I recommend electrolyte supplementation to clients all the time. But it’s important to understand what electrolytes are, why we supplement with them, and what times are appropriate for sipping an electrolyte drink (and also how much is too much!).

Let’s dive in!

What are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals that include sodium, potassium, magnesium, and more. These minerals have an electric charge when dissolved in water (there’s the “electro” part of it), and they help with hydration because they help to move fluid in and out of cells, balancing the pH of the body by managing hydration. Ultimately, proper electrolyte levels and hydration promote optimal muscle, nerve, and even heart function. For exercise, this can boost performance.

Hypothetically, our body does a pretty good job on its own of balancing electrolyte levels and hydration if we eat properly and drink enough water. If we eat a meal that’s too high in sodium, for example, we lose the excess electrolytes in our urine. Also, some natural foods contain electrolytes, since they contain minerals like potassium or magnesium or calcium – leafy greens, dairy, bananas, or coconut water, for example. Obviously, high-salt foods contain plenty of sodium, as well.

However, one variable that our body has a hard time dealing with is prolonged exercise-induced dehydration, because when we sweat, we rapidly lose both water and electrolytes through our skin’s surface. Then, when we drink water, we’re only replacing the water, but not the electrolytes. With just a small amount of sweating (i.e., a normal gym workout), our bodies will figure things out. But with a massively dehydrating activity (i.e., sweating profusely through hours of hot/intense training), this can throw off the pH balance of your body’s fluids, reducing our body’s ability to function optimally. With this kind of dehydration, we can experience headaches, muscle weakness, low energy, nausea/vomiting, cramps, etc. In extreme cases, profound dehydration could send you to the hospital.

This is where formulated electrolyte drinks can save the day, by restoring balance quickly and efficiently!

Examples of Electrolyte Drinks

So what should you drink to re-hydrate yourself during a massively sweaty workout?

We have the classics – Gatorade and Powerade! And I still recommend these all the time, partly because they’re ready-to-drink, available everywhere, and easier for someone to consume if they’re busy in a sporting event and don’t want to fiddle around with packets or tablets.

But we also have the tablets, capsules, and powders like Nuun, Liquid I.V., Precision Hydration, Venture Pal, and LMNT. Often, I find that people (including myself) like the taste of these beverages a little more. Personally, I really prefer LMNT (I weirdly love the “Chocolate Salt” flavor), but I also often use Propel packets because they’re available at my regular grocery store.

Beyond personal flavor preference, however, there is an important question when it comes to choosing an electrolyte beverage:

Do you need sugar for your workout? Sometimes the answer should be yes. For endurance events with a high level of intensity and duration (i.e., a ton of sweat is being lost over 60-90+ minutes of high exertion), an electrolyte supplement (or real food) that contains sugar will do the best job of rehydrating very rapidly. Sugar puts hydration on a fast-track from your gut to your bloodstream, activating proteins in your gut that help to move things faster.

Pro tip: you can even drink chocolate milk or coconut water after a very hard, sweaty, long workout as an alternative to an electrolyte supplement!

How Should You Use Electrolyte Drinks?

The real factor to consider is: are you sweating? Furthermore, are you sweating a lot?

Some people sweat more than others. Some people lose a higher concentration of sodium through their sweat – and for women, it’s possible to lose more salt/sweat during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

If you are not sweating, plain water is probably fine for general hydration. Even if you’re sweating a little bit (i.e., a normal gym workout), plain water is fine.

Electrolyte is for re-hydration, not for general hydration, and that’s an important distinction – it’s to replace electrolytes that you lose through sweating. I cannot emphasize enough that plain water is fine for general hydration purposes (i.e., regular workouts, working at your desk, going on a walk, etc.).

If you do outdoor athletics (like running or biking with a lot of sweat loss), electrolyte supplementation is appropriate. I recommend that my endurance runners wear water bottle belts with Gatorade or carry chewables. If you’re drenched with sweat after a 90-minute hot yoga class or CrossFit class, you’ll probably feel a lot better if you drink an electrolyte supplement. I even mix my husband electrolyte packets every hour when he’s doing summer yard work.

For athletic events that involve prolonged intensity (i.e., a marathon), it’s even smart to prep your hydration the day before, topping off your electrolyte balance with a supplement at dinner the night before.

But let’s use a more average example, which is a little bit more of a gray area – for someone doing a strength workout at their gym (or in their home basement), even a little bit of sweat doesn’t require electrolyte supplementation. It probably doesn’t hurt to have one LMNT or Liquid I.V. during a workout… but it’s probably not necessary either.

When I Would Not Recommend Electrolyte Drinks

However, there are circumstances that absolutely do not need electrolyte supplementation, and they include scenarios like:

• Waking hydration (i.e., first thing in the morning)
• Working at the computer
• Going for a walk
• Constant intake (i.e., you have more than one beverage per day outside the context of exercise)

Electrolyte supplementation is meant to replace the sweat we lose during a workout – it is not to replace other beverages at random times. This is why I don’t love Liquid I.V.’s language of being a “hydration multiplier” – it sends the message (whether intentional or not) that it improves your regular hydration during low-intensity activities, positioning it as an all-day drink that is somehow better than water.

The reality is that we can consume too many electrolyte drinks. Although most of the time we just excrete excess sodium and other minerals, we can outpace our body’s ability do so – especially if we’re not exercising. This is especially true because many of the new electrolyte beverages taste good – better than plain water – and also because all electrolyte supplementation increases thirst. You can wind up over-consuming just because you’re (1) enjoying it and (2) becoming increasingly thirstier.

When our body’s pH balance goes in the other direction (i.e., the concentration in your body is too high), you can experience symptoms that are confusingly similar to dehydration – headaches, muscle spasms/cramps/weakness, nausea, etc.

So when it comes to hydration and electrolytes and feeling/performing our best, we really want to aim for the sweet spot of balanced pH, which means that we only need to focus on a few minimal habits:

• Drink water regularly throughout the day (about half our bodyweight in ounces, like 75 ounces for 150 pounds)
• Drink extra water for regular workouts (I usually recommend one “bottle,” whatever that is for you, during your workout)
• Drink electrolyte drinks (with sugar if needed) when workouts or activities get particularly sweaty, intense, and/or long (especially if it’s more than 60 minutes)
• If the taste of plain water is a hydration issue, take steps like adding lemon or lime juice, buying flavored sparkling water, or infusing water with herbal teas throughout the day
• Remember that all liquids are ultimately hydrating – even coffee and tea
• Pay special attention to parts of the day when you habitually stop drinking water – for me, it’s the afternoon when I get busy with school pickups, etc… I have to be more vigilant about carrying a water bottle
• Remember that dehydration can feel like hunger – so if you are feeling unreasonably snacky at a particular time of the day, ponder if perhaps you are dehydrated rather than peckish

I hope this article helps you with your hydration needs! Remember to keep it simple. If you would like help in organizing your workout and nutrition lifestyle, feel free to set up a free consultation here!