Electrolytes: A Deep Dive
Your body needs electrolytes to function, especially at peak performance. Electrolytes regulate your body’s pH levels, help the electricity from your brain control your muscles, and promote general hydration. Think of yourself as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz and electrolytes as his oil can. Without the oil, he could still function, but things went a lot better when he used it. A simple 50/50 mix of Gatorade and water will help, but there’s more you should know.
In This Article…
- What Are Electrolytes?
- Electrolytes & Exercise
- Food VS. Sports Drinks
- Should I Supplement?
- My Experience With Electrolytes
- Electrolytes: The Takeaway
The importance of electrolytes has only recently become clear to me. I thought it was just another buzz word to help sell sports drinks. Claims of balancing pH levels and increasing athletic performance seemed like technobabble to sucker weekend warriors into paying too much money for salt and sugar packed drinks. To me, the idea of electrolyte infused drinks seemed like a scam. Turns out, I was only half right.
What Are Electrolytes?
Electrolytes are chemicals that help create ions, or electrically charged particles, in your body fluids. The ions then carry electrical energy through your body and transmit nerve impulses throughout. Basically, when your brain tells your body to do something, it needs electrolytes to carry out the function quickly and efficiently.
The specific nutrients that make up electrolytes include:
- Bicarbonate
- Calcium
- Chloride
- Magnesium
- Phosphate
- Potassium
- Sodium
Each of them serves different functions, but they all work together to make sure your muscles work efficiently.
Bicarbonate
Bicarbonate (HCO–3) helps regulate your body’s acid / base levels, or pH balance. This is part of your pH buffering system, a biological balancing act that functions under the radar to keep you healthy. Bicarbonate also helps protect the tissues of your nervous system from getting too far out of whack, which could cause acidosis (bad) or alkalosis (also bad).
One common source of bicarbonate is sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda.
Calcium
Calcium (Ca), as we all know, is an important part of healthy teeth and bones, but it also helps your muscles contract (known as excitation-contraction coupling). This includes your musculoskeletal system (biceps, quads, pecs, etc.) and cardiovascular system (heart and lungs). Calcium deficiency, or hypocalcemia, can cause muscle spasms, aching, cramps, and numbness in your extremities.
Common sources of calcium are dairy products, green leafy vegetables, and fish.
Chloride
Chloride (Cl–), with the aid of other electrolytes, helps regulate your body’s pH balance, transmits nerve impulses through your nervous system, and regulates liquid flowing in and out of your cells (osmosis). Chloride deficiency (hypochloremia) may cause weakness, fatigue, diarrhea, vomiting, and breathing problems.
Common sources of chloride include table salt, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, and rye.
Magnesium
Magnesium (Mg) serves as an integral part of athletic performance by flushing out lactic acid from your muscles, in addition to lowering your blood pressure and reducing inflammation. Magnesium deficiency (hypomagnesemia) can cause muscles cramps or spasms, fatigue, heart arrhythmia, and certain mental health disorders like anxiety or depression.
Common sources of magnesium include nuts (almonds, peanuts, cashews, etc.), seeds (flax, chia, pumpkin,etc.), cocoa, and oats.
Phosphate
Phosphate (PO3-4) plays a reciprocal (equal and opposite) role to calcium in keeping your muscle function firing on all cylinders. Phosphate deficiency (hypophosphatemia) may cause muscle weakness, numbness, pain, and seizures. Too much (hyperphosphatemia) may cause cramps, numbness, and pain.
Common sources of phosphate include meats, dairy, beans, and nuts.
Potassium
Potassium (K) promotes healthy muscle and nerve function, helps synthesize protein, and aids in carbohydrate metabolization. Too much potassium (hyperkalemia) can cause chest pain, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath, while too little (hypokalemia) can cause constipation, muscle weakness, and fatigue.
Common sources of potassium include bananas, oranges, potatoes, beans, spinach, avocado, coconut water, chicken, and salmon.
Sodium
Sodium (Na) has a major effect on blood pressure and helps regulate osmosis between your cells. This is the most common and well-known electrolyte, and arguably the most abused in American diets. Too much sodium (hypernatremia) can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Too little (hyponatremia) results in cramps, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.
The most common source of sodium is table salt, which is added to just about everything you will find in any fast-food restaurant.
If it’s not obvious by now, electrolyte deficiency and imbalance can be a severe problem for your health and performance. However, it’s important to note many of the side effects listed here are for extreme circumstances.
The good news is, we can easily get adequate amounts of all these minerals with a proper diet. Generally, you shouldn’t have to worry about your daily intake if you are consuming the foods listed above as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle. If you frequent fast-food joints like McDonalds, you may struggle.
Some people have various health problems that could cause major deficiencies of one or more of these electrolytes and will need to adjust their diet or consider supplementation to stay healthy.
Most of us don’t.
Electrolytes & Exercise
“So far we’ve spent a bunch of time explaining electrolytes and how not having enough of them can be a problem, but now you’re telling me I just need to eat right and I’m fine?!”
– The Little Voice In Your Head right now
Sort of.
When performing exercise, particularly strenuous or prolonged exercise, we use up electrolytes as part of the fuel that makes our body run at peak performance. We also sweat them out. As a result, to maintain performance, we need to replenish electrolytes while working out or we’ll run into problems. Therefore, we drink sports and recovery drinks to replenish the lost electrolytes and hydrate ourselves quickly.
The trick is, unless you’re performing rigorous exercise (intense sparring, heavy weightlifting, mountain climbing) or extended exercise (an hour or more), chances are water will be more than enough to keep you hydrated. Most people don’t drink enough water as it is, especially when combined with the high salt intake of a typical American diet.
As a general rule, if you aren’t sweating, water is probably all you need. If you are sweating, water is still probably all you need unless you start feeling symptoms of dehydration. The most common symptoms during athletic activities are fatigue, muscle soreness, and cramps.
If you do feel that your exercise of choice leaves you fatigued, or you burn out fast and water just isn’t doing the trick, consider mixing Gatorade into your water.
One 591mL bottle of Gatorade has about 270mg of sodium, 36g of carbohydrates (mostly from sugar), and 75mg of potassium. Cutting that in half (mixing in water) will give you the sodium and potassium you need for your body to transport the water you just drank to your muscles AND give you a burst of quick energy in the form of sugar. Drinking Gatorade without diluting it in water could actually make you more thirsty and compound the problem because the excess sugar may act like a diuretic .
If you prefer a less corporate approach, you can add a pinch of salt and a bit of agave to your water bottle. Some people like to add lemon or orange juice as well. The point is, you want it to be mostly water, with a splash of electrolytes to help you out.
Food VS. Sports Drinks
So I spent the first part of the article explaining what electrolytes are and what foods they come in, then the second part of the article was about drinks that can supply electrolytes. Are you supposed to be eating or drinking them?
Both.
Eating a healthy balance of whole foods rich in these minerals will prepare your body for physical exertion and ensure that it functions properly with your day-to-day activities. During bouts of intense physical exertion, we rapidly deplete our electrolytes and need to replenish them. Drinking said electrolytes is the fastest way for our body to consume and distribute them, in addition to providing us with much needed hydration.
Imagine each cookie is a healthy food that is definitely not a cookie, then Cookie Monster is really onto something.
Should I Supplement?
Unless your doctor has specifically told you to supplement a certain vitamin or mineral, you shouldn’t need to buy supplements for it. Certain health conditions will, however, require you to supplement because your body cannot absorb the electrolytes from your food.
If you maintain a healthy lifestyle and still run into problems, talk to your doctor. They may run some tests to find out if you have an underlying medical condition that is preventing you from absorbing one or more nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.
My Experience With Electrolytes
As a kid, I was constantly dehydrated. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was. In gym class, I would get side cramps and gas out after only fifteen or twenty minutes of exercise. This made me last pick in all the team sports. I drank a lot of soda or sugary drinks like CapriSun at home because I was a dumb kid who didn’t know better. I’d take a drink at the water fountain and think I was properly hydrated, because kids are stupid.
Then, in college, I replaced my soda consumption with coffee and got even worse. A trip to the hospital (which later revealed a heart condition) forced me to wake up and change my act. I pretty much cut out all forms of caffeine from my diet and began only drinking water. It saved me money, and I immediately felt better.
I averaged 1-2 liters of water consumption a day for many years, ramping up to about a gallon a day if I were getting ready for a competition. The problem was, despite feeling better, my muscles would spasm and gas out during rigorous sparring sessions or weightlifting. I became frustrated because I kept drinking water but somehow still felt dehydrated.
Already long story turned slightly shorter, I stumbled upon Mike D. Ryan‘s Foam Rolling For Dummies book, and inside he talks briefly about electrolytes and his experiences as a nutrition coach for the NFL. He suggested a quick and easy solution of 50/50 water and Gatorade, then goes into great detail explaining why.
I tried it the next day and immediately saw in increase of about 20% in endurance during my strength and conditioning workout. Not only that, but I felt better afterward. Less fatigue, more energy. It was humbling. I thought I was doing the right thing by drinking copious amounts of water (and I was) but what I really needed was extra electrolytes in those times of increased exercise.
Electrolytes: The Takeaway
| Reach For Electrolytes When… | Stick To Regular Water When… |
|---|---|
| • You exercise for an hour or more. | • You’re out for a walk. |
| • You feel muscle or side cramps while exercising. | • You’re stretching. |
| • Your energy levels drop during exercise. | • You’re just sitting at your desk. |
| • You start to feel dizzy or confused (take a break as well). | • Basically any time you’re not engaged in physical activity that makes you sweat. |
Your body needs electrolytes. Generally speaking, you can get all of them from food. During times of intense physical exercise you can resort to electrolyte enriched water or diluted sports drinks for a quick fix. Drinking sports drinks should NOT be a regular form of hydration, however. Simple water is best.
I hope this article has shed some light on electrolytes for you. They are a valuable piece of the puzzle for recovery, and if you neglect them, you will pay for it. Everyone’s needs are different, so experiment with what works / tastes best for you. I can’t promise you’ll become a better athlete overnight, but I am confident you’ll feel better going forward, which may give you the energy and motivation to train harder and longer.
Over time, that will turn into performance gains that could help you get some medals.
As always, this article comes with my health & safety disclaimer.
