5 reasons to ditch electrolyte powders
Brett Nethell
Written on 29th July
Electrolyte powders have exploded in popularity in recent years, promising better hydration in a sachet, but are these little sachets actually hydrating us?
More and more people are beginning to recognise that water on its own isn't enough to hydrate us, it often dehydrates us further if we simply rely on drinking plain water, flushing us of the electrolytes we so desperately need. Most electrolyte powders are ultra processed, adding in synthetic vitamins and some brands like LMNT have even been found to have maltodextrin hidden from the ingredients list.
So why aren't electrolyte powders helping, and what harm are they doing? That's exactly what we'll cover in this article, along with what to use instead.
1. Synthetic vs natural
Despite most brands best efforts to convince you that their electrolyte powder is all natural, most are not. Most minerals will be combined with synthetic amino acids such as glycine to make ingredients such as magnesium glycinate, this isn't natural, and how the glycine is made isn't disclosed to you. Most electrolyte powders also use citric acid, which is often marketed as being just harmless lemon juice, but this is far from the truth, most citric acid comes from a highly mould-contaminated source, and is often GMO as well.
Natural electrolytes such as sea salt, calcium from raw milk, and potassium from pomegranate juice are all in their natural state and provide the body with cofactors to actually utilise the minerals and electrolytes, rather than letting them simply pass through the gut and out through urine.
Natural sources come without any of the added nasties that harm gut health, but with all the goodness of rehydrating you properly, nature gives us the best electrolytes, not a lab.
2. "Natural" flavouring
Every electrolyte powder wants to be the one that tastes the best, but instead of adding real fruit powders, they opt for "natural" flavouring that is anything but natural.
Natural flavouring is just as bad as artificial flavouring, its exact composition is hidden under "trade secrets," and what goes into the flavouring is often very different from what buyers believe it to be. It's often heavily processed and can contain up to 90% solvents, preservatives, and chemical additives, far from natural!
3. Potassium
Supplementing potassium is very different from getting it naturally through your diet. Taking in large amounts of isolated potassium can cause rapid absorption, affect the heart's electrical rhythm, and harm the gut.
On the flip side, when you get large amounts of potassium through food, it is balanced, very difficult to overdo, and the range of cofactors that come alongside it helps its absorption into the body during digestion.
This is why you'll never see a large amount of potassium in an electrolyte powder, the safety aspect needs to be there for those buying the product. The problem is that the person consuming it isn't getting anywhere near enough potassium, and a small glass of pomegranate juice would provide far more.
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4. Salt limits
Similarly to potassium, brands are often scared to add too much salt. Most have realised that over-processed table salt isn't the answer, but most contain barely 1g of salt and salt is the key factor in rehydrating when depleted.
We lose so much salt when we sweat, and we often sweat out of our armpits all day long, no matter how you try to convince yourself you're not sweating, it's happening.
Rehydrating then, is about replacing lost sodium more than almost anything else. These powders are lacking in this key component and instead choose to fill up the nutritional content with synthetic vitamins, which isn't why you bought an electrolyte powder in the first place. Instead, opt for real sea salt and add it to water or fruit juice.
5. True hydration vs expensive sachets
True hydration comes from real food and high-quality salt. When we turn to synthetic powders that are filled with rubbish and lacking the very thing we need, salt, it's no wonder people still don't feel hydrated despite spending lots of money on electrolyte powder.
When minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, and chloride are in their natural matrix within food or salt, our bodies recognise them and therefore utilise them so much better, they don't just pass through the body but instead help us properly hydrate.
Turn to foods such as raw milk, orange juice, fruit, fruity veg, and bone broth, this is where real hydration is to be found; these foods and drinks outperform electrolyte powders every single time.
Summary
Whatever the problem is that synthetic powders claim to help us heal from, always look instead to real food. Synthetic powders are made in a lab, they don't exist in nature, and they're not extracted from food. The process that goes into making them isn't talked about enough. So instead, let's return to how our ancestors hydrated themselves, it's no wonder salt was so sacred, it's a miracle food for both taste and health. Don't forget it.
