Electrolyte Water: Advantages and Common Misconceptions
Whether you drink bottled or tap water, it most likely contains trace amounts of electrolytes, such as sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
However, the concentration of electrolytes in beverages may vary greatly. Some brands add a significant amount of minerals along with carbs and market their water as a sports drink, while others only add a negligible amount for taste.
This article discusses the potential benefits of electrolyte-enhanced water, as well as common myths surrounding it.
What Is Electrolyte Water?
Electrolytes are minerals that conduct electricity when dissolved in water.
They’re distributed through the fluid in your body and use their electrical energy to facilitate important bodily functions.
- Electrolytes are essential for:
- Controlling your fluid balance.
- Regulating your blood pressure.
- Helping your muscles contract — including your heart.
- Maintaining the correct acidity of your blood (pH).
Common electrolytes include sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
Electrolyte waters are enhanced with these charged minerals, but the concentrations vary.
Unless it’s labelled “distilled,” your regular bottled water provides at least a small amount of electrolytes, and many products contain trace amounts for taste.
Tap water has electrolytes as well. On average, 1 litre of tap water contain 2–3% of the reference daily intake (RDA) for sodium, calcium and magnesium but little to no potassium.
In contrast, the same amount of popular electrolyte-enhanced sports drinks packs up to 18% of the RDA for sodium and 3% of the RDA for potassium but little to no magnesium or calcium.
May Improve Exercise Performance
Electrolyte-enhanced waters, particularly sports drinks, may benefit athletes by helping replenish water, electrolytes and energy lost during exercise.
During physical activity, you need additional fluids to replace the water lost in sweat. In fact, a water loss of as little as 1–2% of your body weight can lead to decreased strength, speed and focus.
Sweat also contains electrolytes, including a significant amount of sodium, as well as small amounts of potassium, calcium and magnesium. On average, you lose around 1 gram of sodium with every litre of sweat.
Sports drinks are recommended over plain water to replace fluid and electrolytes if you tend to sweat a lot, exercise longer than one hour or in hot environments.
You should note that sports drinks are designed for athletes, not sedentary individuals. Along with electrolytes, they contain calories from added sugar. In fact, a 591ml bottle of Gatorade packs a whopping 30 grams of sugar.
Can Help Prevent Heat Stroke
Hot environments put you at risk for a variety of heat-related illnesses, which range from mild heat rash to life-threatening heatstroke.
Normally, your body manages heat by releasing it through your skin and by sweating. However, this cooling system may begin to fail in hot weather, causing your body temperature to rise to dangerously high levels.
The key to preventing heat-related illnesses is to limit your time in the heat. However, getting plenty of fluid and electrolytes is also extremely important to help your body stay cool.
In hot environments, water and sports drinks are recommended for hydration over other beverages. Drinks containing caffeine such as soda, coffee and tea may worsen dehydration, as can alcohol.
Electrolyte vs Regular Water
Adequate hydration is essential for overall health. Water is necessary for virtually all body functions, including transporting nutrients, regulating body temperature and flushing out waste and toxins.
Both electrolyte and regular water count towards your daily fluid needs, as do other beverages such as coffee, tea, fruit juices and milk.
It’s a common misperception that electrolyte water is superior to regular water for hydration. In reality, it depends on the circumstances.
More specifically, electrolyte water may be beneficial if you’re at risk for quick losses of minerals. You may want to consider an electrolyte-enhanced beverage if:
- You’re exercising for more than one hour.
- You sweat heavily during exercise.
- You’re ill with vomiting or diarrhoea.
- You will be exposed to heat for longer periods.
- Outside of sports, hot weather and illness, regular water works just fine to meet your day-to-day hydration needs.
Though electrolyte water may have benefits under certain circumstances, regular water is sufficient for meeting your general hydration needs.