Do You Actually Need Electrolytes?
Do you actually need electrolyte supplements? Should you be adding sodium to your water for a 45-minute workout? The hydration industry wants you to believe dehydration is lurking around every corner, but the science is more nuanced than the marketing.
Electrolyte powders, tablets, and even IV bars have turned hydration into a wellness identity. But for most people, most of the time, water and food cover your electrolyte needs. This episode breaks down when supplementation actually matters, when it's just expensive urine, and how to figure out what works for your body.
Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are essential for muscle contraction, nerve signaling, and fluid balance. You lose electrolytes through sweat, but the amount varies wildly between individuals. Some people are "salty sweaters" who lose significant sodium; others lose very little. There's no universal formula, which is why generic recommendations often miss the mark.
When electrolyte supplements make sense: exercise lasting longer than 60–90 minutes, especially in heat; heavy sweaters or those with visible salt residue on skin and clothing; ultra-endurance events where solid food isn't practical; and medical conditions affecting electrolyte balance. If you're doing a 45-minute yoga class or a casual 5K, you probably don't need a $7 hydration packet.
When they don't: short or moderate-intensity workouts, sedentary days (no, you don't need electrolytes for sitting at your desk), and stacking multiple products "just in case", more sodium isn't better, and excess can cause GI distress or worse.
We trace electrolytes from ancient salt wars to Gatorade's 1965 origins at the University of Florida, where researchers literally collected and tested sweat from football players. The sports drink industry is now worth billions, but the core science hasn't changed much, we've just added more flavors and influencer partnerships.
Most people don't need electrolyte supplements for everyday activities or short workouts. Water and a balanced diet provide adequate electrolytes for the average person. Supplementation makes sense for exercise lasting longer than 60–90 minutes, heavy sweaters, endurance events, or training in heat. Individual needs vary significantly—some athletes lose 3–4x more sodium in sweat than others—so paying attention to your own body matters more than following generic advice.
How to figure out what you actually need: weigh yourself before and after long workouts to estimate sweat loss, pay attention to salt residue on your skin and clothes, notice if you cramp or bonk despite adequate water intake, and experiment during training rather than races. For most athletes, a balanced diet with adequate sodium covers daily needs—save the supplements for long or hot efforts where you can't eat real food.
Do you need electrolyte supplements? Is Himalayan pink salt better than table salt? Will you cramp if you don't take sodium? In this episode, Zoë and Kylee dive into the $36 billion electrolyte industry—what electrolytes actually do, when you really need them, and why most people sitting at a desk don't need to pound LMNT packets all day. From the history of Gatorade to sweat testing for athletes, they separate the science from the marketing hype.
What Are Electrolytes, Actually?
KYLEE: Welcome to Your Diet Sucks, the podcast that won't tell you to drink Himalayan salt water just because the guy at your gym does.
KYLEE: Electrolytes are little charged minerals floating throughout your body that have certain purposes. They regulate fluid balance, support muscle contraction, help with nerve signaling, and keep your heart rhythm steady.
The Major Electrolytes
- Sodium: The MVP—lost in highest amounts in sweat, important for hydration and fluid balance
- Potassium: Muscle and nerve function (found in bananas, avocados, potatoes, dark chocolate)
- Magnesium: Muscle relaxation, energy production, nerve function
- Calcium: Bone health, muscle contraction, nerve signaling
- Chloride: Works with sodium to maintain fluid balance
ZOË: You can't swing a dead cat on Instagram without running into some new boutique electrolyte brand with 12,000 milligrams of sodium, or electrolyte-infused waters, or IV drips.
KYLEE: People will say "I just take those Liquid IV things—that's what I drink the whole day." And I'm like, the whole day? How many packets? They don't actually think about what impact these things have on their physiology or if too much is a bad thing.
A Brief History of Electrolytes
ZOË: In the early 1900s Tour de France, one team manager told cyclists: do not drink water while on your bike. Ideally don't drink anything, don't eat anything—it's just willpower. They believed water caused cramps. They also believed smoking cigarettes would open your lungs.
ZOË: In 1884, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius published research showing that salts dissolved in water split into charged particles (ions)—laying the foundation for everything we now know about nerve function, muscle contraction, and hydration. He won the 1903 Nobel Prize for it.
ZOË: In 1965, researchers at the University of Florida created Gatorade to help football players replace water, sodium, and glucose lost during games. The formula was built on oral rehydration research from treating cholera patients. The original formulation tasted awful. The name comes from the Florida Gators mascot.
ZOË: Gatorade marks the moment electrolytes left the hospital and entered the locker room. By the 1970s-2000s, sports drinks became lifestyle products—marketed as both performance enhancers and fun, guilt-free alternatives to soda.
The Electrolyte Market Explosion
KYLEE: In 2024, the global electrolyte drink market was worth about $36 billion—projected to nearly double by 2032. We've gone from athletes to everyday people with desk jobs pounding three electrolyte packets a day like they're training for Kona.
ZOË: This clip from the movie Idiocracy is the perfect encapsulation of electrolyte marketing today: "Brawndo's got what plants crave. It's got electrolytes." "What are electrolytes? Do you even know?" "It's what they use to make Brawndo."
Sodium: What You Need to Know
KYLEE: Sodium is the electrolyte lost in highest amounts in sweat. But people don't understand how much sodium they already get from their everyday diet. Recommended daily intake for the average person is 2,300-2,400 milligrams—and a lot of food already contains sodium.
ZOË: I grew up in a health-aware household where sodium was seen as a negative. But for athletes sweating a lot, it's different. The hard part is holding the idea that "just enough is the right amount"—going overboard isn't good, but totally cutting it out isn't good either.
KYLEE: If you're not training for endurance events, you might not need added sodium from LMNT packets or Liquid IV. The main point: be aware of how much sodium you get from food before reaching for supplements.
Electrolyte Myths: Fact Check
Myth 1: Plain water doesn't hydrate you
KYLEE: People ask "Does water actually hydrate you as well?" Yes. You can drink water. Electrolytes help you retain fluid, but you need water to actually hydrate you.
Myth 2: More electrolytes is always better
KYLEE: More is not always better. Too much water is bad. Too much electrolytes is bad. Too much sodium can cause bloating and GI distress during training.
Myth 3: You will cramp if you don't take electrolytes
KYLEE: Cramping is multifactorial—there are a lot of theories and science isn't totally sure. Low electrolytes could contribute, but it doesn't always directly point to that.
Myth 4: Natural electrolyte sources are always safer
ZOË: What is Himalayan pink salt, really?
KYLEE: Himalayan pink salt is rock salt mined from Pakistan, near the Himalayas. The pink color comes from trace minerals—mostly iron oxide (rust). But when you compare it to table salt, both are 97-99% sodium chloride. The trace minerals are nothing meaningful.
Myth 5: Coffee dehydrates you
KYLEE: If you consume over 400 milligrams of caffeine a day—like a pot of coffee or more—then it might be dehydrating. But normal coffee consumption? Not dehydrating.
ZOË: This is my favorite fact check of all time. Coffee doesn't dehydrate you.
When Do You Actually Need Electrolyte Supplements?
KYLEE: You may need electrolytes if you're:
- Doing endurance exercise
- Working or living in hot/humid environments
- A heavy or salty sweater
- At altitude
- Ill with vomiting or GI distress
- In a heavy training block where you haven't been replacing losses
When You Probably Don't Need Them
- Sitting at a desk
- Going for a casual walk
- Just feeling tired (electrolytes aren't energy)
- As a substitute for actual food/carbs/calories
ZOË: There's this weird wellness insinuation that whatever they're selling is the fix for just not feeling great. "Brain fog and fatigue? You need electrolytes." But electrolytes are not energy. They're important in energy production, but they're not energy themselves.
Sweat Testing for Athletes
ZOË: As a coach, I think sweat testing is a really good investment for athletes because it minimizes shooting in the dark. But understanding the results and putting them into practice is what makes it useful.
KYLEE: Use the sweat test as a guide: Am I a low, medium, or high salt loser? Then match your fluid consumption with your sodium consumption. If you're consuming 70% of your fluid losses per hour, consume 70% of your sodium losses.
KYLEE: Also remember: if you're using gels and food, that has sodium too. I've had athletes consuming 2,000 milligrams of sodium per hour between supplements and food—and their stomachs were exploding.
Signs of Too Much or Too Little
KYLEE: The symptoms for not having enough electrolytes and having too many are disconcertingly similar: GI distress, dizziness, cramping, sloshing stomach, gurgling, diarrhea, gas.
ZOË: It's a bell curve—both ends feel bad.
The Bottom Line
KYLEE: If you're an endurance athlete training in heat with high volume, electrolyte attention makes sense. But you can also just salt your food more and eat a wide diversity of foods. If you're sitting at a desk for everyday life—overkill. You probably don't need Gatorade for your weekly all-hands meeting.
ZOË: Most people don't need a five-dollar mojito-flavored electrolyte packet just to get through their morning Zoom meetings.
KYLEE: If your electrolytes cost more than your lunch, we are in trouble.
ZOË: Marketing can oversimplify things. Fatigue, cramps, brain fog—that long list of marketing terms aren't always from low electrolytes.
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