3 Reasons Why You Need Supplements for Electrolytes

Ever wonder what exactly people are sipping on in their trendy Stanley, Owala, or Hydro Flask tumblers?

Well, there’s a pretty good chance it’s a hydration mix (i.e., an electrolyte drink).

Not according to us, but the latest analysis from market research firm Global Market Insights, which valued the electrolyte drinks market at a whopping US$36.3 billion in 2024.

Just to give some perspective, as we all know, gut health has been all the rage recently. And yet, the electrolyte drinks market is nearly 3x the combined size of prebiotics (US$6.76 billion) and probiotics (US$5.56 billion).

Why? More importantly, if all you’ve been sipping on is plain water, are you missing out? Spoiler alert: 100%. Continue reading to learn why you need supplements for electrolytes.

What are electrolytes?

Electrolytes are specialized minerals that dissociate into charged ions when dissolved in water.

Yes, in case you’re wondering, this means that while all electrolytes are minerals, not all minerals are electrolytes. Confused? Learn more about minerals and ions in this article.

Electrolytes in the body

Three important areas of the body contain electrolytes in solution:

Blood plasma: The liquid component of blood. Contains platelets plus red and white blood cells. Makes up about 4% of body weight.
Intracellular fluid: Found inside cells; also referred to as the cytoplasm. Represents around 40% of total human body weight.
Interstitial fluid: Found in the spaces around cells. Makes up about 16% of body weight.

The electrolyte solution inside cells (i.e., intracellular fluid) has a different composition of solutes than the extracellular electrolyte solution (i.e., blood plasma and interstitial fluid).

Potassium, magnesium, and phosphate are the highest concentrations inside cells, while sodium and chloride are the highest concentrations outside cells. Maintaining this crucial electrolyte balance helps your body function optimally in several ways, including keeping the right amount of water inside cells.

If there’s too much water inside the cells, they can burst, and if there's too little water inside the cells, they can collapse.

Each electrolyte also plays different roles in the body:

Electrolyte	Ionic form	Role
Sodium	Na⁺	Helps maintain the extracellular fluid volume Keeps muscles and nerves running smoothly
Potassium	K⁺	Helps maintain the intracellular fluid volume Helps nerves, muscles, and heart to function well
Calcium	Ca²⁺	Skeleton mineralization Muscle contraction Nerve impulses Blood clotting Hormone secretion
Bicarbonate	HCO^3-	Helps the body keep a normal acid-base (pH) balance
Magnesium	Mg²⁺	Adenosine triphosphate or ATP (energy) production Proper functioning of muscles Neurological functioning Neurotransmitter release
Chloride	Cl^-	Helps maintain the extracellular fluid volume Helps the body keep a normal acid-base (pH) balance
Phosphorus	PO₄^3-	ATP production DNA and RNA (genetic material) synthesis

Why you need supplements for electrolytes

“I know electrolytes are important, but am I not getting enough from my diet?”

Now, many insist that you can get all the electrolytes you need by eating a balanced diet; minerals are found in vegetables, leafy greens, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy products, certain fish and seafood, and lean meats.

supplements for electrolytes healthy diet

But what most forget is that it’s not uncommon for heavy sweating (when engaging in endurance sports, for example) to deplete electrolytes.

Wounds could also throw off electrolyte balance through blood loss. Diarrhea or vomiting could purge large amounts of fluids and electrolytes in a short time.

“Sure, but what about, say, 95% of the time when I’m not heavily sweating, injured, or unwell? Are supplements for electrolytes still necessary?” Yes.

Here are 3 reasons why.

#1: Nutritional values of crops have dropped

In what’s been termed “The Great Nutrient Collapse”, scientists have discovered that many of our most important foods have become less nutritious.

One of the first large studies to draw attention to this topic was published in 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. It found that 6 nutrients (including calcium and phosphorus) had dropped by up to 38% between 1950 and 1999.

Further studies since then have supported the claim that what our grandparents ate was more nutritious than what we eat today.

Example: a 2020 study in Scientific Reports found notable magnesium level reductions in wheat from 1955 to 2016.

Just so we’re clear, the alarming nutrient declines also have ripple effects on animal foods.

Because cows, pigs, goats, and lambs are now feasting on less nutritious grasses and grains, they’re invariably less nutritious than they used to be.

But what’s making our food less nutritious? Multiple factors:

High-yield farming practices: Our crops are growing bigger and faster. But higher yields mean nutrients from the soil must be distributed across a greater volume of crops. So, in effect, the nutrients these fruits and vegetables produce are being diluted.
Soil degradation: Industrial agricultural processes, such as irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting, can damage soil structure and disrupt beneficial interactions between plants and soil microorganisms.
Soil depletion: The agricultural practice of planting the same crop in the same field year after year depletes the soil of nutrients.
Human-caused carbon dioxide emissions: When crops are exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels, they draw in less water, which means they bring in fewer micronutrients from the soil.

#2: Modern food processing methods

Many of the foods we eat today are processed.

Before you read anything into that, not all types of processing are bad: in many instances, processing makes food healthier, safer, tastier, and more shelf-stable. However, there are selective cases where processing can be detrimental, affecting the nutritional quality of foods.

For example:

Fermentation: Decreases mineral concentration in foods.
Milling: Dehulling whole grains (e.g., oats, wheat, rice, and corn) physically removes minerals.
Blanching: Results in leaching of minerals.

So, if your diet heavily features foods that have undergone those processing methods, you’re unlikely to be getting enough of the electrolytes your body needs for optimal health and well-being.

#3: Nutrient absorption slows down with age

Starting as early as in your 40s, your body’s absorption of various electrolytes (from calcium to magnesium) declines due to:

A shift in gut bacterial composition
Slower gastric emptying
Reduced ATP (energy) production

You might wonder, “How does reduced ATP production impact nutrient absorption?”

That’s a great question.

The answer is that your body needs a lot of energy to digest foods (i.e., “convert” the minerals into their bioavailable ionic forms) and uptake them.

For reference, your body expends about 10% of its daily energy expenditure just on digesting foods! It’s estimated that your body spends about 30% of its resting energy expenditure powering the sodium-potassium pump, which, as its name implies, maintains the balance of Na⁺ and K⁺ ions inside and outside cells.

So … what does this mean?

Before looking into supplements for electrolytes

Supplements for electrolytes are helpful.

But they can’t do much if your body cannot produce the energy it needs to uptake those electrolytes. What’s the solution, then?

Hydrogen water.

As the smallest antioxidant molecule, molecular H₂penetrates the mitochondria — a subcellular compartment known as the “powerhouse of the cell” — to support its role in producing the bulk of the cell’s ATP.

Translation: by supporting optimal mitochondrial function, molecular hydrogen could help your body get the most out of supplements for electrolytes.

And … how can you get hydrogen water? That’s easy: with Nutrionic™ H₂Energizer tablets, one of the best hydrogen tablets for water available on the market, providing up to: