Why Water Alone Isn’t Enough: The Electrolyte Fix for Real Hydration

Bala BitesLifestyleNutrition & SupplementsMay 15, 2025

WHEN WATER DOESN'T CUT IT

There was a stretch of time where I was really on top of hydration. It meant I always had a big water bottle with me no matter where I went. The problem was I still felt off.

Foggy. Puffy. Weirdly tired. And somehow...thirsty. Turns out I wasn’t hydrating by drinking all that water. I was actually flushing.

If you don’t have enough electrolytes, water doesn’t get absorbed into your cells. Electrolytes are like tiny conductors. When dissolved in water, they split into charged particles (ions) that allow your body to send signals, move muscles and keep your heart in rhythm.

Without electrolytes, water can’t do its job. Water hydrates space, not cells.

It’s why drinking only water can leave you still dehydrated on a cellular level.

Time for a reframe: Hydration isn't all about water volume. It’s actually about balance.

SYMPTOMS OF AN ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE

When you are unbalanced and don’t have enough electrolytes, you can experience a range of symptoms like:

Fatigue
Brain fog
Irritability
Headaches or dizziness
Puffy fingers or swelling
Muscle cramps or twitching
Constipation or irregular digestion
Constant thirst or frequent urination
Low workout performance or poor recovery

It’s a long list but if you care about performance, it is critical to understand the symptoms of electrolyte imbalance because it is not that difficult to restore it. Restablishing electrolyte balance is critical to maintaining energy, focus and overall health.

THE TOP 5 ELECTROLYTES YOU NEED

Five minerals make up the core of your body’s electrical system.

List of the 5 most important minerals that aid hydratrion

They include sodium for fluid balance, nerve impulses and muscle contractions, potassium for cellular hydration, heart rhythm and insulin sensitivity, magnesium for muscle recovery, blood sugar, sleep and mood, calcium for muscle contractions, bone strength and nerve signaling and chloride for blood pressure regulation and pH balance.

POTASSIUM-TO-SODIUM: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RATIO

Something that helped me understand the relationship between these minerals (and all of the powdered electrolyte supplements on the market today) is the potassium to sodium ratio.

The NIH recommends:

No more than 2,300mg of sodium per day
4,700mg of potassium per day

That's an implied ratio of potassium to sodium of ~2:1 (implied because they don't recommend an actual ratio). The problem is most of us eat 2–3x more sodium than potassium.

The good news is we lose more sodium than potassium when we sweat.

Athletes and active individuals lose more sodium than potassium through sweat (sweat contains ~900–1400 mg/L sodium vs. ~150–300 mg/L potassium), which is one of the many reasons why supplements prioritize sodium.

If our diet leads to an unbalanced ratio, we feel the effects via stress hormones, blood pressure and dehydration.

In the US, there's not a lot of talk around potassium but there should be. 98% of Americans are potassium deficient. 98%! This makes potassium one of the most neglected minerals.

WHAT DEPLETES YOUR ELECTROLYTES?

You lose electrolytes daily—often without realizing it. Sweating from exercise, saunas or heat pulls minerals out through your skin. Alcohol depletes both electrolytes and B vitamins, leaving you more drained than you think. Stress burns through key minerals like magnesium and potassium at a faster rate. Caffeine acts as a mild diuretic, causing additional fluid and mineral loss. Fasting without mineral support can accelerate depletion. And many medications—especially diuretics, blood pressure meds and antibiotics—further disrupt electrolyte balance.

If you take creatine (we've written extensively about it here), it is important to recognize that creatine increases your body’s need for water and electrolytes since creatine pulls water into your muscle cells to support growth and performance. That extra water movement increases your body’s need for both water and electrolytes to keep everything balanced and firing right.

WHOLE FOOD SOURCES OF ELECTROLYTES

Nature makes electrolyte replenishment simple:

Potassium: Avocados, spinach, coconut water, potatoes and winter squash

Magnesium: Pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, spinach and cashews

Calcium: Sardines, salmon, sesame seeds, leafy greens and raw milk

Sodium + Chloride: Sea salt or celtic salt, bone broth, seaweed, celery and shellfish

ELECTROLYTE POWDER OPTIONS

If you want to try some powdered supplements, here are some go-tos that we've tried in our household: GoodOnYa Hydrate, Salt of the Earth, LMNT, Nuun Sport, Snake Juice, Redmond Re-Lyte, Trace Minerals Power Pak and NormaLyte.

If you aren't sure which powder best fits your needs, experiment with a few. Just watch for artificial flavors, preservatives and sugars that can be easily hidden in all brands.

DIY ELECTROLYTE DRINK RECIPE

Mix this in a large glass or shaker bottle:

1.5 cups coconut water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
Optional: 1 tsp raw honey

This recipe should give you ~1000mg potassium and 300mg sodium, which is a ratio your body should love.

Remember, if you’ve been drinking more water but are feeling less hydrated…don’t keep on chugging water.

Reach for those minerals. Your cells need the right inputs to absorb what you're giving them.

Let’s hydrate better this week.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

True hydration requires more than water—it requires the right balance of electrolytes for cellular function
Electrolyte deficiency symptoms can show up as muscle cramps, fatigue, or frequent thirst, even if you’re drinking plenty of water
Whole food electrolytes like coconut water, avocados and sea salt can restore balance better than most commercial drinks
Health leaders emphasize the importance of a potassium-to-sodium ratio for hydration, hormone balance and cardiovascular health
If you don't want to pay for powdered electrolytes for hydration, you can learn how to make your own electrolyte drink with better ingredients and proper mineral ratios