Homemade Electrolyte Drink Recipe (with flavor options)

Drinking enough pure water is one of the most important things we can do for overall health. In most cases, water alone is fine. When the weather is hot or we sweat during exercise, we lose minerals through sweat. Making your own electrolyte drinks can help replenish minerals and correct electrolyte imbalances.

Do we really need electrolytes?

You may have heard that our bodies are 80% water, but it’s actually 80% salt water.

Plain water is not high in electrolytes. Our bodies lose large amounts of minerals during exercise and hot weather. Added electrolytes and minerals help rehydrate after high-intensity exercise or heavy sweating. They are also useful during illness to maintain fluid balance if someone is vomiting or has diarrhea.

We need electrolytes to maintain healthy blood pressure, nervous system, and prevent muscle spasms. They help eliminate waste from the body and are necessary for every function! In a perfect world we wouldn’t need supplements, but electrolyte water and drinks can be very helpful for some people.

My cautionary tale

This article could also be titled “How to Avoid Huge Hospital Bills for IV Fluids While on Vacation.” Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes in this area.

A few years ago, I went on vacation and spent a few days at the beach snorkeling, sailing, and scuba diving.

Normally if I’m out in the sun I bring a homemade electrolyte drink with me, but this time I forgot some of the ingredients. I thought I would just drink enough water until I had wine with dinner that night and coffee the next morning and it just wasn’t enough.

That’s when I noticed I had a headache. I started drinking water, but the headache got worse and I started having a rapid pulse, dizziness, and nausea. Even after drinking lots of water, I still had symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion.

This led to him going to International Hospital for an infusion. After the most painful IV of my life with a 12 gauge needle, the fluid came in and I started feeling better!

After sitting in the hospital for hours rehydrated through an IV, I couldn’t help but think about how much easier, cheaper, and less painful it would be if I remembered to DIY my own electrolyte drink.

Why not just drink a regular sports electrolyte drink?

So why not just drink one of the many electrolyte drinks available at the store (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) right now?

Regular sports drinks contain lots of glucose, artificial flavors and colors, but not many nutrients.

I’m all for hydration, but are preservatives, mystery fragrances, and artificial dyes really necessary? I know from experience that these ingredients often make me feel bad and are not worth it. Now, when I need something other than water to stay hydrated, I make my own version.

Natural Sports Electrolyte Drink Recipe

Coconut water is one of the simplest sports drink alternatives that can be used directly. It is similar in structure to the fluids used in intravenous rehydration. Therefore, it is rumored to have been used as an IV electrolyte replacement during the Pacific War. It can be used alone or mixed with lemon juice to make a great natural electrolyte drink.

Coconut water is a great source of potassium and sodium and I even used it during labor. The only downside to coconut water is the price. If you want a cheap (but still healthy and delicious) alternative, this recipe is the next best thing.

Homemade Electrolyte Drink Recipe

You can make this recipe a number of ways, but proportions are the most important part. The base can be any healthy liquid, some good options are:

To turn a basic liquid into a sports drink, add some or all of the following ingredients:

• Salt – High quality salt with added sodium and other essential minerals. Table salt is pure sodium chloride and contains no trace minerals, but Himalayan or sea salt are good options.
• calcium and magnesium – Added calcium and magnesium powder helps replenish minerals.
• juice – Optional, but sweetening and natural sugar can be added if desired during exercise. Orange juice, lime juice and fresh lemon juice are some of our favorites for added vitamin C and potassium.
• natural flavors – Add natural flavors like fresh ginger, fresh herbs, or even naturally flavored stevia extract

This recipe is naturally gluten-free and can easily be made low-carb by omitting the added juice.

Want to buy?

Looking for a quick way to replenish your electrolytes, especially while traveling? These are my favorite junk-free electrolyte powder drinks.

• LMNT – I’m a big fan of these flavored electrolyte powders that replenish important electrolytes lost through sweating. They work amazingly well with just water and come in different flavors like citrus, grapefruit or watermelon.
• Jigsaw Healthy Electrolytes Supreme – My favorite flavor is berry.