Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Making your own homemade electrolyte drink or homemade sports drink is simple. Also, this way you know exactly what is going into your body.

While water is the best way to hydrate, sometimes you need an extra boost.

When you sweat, your body loses minerals, and adding these mineral electrolytes back into your body helps it hydrate more effectively.

What are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals that help regulate processes in your body. While most often thought about when it comes to hydration, they also help with your nervous system and muscle function.[1] Great reasons to make a healthy homemade electrolyte drink!

You’re probably familiar with many of the electrolytes, including:

Calcium
Chloride
Magnesium
Phosphate
Potassium
Sodium

If your electrolyte levels are too low or too high your body gets out of balance and it could lead to some serious symptoms.

The good news is that if you’re eating a healthy diet and staying hydrated, your electrolyte levels are probably fine.

However, there are times that you will want to use this homemade electrolyte drink to introduce more electrolytes into your body.

When you or your kiddos get sick, particularly if it’s an illness that includes vomiting or diarrhea.
In times of high-intensity exercise or activity in the sun when you are sweating profusely (or even just breathing heavily).
Also, for pregnant mamas and laboring mamas, extra electrolytes can help keep up energy levels and maximize hydration.

Problems with Commercial Sports Drinks

There are many sports drinks or electrolyte drinks that you can find at the grocery store these days (think Powerade, Gatorade, and Pedialyte). And while these drinks may do their job, they are laden with sugar, dyes, and other potentially concerning ingredients.

Natural Electrolyte Drinks

Coconut water is probably the most simple electrolyte drink if you want a natural option. (But make sure you’re not getting a sweetened version.) It naturally contains high levels of potassium as well as some sodium, calcium, and magnesium.[2]

Many laboring women and athletes swear by it for hydration. However, it can be expensive, and some people find the taste hard to get used to. One more reason to make a homemade electrolyte drink.

Making Your Own Electrolyte Drink

The good thing is, making your own homemade electrolyte drink or homemade sports drink is incredibly easy, and then you know exactly what you’re putting into your body.

To make a homemade electrolyte drink, you start with a healthy liquid base. This could be herbal tea, plain water, or even coconut water.

Then, you add a bit of high-quality salt. Sea salt or Himalayan pink salt are preferable because they are less refined. In addition to sodium and chloride, Himalayan pink salt contains small amounts of other electrolyte minerals, like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. (3)

Really, that could be all you need for a homemade electrolyte drink. But, to mask the saltiness, I like to add a little bit of sweetener (raw honey is my favorite) and lemon or lime juice.

If you like, you can also add a little powdered calcium and/or magnesium supplement to the mix, to pump up the levels of those minerals.

The fun thing about this recipe is that it is more of a formula. If your kids prefer a particular type of juice, you can use that. Or if you want to get more nutrients into your body with a particular herbal tea, this is a great way to give it a boost.