Why the fitness experts don’t waste their money on electrolytes

Judging by the success of the £45 Stanley Cup and the ubiquity of those giant water bottles, there’s a real preoccupation with staying hydrated right now. But sometimes, plain old water just won’t cut it: if you’re a thirsty gym-going Gen Z, you’ve probably come across adverts for electrolytes in your social media feeds.

If you don’t know what they are, a quick scroll through an Instagram fitness influencer’s page will tell you more. You’ll spot them clutching a brightly-coloured drink after a gym session – probably outdoors in the sun – with a caption about rehydrating after an “epic” session.

Electrolytes, typically sold in powder form or tablets that can be added to water, are a combination of salts and minerals that the body uses to regulate physiological functions. Our body naturally produces them, but we can lose them through sweat – while working out, for example. Electrolytes in powder or pill form, usually costing between £12 and £30 for around 20 doses, are marketed as “minerals and salts that replace what our bodies lose through sweat” according to nutrition therapist Lauren Johnson Reynolds.

But are they worth it? And do we actually need them?

“In day-to-day life, if you’re just walking around, going to work, playing with the kids, do you need to be sipping an electrolyte solution unless it has been prescribed by a doctor? No, you don’t,” says Sam Impey, co-founder of personalised nutrition website Hexis.

Impey, 36, comes from a sports background. At university he played rugby and now does triathlon events and works out four times a week, doing a mixture of weight training, cycling and running. Even though he is very active, he rarely uses electrolytes, preferring to simply drink water after his sessions to rehydrate.

It’s a particularly hot day, or he’s going for a long bike ride, Impey might use an electrolyte gel or solution, but tries to replace electrolytes lost through food instead. “Sodium chloride you can find in most foods, it’s fairly common,” he says. “Potassium you can get in bananas, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. A good source of calcium is milk products and then phosphates are things like curly kale.

“For the most part if somebody just eats food and eats a diet with a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, fruits and vegetables they’ll probably get enough electrolytes.”

Only for big events such as the London Marathon should people consider them, he says, as water alone may not be enough to rehydrate the body.

Still, he sees them on social media a lot, and most of the time unnecessarily. “You often see people say they’re going to have some electrolytes and then put a big fizzy tablet into the bottom of their drink. Most of that tablet is just vitamin C, and they don’t actually put electrolytes back in.”

Only small group studies have so far been done on the efficiency of electrolytes, such as the 2021 Applied Sciences study comparing the effects of water and electrolyte drinks on just 10 young men after strenuous exercise. They found the men who drank the electrolytes were able to retain water better. The science may be scant, but they’ve nonetheless become a social media phenomenon and they’re growing in popularity.

According to The Business Research Company the global electrolytes market size is expected to reach $6.1 billion by 2028. The hashtag #electrolytes has nearly half a million posts on Instagram, while TikTok videos of homemade electrolyte recipes are everywhere, as well as videos extolling the benefits of the most popular gels and pills on the market.

But the quality of the electrolytes for sale varies hugely, warns functional medical doctor Dr Vijay Murthy. “There’s a distinct disparity in the quality of electrolyte beverages,” he says. Many have artificial sweeteners, sugars and flavours, which he avoids. Others contain contaminants and excessive minerals that can be harmful in excess. “For example, excessive sodium can lead to high blood pressure, and too much calcium leads to hypercalcemia.”

“There’s a lot of unnecessary marketing and they are not needed,” says personal trainer Chloe Thomas. “You can get electrolytes from much healthier sources that are also cheaper and better for your health,” she tells i.

“While sport drinks and electrolyte supplements can be convenient options, especially during intense exercise or dehydration when you’re sick, electrolyte-rich foods and other hydrating drinks can provide similar benefits in a more natural and balanced way.” She adds that coconut water, bone broth and herbal teas like chamomile and peppermint are good options.

She has a few gels in case of emergencies, like sickness, but overall focuses on staying hydrated with water and eating a balanced diet.

Some people online use them as a hangover cure to replace the excess water that alcohol can drain from the body, claiming they help restore the body, but Impey says it can be a “placebo effect”. “I think there’s definitely an argument for a bit of a placebo effect as much as anything else. If we believe it will make us feel better, it does.”