Drinking enough pure clean water is one of the most important things we can do for overall health. In most cases, water alone is wonderful. For times of exercise and exertion where sweat causes mineral loss, a homemade natural electrolyte drink recipe can also be helpful.
Here’s why:
Plain water doesn’t contain high levels of electrolytes. The body loses a lot of minerals during exercise. It can be helpful to add electrolytes and minerals to help rehydration after times of high-intensity exercise or lots of sweating. This doesn’t mean we should all be drinking electrolyte drinks on the regular, but they are helpful at times …
Like this one:
My Cautionary Tale …
This post could also be titled “how to avoid a big hospital charge for IV fluids while on vacation.” Hopefully you can learn from my mistake on this one.
Here’s what happened:
My husband and I finally got away for a long overdue 10-year anniversary trip (it was a long time after our actual anniversary … because babies). His version of “relaxing” is doing all the activities, so we were snorkeling, sailing, and had plans to scuba dive.
Normally, if we’re going to be out in the sun doing strenuous activities, I make this recipe and have it with me. On this trip, since the kids weren’t with us, I’d foolishly forgotten some of the ingredients and figured I’d just make sure to drink enough water. That was working fine until one night (after a long day of snorkeling), I had wine with dinner and probably not enough water.
The next morning, we didn’t have any non-tap water in the room so I grabbed a coffee instead and figured I’d get some water when we got to the beach.
Cue Heat Exhaustion
The beach was busy so it took them a couple of hours to bring our water. At that point, I noticed I was getting a headache. I started drinking water but the headache got worse and I also started having a rapid pulse, dizziness, and nausea.
We went back to the room and I cooled off, hydrated, and rested. But the symptoms continued to persist and I felt weaker and more dizzy throughout the day. By that night I’d realized that despite drinking a LOT of water, I still had symptoms of mild dehydration and heat exhaustion.
We decided to go in to the hospital so I could get fluids. I probably would have been just fine with rest and rehydration over the next few days, but we were nearing the end of our trip and I didn’t want to be in bed for the rest of our vacation.
International Hospitals …
In many ways, the international hospital we went to was much more efficient than the ones back home. We checked in quickly, were able to pre-pay, and the doc agreed that I had heat exhaustion and ordered an IV. He said that because my electrolytes had been depleted from sweating, I was having trouble rehydrating from water alone as my body needed the minerals as much as the fluids. (IV fluid is isotonic, meaning it has the same mineral concentration as the blood.)
The doctor decided to insert the IV in my hand, so I expected a normal small butterfly needle often used for this. But he pulled out a 12-gauge needle (like the kind they use when you give blood). After the most painful IV of my life (and I’ve had a lot … because babies), the fluids were in and I immediately started feeling better.
So after several hours of sitting in an international hospital getting hydrated with IVs, I couldn’t help but think how much easier, cheaper, and less painful things would have been if I’d remembered the ingredients for this electrolyte drink while traveling.
Why Not Regular Sports Electrolyte Drinks?
So why not just drink one of the many electrolyte drinks available (Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) these days?
Not only do they have a lot of questionable ingredients, but making your own is easy, fast, and a LOT healthier.
Regular sports drinks contain ingredients such as:
Water, sucrose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup, citric acid, natural grape flavor with other natural flavors, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, red 40, blue 1.
They also typically have fruit-like flavors but labels that say “contain no fruit.”
I’m all for re-hydrating, but are the monopotassium phosphate, mystery “natural flavors,” and artificial dyes really necessary? I know from experience that these ingredients typically make me feel terrible and just aren’t worth it.
Now, when more than just water is needed for hydration (softball games, triathlons, labor, etc.), we make our own version.
Natural Sports Electrolyte Drink Recipe
Coconut water is one of the simplest sports drink alternatives and can be used as is.
Apparently, coconut water is similar in structure to the fluid used in IV rehydration. For this reason, there are rumors it was used during the Pacific War as an IV electrolyte replacement. It makes a pretty good natural electrolyte drink on its own or with a splash of lime.
Coconut water contains more potassium than sports drinks and more natural sources of sodium. A lot of athletes swear by it these days and I had it on hand during my last couple of labors.
The only downside to coconut water is the price. If you want an inexpensive (yet still healthy and tasty) alternative, this recipe is the next best thing.
Natural Homemade Electrolyte Drink Recipe
You can make this recipe a variety of ways, but the ratios are the most important part. The base is any healthy liquid of choice and some good options are:
- Herbal teas
- Coconut water
- Plain water
- Some people like these new Bai drinks as a base as well
To turn the basic liquid into a sports drink, add some or all of these ingredients:
- Salt – A high quality salt adds sodium and other minerals
- Calcium or Magnesium – Adding a high quality calcium magnesium powder helps replenish minerals
- Juice – Optional but adds sweetness and natural sugars if needed during exercise
- Natural Flavors – I’m not talking about the more pleasant-sounding name for the not-so-nice additive MSG. Add natural flavors in the form of fresh ginger, fresh herbs, or even natural flavored stevia extracts
- LMNT – I’m a big fan of these flavored salt packets that replace vital electrolytes lost from sweating. In fact, they work amazing on their own with just water.
- Jigsaw Health Electrolyte Supreme – Try the Berry-licious flavor!
Electrolyte Drink Recipe: Basic Ingredients
Here’s the basic recipe and ratios I use, but you can customize to your personal taste preferences:
Natural Sports Electrolyte Drink Recipe (With Flavor Options)
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 quart liquid such as green tea herbal teas, coconut water, or plain water
- ⅛ -1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp calcium magnesium powder
- ¼ cup or more 100% juice optional
- 1-2 TBSP sweetener such as honey or stevia optional. I suggest brewing stevia leaf into the base liquid for the most natural option
Instructions
- Brew tea if using, or slightly warm base liquid.
- Add sea salt and calcium magnesium and mix.
- If using, add juice and sweetener and mix or shake well.
- Cool and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Will last up to four days in refrigerator, but I prefer to make as needed.
Nutrition
Notes
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
Another easy alternative is just mixing Vitamin C powder with water and a little juice, though this can be a little acidic during high intensity exercise!
Do We Really Need Electrolytes?
The sports drink industry is massive! I often see 4-year-olds playing soccer sucking down bottles and packages of brightly colored sports drinks. This begs the question: do we really need electrolytes every time we exercise?
There is a tremendous difference between someone who exercises for the health benefits and an elite athlete. High-level athletes burn through a lot of liquid, electrolytes, and blood sugar during their training and competitions.
As casual athletes or weekend warriors, most of the rest of us probably don’t need sports drinks most of the time.
In a perfect world, we would be able to obtain enough nutrients from diet alone and wouldn’t need any supplements or added drinks like this.
The question of if electrolytes and sports drinks are really needed varies by individual. In many cases, pure water may be just as good of an option. It’s certainly better than neon sports drinks with high fructose corn syrup!
This article was medically reviewed by Dr. Scott Soerries, MD, Family Physician and Medical Director of SteadyMD. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor.
What’s your favorite sports drink? Ever made your own?
I tried this without warming the liquid And it was really good
Doing this today. Prepping for a colonoscopy. They want me to drink Gatorade and I am sooooo not doing that. Glad I found it!!!!
Do you know how long this would keep in the fridge? If I made a batch up, could I save it for a few days or a week maybe to have some each day? Also does it need to be stored in a sealed container like your picture, or would a regular pitcher work? Thanks!
My kiddos and I have fast renters, and in need of quality hydration. Plus, who wants to go out? I’m using natural calm, acerola powder for C, celtic grey sea salt, 2 c loose leaf tea and 2c fruit juice. I’ll top it off with water, to fill my 2 qt jar. Fingers crossed, cause I feel like heck! There’s only so much bone broth we can drink!! Thanks Katie!!
Amazing site! I’m an ironman distance triathlete looking for more natural hyrdation and fueling options. Right now I use coconut water for training but it is expensive. Just curious, you wouldn’t get any potassium out of this drink would you? If not what are your thoughts on that? Other than that, sounds like a great alternative!
Hey Craig, if you use a little fruit juice you’ll get some potassium. Depending on the juice, maybe as much as 400 mg in a qt.
Hey Craig. I’m an amateur triathlete (very amateur!). Have you had chance to try this in training/racing? How did it work out? Hydration, especially on the bike, is my Achilles heel. And water on its own makes me feel terrible by the end of a race.
Hey Dom, I tried this but honestly couldn’t stand the taste. I liked in concept, but not in practice (sorry mama, i love everything you do!)
I stick to NUUN tabs, vega sports hydrator, and coconut water for training. For racing I used a concentrated mix of Hammer Perpetuem and salt tabs. I think they are, in my amateur opinion, among the cleaner ready made options available.
If you haven’t already done so, check out the Ben Greenfield podcast. Its literally changed my life! The guy is a genius! Has some great stuff on hydration among everything else. Hope its ok to drop that in the forum!
Good luck!
Hi Craig
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I’ve made some this afternoon, and honestly I’m not sure I can drink it! I’ll perhaps have another go with a different formula.
I’ve read a couple of Greenfield’s books, but he’s a little bit too motivated and enthusiastic for my liking.
I’ll check what he has to say on hydration, though. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks much for this. It’s well below zero, we don’t have a car, and hubby is sick. I was not wanting to walk even the short distance to the store to get gatoraide, but he needed something to help fend off dehydration. I used herbal tea (mostly for color), salt, and agave nectar.
hi . this recipe would work great if i added a larger amount of magnesium citrate for a colon prep. But i dont know how much any ideas? I think the OTC in cvs has 1000mg per glass container. anyone else use the natural calm poweder for a colon prep. the OTC in cvs has saccharin in it bummer.
thanks
i find nothing boost my kids energy more when they are sick then sports drinks. However, I feel horrible giving them the the kids. So I thank you for this. I just made a batch of it for my son who is sick and feverish with Strep. He will probably drink it warm as it will help sooth his throat.
I’m planning for upcoming birth of my first 🙂
Can I use Natural Calm powder in this? Alternatively can I use magnesium and calcium tablets separately, and crush them? Thanks! Love your site!
You can definitely use Natural Calm- it would taste better than crushed tablets.
My question is about the green tea in this recipe. Can it be affective with decaf green tea or does it have to have caffeine? I ask because I can’t have caffeine. I am an exercise junkie, but I hate the sports drinks that are available. I have been looking for a natural alternative and this sounds great. I can’t wait to try it so a quick response would be appreciated. Thanks, Emily.
decaf works great or even an herbal tea can work instead.
Could you please explain why monopotassium phosphate is a problem in store-bought gatorade?
I got too much sun yesterday and now I’m suffering dehydration and sun sickness. All I have are calcium magnesium capsules with 1000mg of calcium and 500mg of magnesium each. Can I break them open to use and if so, how many should I use? Thanks so much.
I would think it would work, but I haven’t tried and I’m not sure on the taste… but you could just take whatever supplements you need and hydrate a lot with a little salt in your water
I’m surprised that you would recommend using Emergen-C since it contains those mystery natural flavors, and also maltodextrin and aspartic acid (both are neurotoxins).
I agree with you Marci! The ingredients look like this:
[ Fructose, malic acid, citric acid, vegetable juice color, natural mixed berry flavors, maltodextrin, raspberry juice powder, silica, tartaric acid, caramel color, stevia (leaf extract), glycine, aspartic acid, and cysteine hydrochloride. ]
There’s quite a few ingredients that are a no-no.
Thank you for this post! My wife was pretty sick and we needed something like Gatorade but not poisonous 🙂 I was looking for what I had in the house to make your recipe and realized I could do it with 2 ingredients. We had Strawberry Zevia that can act as the base liquid AND the sweetener since it is a natural soda with Stevia. I mixed 2 12oz cans with 1/4 tsp of Himalayan Sea Salt and it was pretty dang good, my said it seemed to help. I am going to go mic up some Cal-Mag tablets from the coop to keep on hand for the next batch.
My husband and recently went hiking and we only brought straight water to drink, not a good idea! after a lot of research, I came up with my own rehydration drink recipe. No more water intoxication! It is similar but different!
Hi,
I came across your page when I was looking for a homemade electrolyte solution.
Thank you for the recipe.
FYI, there is no such thing as “Himalayan Sea Salt” as the Himalayas are a mountain range.
I think what you are referring to is Himalayan PINK salt.
Regards,
VS
At one time, the Himalayas were an ocean floor: the Tethys Ocean, which was lost when the tectonic plates formed the mountain range.
A lot of these look awesome..except that they contain one or more artificial sweetners (yes stevia is included) my roommate is allergic to all of them, cannot be in the same room with them..and I won’t risk his life over it. Maybe show with and without?
Sweetner is simply for taste, if someone is allergic to sweetner then I’m sure they’re used to food and drink without them and won’t miss the sweet part.
Use honey
The most important ingredient is the salt. Water can’t rehydrate you unless your salt reserves are high enough for the necessary electrolytes.
I’ve been making my own sports drinks for quite some time. Im constantly altering them as I learn new tricks. I use 1/2 tsp liquid minerals (sea harvested), a pinch of magnesium powder (I dissolve it in the tea as its steeping), fresh squeezed lemon juice, honey and herb tea as my water/liquid base (usually green tea, dandelion or hibiscus). all in all it’s still cheaper than coconut milk, I run, mtn bike and horse back ride far too often to use cocnut milk for every adventure- so this concoction works amazingly well and it tastes great! I have friends and family hooked on it too!
Magnesium malate will not cause diarrhea like magnesium citrate does. Magnesium is a necessary part of around 300 crucial enzymatic processes in the human body.
Depends on the person, Wife and I in our 80’s have no problem with Magnesium citrate. I also have had low sodium and have been told to reduce amt of all liquids I drink to max 1 1/2 qts.
Jessica (#23), can you suggest specific brands you use to make this? I’d like to try this. I run and bike as well and want to try the homebrew version.
Anyone know a brand of Coconut Water in the UK which is pure coconut water with no sugar or sweetners added. So far I’ve not found such a product. Help appreciated.
I would just go get a real coconut from an Asian market and get it from there… NOTHING beats coconut juice from a real coconut! Yum!
I usually pay .75 cents (less than a dollar / buck / $1.00) for a whole coconut! (Not the brown mature ones, but the ones that are hexagon shape from them chopping them that way! Delicious!
I don’t know about the UK, but in the US you can buy pure coconut water made by Goya Foods at the market. They also sell a coconut water *drink* which you don’t want.
Have you tried “Harmless Harvest Coconut Water?” it’s amazing and the best on the market. You will only find it in the cooler section of the store, not in the regular isle. That should tell you something.
along w the recipe or on its own i recommend 1/2 to 1 tsp molasses and tsp+ of raw ACV. both have many and varied benefits from trace amounts of minerals. The molasses alone in water brought me back from feeling like i may actually die when i had a very bad high fever last year. i used this also when working in a horse barn one particularly grueling winter (along with replacing my coffee with bone broth) and it is far more sustaining than water alone. tastes great too.