What You Should Know Before Drinking Electrolyte Water

Electrolyte water is water infused with electrically-charged minerals, like sodium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. These essential minerals, or electrolytes, are vital to many of your body's important functions (via Cedars Sinai). For example, electrolytes keep you hydrated and help regulate muscle contractions, plus help balance pH levels and control your body's nervous-system function. 

As it stands, drinking electrolyte water can be very beneficial to your health. "Consuming electrolyte water is a great way to replenish electrolytes lost during certain illness and intense physical activities," Naudia Jones, a registered dietitian and the owner of Brooklyn Nutrition Practice, told Martha Stewart. "In higher temperatures, and during high intensity activities, electrolyte losses occur through sweating." Failing to replace your lost electrolytes can lead to dehydration, which can cause further health complications, like muscle cramps, confusion, and fatigue. That's why it's important to listen to your body and hydrate whenever you feel thirsty.

You don't need to drink electrolyte water in order to stay hydrated and healthy, however. In most cases, drinking regular tap or bottled water is sufficient to meet your needs. That's because regular water can adequately keep you hydrated throughout the day and contains trace minerals that can help replace any lost electrolytes (via Healthline).

According to Healthline, electrolyte water or any other type of electrolyte-enhanced beverage is really only needed if you're at risk of losing electrolytes in certain conditions. These include becoming ill and vomiting or having diarrhea, exercising for more than an hour a day, sweating profusely during your workouts, and staying in the heat for too long.  If you do want to drink electrolyte water, however, you can make it at home by adding salt, lemon juice, lime juice, and coconut water to a tall glass of cold water.