Posted on May 29, 2014 by Kate Halsall

When I exercise properly, and I mean REALLY go for it; I end up being a nasty, sweaty, drenched mess. No word of a lie, when I used to teach 3 back to back classes I would just be surrounded by a pool of water at the end. You could wring out my clothes but worst still, my seatbelt and car seat used to have salt marks on them – disgusting I know! Despite being still full of energy (those good old endorphins) as soon as I sat down to chill out on my sofa, I would get almighty muscle cramp in my thighs. It was the most painful experience and for a while it happened every time after I had done around 2.5 hours of exercise. After some reading, I decided I was either suffering from one of the symptoms of low electrolytes or lacking enough water during exercise. It led me to question do I need drinks with electrolytes?

We all have electrolytes and our bodies produce and regulate them. They are in our blood and cells and carry electrical impulses around your body and as such are crucial to the performance of our muscles. Sodium and potassium are probably the ones that most people know, but we should also be aware that calcium, chloride, magnesium and phosphate are also electrolytes. Electrolyte imbalance is usually caused by a significant loss of body fluids can cause an imbalance – so vomiting and diarrhea, high fever, sweat and so on. One piece of research suggests if you drink too much water too quickly, this would also cause an imbalance!

The key here is that just because you sweat, it doesn’t mean you necessarily need extra electrolytes. Your body controls electrolytes on a daily basis. However, if you exercise hard for more than an hour at a time, work in a hot environment, or have sickness and diarrhea, you may need to consider how to get electrolytes in addition to what your body produces. As always, we are here to help!

Balanced Diet – Yep, that old chestnut! A good mix of fruit and vegetables will help to replenish that balance of electrolytes in your body. So foods such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes and spinach.

Drinks High in Electrolytes – There are specially made sports drinks which contain Electrolytes. However, be aware that a large number of these not only contain additional carbohydrates and calories, but also lots of sugar and sweetners and flavourings. Don’t stray from your goals and succumb to fitness “crap”!

The key thing to remember is that some of the symptoms of depleted electrolytes such as fatigue, cramp and mental confusion – are also symptoms of dehydration, stress and other ailments. You can equally put yourself at risk by having too many electrolytes, so stay on the side of caution. Eat well before and after your work out, drink water always and listen to your body!

Other Articles:
http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/715/electrolytes-understanding-replacement-options/

http://www.active.com/nutrition/articles/electrolytes-101-881422

http://greatist.com/fitness/do-i-really-need-electrolytes-after-exercise