What are electrolytes and what do they do for you?

If you're a health-conscious person, you've likely heard the buzz about electrolytes by now. But perhaps you're not 100% sure what they are, how they work, or what they do for you.

If any variation of those questions is running through your head, you’ve come to the right place. As a former biochemist passionate about electrolytes and health education, I’ve spent decades researching and breaking down these complex topics. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do today.

To summarize up front: Electrolytes are charged minerals essential to life. They conduct electricity between cells and balance fluids — and these functions support our energy, keep our cells properly hydrated, support our heart beating and muscles contracting, balance our brain chemistry, and much more.

Yet many folks are deficient in the “big three” electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and magnesium. These deficiencies can contribute to fatigue, muscle cramps, brain fog, headaches, and irritability. 

While health is holistic, and habits like sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress management, and more all play integral roles in our wellbeing, getting enough electrolytes can be a missing piece of the puzzle for many folks. And when you get enough electrolytes, you can feel the difference.

I’ve felt the difference myself, when I finally started getting enough sodium and performed better on the jiu jitsu mat, slept better, and felt sharper mentally. And I’ve heard similar from thousands of others who reported improved energy, better workout performance and recovery, even fewer cravings.

So today, I’ll explain what electrolytes are, share more about sodium, potassium, and magnesium, cover how electrolytes work in the body, and then unpack how these workings impact our energy, exercise, cognition, and organs. Don't worry, we'll keep it jargon-free — this isn't a graduate-level chemistry course. 

So, What Are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals that conduct electricity between the cells inside your body (hence the name "electro"-lytes). They allow cells to “talk” — passing along the electrical messages that get you to move, think, or speak.

There are seven electrolytes: sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and bicarbonate. They all play different roles in the body. Sodium, chloride, and potassium are your chief cellular communication and hydration electrolytes. Magnesium, calcium, and phosphate support bone health and energy production, among other functions. And bicarbonate helps your body maintain its pH, which is essential for delivering oxygen to tissues and countless biochemical reactions.

Most of us get enough phosphate through food. Calcium should also come through diet, but some folks can benefit from more (read this article for more info). Our bodies make their own bicarbonate, and chloride almost always appears alongside sodium in nature to create salt. That leaves sodium, potassium, and magnesium — the three electrolytes we’ll focus on today.

We’re constantly losing sodium and potassium through urine, feces, and sweat. Your body also chews through magnesium like a puppy through sneakers. These are the electrolytes most folks will want to pay attention to consuming in food, and leverage electrolyte drinks to fill in any gaps.

Let’s zoom in on these big three and why they’ve caused so much chatter on the internet.

Sodium

Sodium is essential to life. It supports human life, plant life, bug life — the lives of all cellular organisms, in fact. It does so by keeping you hydrated and allowing cells to communicate, along with supporting brain, heart, bone, and hormonal health.

Many folks use “sodium” and “salt” interchangeably, but there’s a difference. Sodium is a single electrolyte. Salt is made of sodium and chloride — they’re almost always paired together. Chloride has similar functions to sodium, too, so you need not worry about it separately. If you’re getting enough sodium, you’re likely getting enough chloride.

Many people who eat healthy diets don't get enough sodium. Ultra-processed foods like chips and hotdogs are salty. Whole foods like apples and chicken aren’t. 

Sodium is also the main electrolyte lost through sweat. This makes sodium deficiency — and the corresponding symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, muscle cramps, and headaches — more common in active folks. Though anyone who’s not getting enough sodium to support their body’s needs can experience sodium deficiency symptoms.

The latest research suggests people can benefit from consuming 4–6 grams of sodium daily as a baseline, but test it out and listen to your body — some folks may need less, some folks more. Of the electrolytes, sodium is the hardest to get through a healthy diet, so being generous with the salt shaker and consuming electrolyte drinks like LMNT can help fill the gaps.  

Potassium

Potassium is the yin to sodium's yang, and the two often work in tandem to support a myriad of processes in our bodies. Together, they:

• Keep your blood flowing, skin moist, and brain floating in your skull. 
• Keep your cells talking so you can perform complex actions like emailing your boss while standing on one leg and humming your favorite song.
• Shuttle nutrients in and out of your cells. 
• Support healthy bones. 
• Support blood pressure regulation.

The science suggests the sweet spot for potassium is 3.5–5 grams per day, but again, test it out and see how you feel to find what suits your body best. Read this article to learn more about potassium's benefits and best sources. 

Magnesium 

Magnesium is the Swiss Army knife of electrolytes. It supports over 300 enzymatic reactions that drive energy production, bone building, muscle growth, blood sugar regulation, DNA repair (from UV damage to the skin, for instance), and many other functions. 

Research suggests that 10–30% of people are magnesium-deficient based on blood levels, but since magnesium deficiency doesn't always show on blood tests, the actual figure could be higher. Magnesium deficiency can also impact many aspects of human health, so assessing deficiency based on external symptoms alone can be tricky. 

The science suggests consuming 400–600 mg of magnesium daily can support health. If you want to increase your intake, you can try incorporating magnesium-rich foods and see how you feel. Learn more about the benefits and best sources of magnesium here.

The Science of How Electrolytes Work

With the “what” out of the way, we can talk about the “how” — specifically how these minerals work in the body. There are two broad categories of what electrolytes do: 

1. Maintain fluid balance
2. Regulate the sodium-potassium pump

I aim to cover these "textbook topics" without putting you into a coma. If you want a deeper dive — or a safe and effective sleep aid — grab a biochemistry textbook. 

#1: Fluid balance

Fluid balance refers to how water is distributed in your organs, cells, and other tissues. Maintaining the right distribution keeps your blood flowing, brain functioning, sweat glands sweating, and cells chatting. 60% of your bodyweight is water molecules (closer to 50% if you're over 60), and that H2O needs to be in the right places! 

You need electrolytes (especially sodium) to maintain that fluid balance. Sodium is the chief regulator of fluids outside of cells, and disruptions in sodium status can affect cellular communication, causing a range of sodium imbalance symptoms.

Your body maintains balance through a complex system of receptors and hormones. But while fluid balance is mostly an unconscious process, your conscious self also plays a role by choosing how much water and electrolytes to consume. 

Choosing how much water and electrolytes to consume to keep everything balanced is relatively simple: Drink to thirst and make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes. This will give your body the “raw materials” it needs to get water in the right places. To learn more, read this article. 

#2: The Sodium-Potassium Pump

Remember how I said earlier that electrolytes support all forms of cellular life? The sodium-potassium pump is largely to thank by allowing cells (in animals and humans) to communicate with one another. Without the pump, we can’t do anything — we can’t even breathe.

The pump sits in the wall of all human and animal cells. It has a handful of jobs, but one of the biggest relates to cellular communication. 

Think of the sodium-potassium pump as a revolving door to the cell. For one cell to communicate to another, an electrical impulse fires — the cell's doors spin open, with sodium ions rushing in and potassium ions rushing out (ions are molecules carrying an electric charge). Afterward, the pump “resets” the electrical charge of the cell by ushering sodium ions back out and potassium ions back in. This reset prepares the cell for its next electrical communication. 

This function supports all nervous system activity (including brain activity), muscle contraction, and cardiac function, but the pump has other jobs: It also supports sugar and amino acid transport between cells, sperm cell health, and kidney function. Your body allocates 20–40% of its cellular energy (ATP) to running the sodium-potassium pump. It's that important.  

Again, the pump supports life itself. And we need adequate sodium and potassium levels to keep it running smoothly. 

What Electrolytes Do For You

That fluid balance and pump stuff is fascinating, but how does it translate to our day-to-day lives? Let’s explore the specific health benefits.

#1: Energy levels

Electrolytes don't directly provide energy, but they do affect the feeling we call energy. Here are three ways how:

1. ​​Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium help convert stored energy (food) into cellular energy (ATP).
2. Sodium and potassium are the main electrolytes that regulate fluid balance, and fluid balance correlates with energy levels. For instance, fatigue is a common symptom of both sodium deficiency and dehydration, both issues of disrupted fluid balance. 
3. Sodium and potassium allow your nervous system to function and send signals to the rest of your body via the sodium-potassium pump. 

To learn more, read the article: Do electrolytes give you energy?

#2: Exercise performance

Sodium is the primary electrolyte lost through sweat, which means sweating can skyrocket your sodium needs. And few things make us sweatier than intense or sustained exercise.

How much sodium are we sweating out, exactly? Based on sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration data, it seems folks lose on average ~1 gram of sodium per hour of sweaty activity, but it could be higher or lower depending on the situation. On the more extreme end of things, athletes exercising in the heat can lose up to 7 grams of sodium through sweat daily, and I’ve worked with professional hockey players who have sweat ~10 grams in just two hours of an intense game. My point is: Sweat losses can vary greatly, but folks may be losing more sodium than they think.

Replacing the electrolytes lost through sweat helps keep your body firing on all cylinders. Consuming electrolyte water during exercise also helps prevent athletes from overhydrating with plain water, which can dangerously dilute blood sodium levels.

To learn more, read the article: Performance hydration: The role of water, sodium, and glucose in exercise.

#3: Heart health

Sodium, potassium, and magnesium all support your heart. Let's start with sodium.

Sodium supports your heartbeat via the sodium-potassium pump. Getting enough sodium is also important for maintaining healthy blood volume, which can contribute to healthy blood pressure. 

Potassium can also support healthy blood pressure through several mechanisms, including the relaxation and widening of blood vessels to promote better blood flow. Magnesium buttresses heart function as well, because magnesium supports muscle contraction and relaxation — and the heart is a pretty important muscle! 

To learn more, read the article: Why electrolytes matter for cardiovascular health.

#4: Brain health

As you'll recall, sodium supports fluid balance. Your brain depends on this balance to keep your brain suspended in your skull and your cells the right size. Sodium deficiency can lead to headaches, brain fog, and other cognitive issues. More pronounced sodium imbalances can contribute to brain swelling and brain damage.

To learn more, read the article: Why your brain needs electrolytes.

#5: Hormonal health

Electrolytes directly influence hormones and vice versa. Here's a quick look at how key hormones interact with sodium:

• Cortisol: This stress hormone has a two-way relationship with sodium. Low sodium is linked to high cortisol, and high cortisol may lower sodium levels.
• Epinephrine (adrenaline): When your body’s low on sodium, you produce more epinephrine, which helps retain sodium.
• Renin, angiotensin II, and aldosterone (RAAS): Low sodium levels trigger the release of these three hormones, which helps the body hold onto sodium and stabilize sodium status. Keeping these hormones in balance can help support healthy blood pressure.

To summarize: Consuming enough electrolytes can help keep these hormones in healthy ranges. To learn more, read the article: How electrolytes and hormones work together.

#6: Bone health

Speaking of hormones, magnesium can support healthy levels of estrogen, ​​parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D (yes, D is a vitamin and a hormone), all three of which help humans maintain strong bones.

Your skeleton is mainly calcium, so you need plenty of that mineral for bones. Bones also require sodium, potassium, and phosphorus to stay solid and dense. Notable too, when we don’t get enough electrolytes, our bodies move them from our bone into our blood. This keeps blood electrolytes stable and supports our immediate health, but can be harmful to our long-term bone health.

To learn more, read the article: How to prevent osteoporosis and improve bone density.

Getting Enough Electrolytes

Electrolytes are an important piece of the health puzzle. But how do you know you’re getting enough?

The short answer is that you’ll feel the difference. In particular, if you’re low on sodium, your energy, mental clarity, and athletic performance can suffer. If you bump up your sodium intake and begin thinking sharper, feel more energized, and recover better in the gym, you’re likely on the right track. The same goes for potassium, magnesium, and calcium — while signs of improvement from dialing in your intake may be more subtle, how you feel is an important data point to consider.

You might also do a dietary analysis if you don’t mind food tracking. You can use an app like Cronometer to log all your meals (including salt intake) for a few days, and pay attention to your daily intake of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Most apps will benchmark your data against published RDIs (recommended dietary intakes), but the latest research is indicating that folks may benefit from more — 4–6 grams of sodium, 3.5–5 grams of potassium, and 400–600 mg of magnesium. You can also check out our sodium intake calculator (which considers sweat loss and other factors) to estimate your sodium needs. 

Electrolyte-rich foods like vegetables (especially leafy greens), meat, fish, fruit, nuts, and chocolate are often the best way to increase electrolytes in your diet if you need more — not to mention the salt-shaker, to get more salt. And an electrolyte drink like LMNT can help fill in any gaps.

That should be plenty of info to get you started, but here are two more resources to fine-tune your electrolyte intake if you want to keep reading:

• What influences electrolyte needs? Diet, lifestyle, and other factors
• How to test electrolyte status (and how to correct deficiencies)

If you have questions we didn’t cover here, check out our full library, or don’t hesitate to reach out. Stay Salty!