Are Electrolyte Packets Really Worth the Hype?

By Tiffany Ayuda

In the world of workout supplements, electrolyte packets are having their moment. Scroll through social media, and you’re bound to see sweaty athletes cooling off with pastel-colored drinks—and touting all the benefits of doing so.

Electrolyte packets—think: LMNT, Liquid IV, Skratch Labs, and Nuun—are typically sold as individual prepackaged powders or tablets that you can add to a glass or bottle of water. They’ve been around for ages, but there's been a recent proliferation with slick new marketing, bright colors, and millennial-friendly messaging that's exploded on social media. And, as is the case with so much wellness marketing, the claims surrounding electrolyte packets are just as vague and varied as other supplements. Depending on their formulas, some say they will hydrate faster and better—but others go further, promising increased energy and endurance, stronger performance, immune-boosting properties, and more.

But do you really need the electrolytes packets for workout recovery? Or are they just a (tasty) waste of money? Here's everything you need to know.

If you’re looking to rehydrate, it's not just about taking in enough fluid. Electrolytes matter too.

Electrolytes are electrically charged minerals that are essential for performing important tasks in your body, such as muscle contraction and relaxation, and the movement of nutrients and waste in and out of your cells, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. In other words, they help your muscles perform better, whether you’re sprinting, doing a deadlift at the gym, or smoothly standing up from a chair. They also help maintain proper fluid balance in your cells.

When you sweat, you lose electrolytes along with water. The three major electrolytes lost in sweat are sodium, chloride, and potassium, Riana R. Pryor, PhD, ATC, director of the Hydration, Exercise, and Thermoregulation (HEAT) Laboratory in the Center of Research and Education in Special Environments at the University of Buffalo, tells SELF. Of these, sodium—a.k.a. salt—is lost in the greatest amount. In fact, according to a 2016 review in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, you can lose around 360 mg to 1,620 mg of sodium in one workout if you sweat anywhere from 0.5 to 1.5 liters per hour. Think of it like this: A half teaspoon of table salt is 1,163 mg of sodium and chloride, and a Big Gulp fountain drink from 7/11 is roughly 1 liter. So yes, if you sweat the equivalent liquid of a Big Gulp drink, you’ve also lost a half teaspoon of salt.

If you end up losing a lot of electrolytes in your sweat, drinking plain water isn't going to be enough to rehydrate you—the water won't absorb well enough, since you need those electrolytes to help keep the fluid in your body's cells. Without them, the fluid will end up passing through your body too quickly via your urine. That's why you need a balanced ratio of water and electrolytes to maintain proper hydration, Holley Samuel, MEd, RD, LD, CPT, a registered dietitian who works with endurance athletes and the founder of Holley Fueled Nutrition, tells SELF.

Basically, electrolytes help with hydration and rehydration: Proper hydration going into a workout helps your body tolerate and perform well during prolonged exercise while preventing dehydration. Dehydration, as you might be able to guess, makes working out feel harder and can increase cardiovascular strain—meaning your heart has to work harder than it should, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Plus, adequate hydration afterward increases blood flow to your muscles, which helps with recovery, per the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Research has shown drinks containing electrolytes like sodium and potassium, as well as carbs, are effective for improving hydration after exercise—and possibly for better performance during exercise and recovery after it.

In a small 2021 study published in Applied Sciences, researchers compared the effects of water and electrolyte drink (which included sodium, potassium, magnesium, carbs, sugar, and vitamin C, similar to many commercially-available packets) consumption before and after strenuous exercise on a treadmill with a test group of 10 young men. They found that when the men drank the electrolyte drink, their bodies were better able to retain water, meaning it would take them longer to become dehydrated. Plus, the group showed improved exercise ability and reduced exercise-related fatigue compared to when they drank the regular water.

Another small study, this one published in Nutrients, compared the efficacy of drinking a rehydration solution with a high electrolyte concentration versus a sports drink and plain water and found that the electrolyte solution was the most effective at retaining fluid after a cycling endurance workout in hot and humid conditions. The same study also showed that when the sports drink and the rehydration electrolyte solution were consumed during exercise, it resulted in slightly better performance—quicker times during the cycling time trial—than plain water.

That said, both of the studies mentioned above were conducted on small groups of young men, which only underscores the need for diversity in this type of research, something SELF has discussed previously.

And like so many other aspects of health, there's a Goldilocks amount of electrolytes needed, and it's possible to get too much of a good thing. "If you have too many electrolytes, that can also mean that you’re retaining a lot of water," Samuel says. And that can lead to increases in blood pressure, and in rare cases, a condition called hyponatremia. This happens when you take in too much water, and the sodium in your blood becomes diluted, according to the Mayo Clinic. "So it's best to have a happy medium."

Furthermore, when we talk about "adding electrolytes," this could mean specialized tablets or powders, but it doesn't have to. You can also get electrolytes from sports drinks like Gatorade or Propel as well as foods. For instance, eating salty snacks, like beef jerky, pretzels, and cheese and crackers, provide sodium, while fruits, such as bananas, dates, and watermelon, offer potassium. According to a 2010 review in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, eating regular food that contains salt—say, like a bag of pretzels—and combining that with plain water should be enough to rehydrate you after exercise.

Your need for added electrolytes (and in some cases, added carbs, which are included in a lot of commercial electrolyte packets) hinges on your activity level and how much you sweat.

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There's no clear cut recommendation, though, for how long you need to exercise before the need for added electrolytes comes in. That's because your sweat rate depends on things like environment, intensity of activity, and body size. What's more, some people tend to be salty sweaters, meaning they lose more salt than others in their sweat. You might be a salty sweater if you see white lines on your clothes or face after sweating—that's dried sodium, says Dr. Pryor. Same if your eyes burn when sweat runs into them.

Taking in additional electrolytes may be helpful in extreme exercise situations, where you plan to exercise for longer than two hours at a time—say, you’re training for a marathon or a century ride in cycling—or exercising in a hot environment, says Dr. Pryor. If you’re a salty sweater, you may need electrolytes after shorter durations, she says. Plus, if you don't have a lot of sodium in your overall diet (say, if you eat mostly whole foods and very limited processed foods) you could use extra electrolytes, whether it's from salting your food or using electrolyte packets, to make up for what you lost during exercise, even at shorter durations, Samuel says.

But if you’re not in the extreme exercise or low-sodium diet camp, that doesn't mean you can't benefit from supplementing with electrolyte packets. If you work out very often at high intensities that cause you to sweat, using electrolyte packets can help optimize your fluid absorption. Electrolyte drinks with carbohydrates, oftentimes in the form of sugar, can also be particularly helpful for those who are working out for more than an hour and need the extra energy, says Samuel. Plus, if you have a physical job, especially one that's in hot environments, you may benefit from taking in extra electrolytes with your fluid as well, she says.

On the flip side, you likely don't need to worry about adding extra electrolytes if you work out for less than 30 minutes a day or if you don't sweat much when you exercise—the sodium and other electrolytes you take in through your regular diet should be enough.

For instance, those who do light activity, like going on daily walks with their dog, aren't going to need extra electrolytes. Same also goes for people who are lifting weights for longer periods but aren't sweating much, says Samuel. Generally, the more you sweat, the more electrolytes and fluids you need. (Reminder though: You don't have to sweat to get in an effective workout, as SELF reported previously.)

If you like the fun flavors that electrolyte packets infuse into your water but don't necessarily need the electrolytes, there's generally no harm in adding them to your drink, says Dr. Pryor.

However, you won't reap the hydration benefits, and these electrolyte drinks tend to have added sugar.

If you consume too many extra electrolytes, it could increase your likelihood of fluid retention, which in turn can raise your blood pressure, says Dr. Pryor. This can be even more problematic for people who have hypertension and are more sedentary. (If you have high blood pressure and are active, you may want to consult a sports dietitian to help you figure out your individualized hydration needs, if that's something that is accessible to you.)

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If you’re supplementing electrolytes with sports drinks like Powerade or Gatorade, you probably don't need to worry about taking in too much, since sports drinks tend to have fewer electrolytes than electrolyte powders or packets, says Dr. Pryor. "On the other hand, if you are making your own drink, or if you add additional electrolytes to a pre-made drink, this could become a problem if you go overboard. Stick to a similar concentration as what is suggested by the beverage company," says Dr. Pryor.

You can drink electrolyte packets with water before, during, and/or after your workout to help you stay hydrated and ensure you’re adequately replacing lost sodium. General sports nutrition recommendations are to take in anywhere from 300 to 600 milligrams of sodium per hour of exercise, Samuel says. But salty sweaters can stand to take in even a little more—upward of 1,200 milligrams of sodium per hour.

General exercisers who aren't going above the 30-minute mark and occasionally just want a little bit of flavor in their drink may be better off sticking with sports drinks (as long as they’re not looking to avoid added sugar) rather than specific electrolyte packets. "Gatorade Thirst Quencher is going to have about 160 milligrams of sodium in it per 12-ounce serving, whereas packets like Liquid IV and LMNT have 500 to 1,000 milligrams of sodium per serving," says Samuel. So these packets are really more suited toward people who are in an electrolyte deficit, especially a sodium one. Based on the above calculations, this would mean that a person could drink 1 packet of Liquid IV plus 16 ounces of water and be adequately hydrated for an hour workout.

Because hydration is a combination of fluid and electrolytes, it's also important to make sure you’re taking in enough water. One way you can calculate how much fluid you actually need to replenish is to weigh yourself before and after your workout. The difference is the amount of water you lost, Dr. Pryor says. If you lost weight during your workout, you should aim to consume 100–150% of any lost fluid. And of course, you should avoid this method entirely if weighing yourself is in any way triggering. (Learn more about how to rehydrate after a tough workout.)

Okay, so we’ve established that electrolytes can help with rehydration after long or intense exercise. But like we mentioned above, rehydration isn't the only benefit included in the marketing of many electrolyte products. Many also tout better performance, less fatigue, and immune support. Do these packets really help all that as well?

Well, it's complicated and not exactly clear-cut. As we mentioned, many electrolyte packets, powders, and drinks contain ingredients apart from just electrolytes, like carbs or sugar, caffeine, and vitamin C. So it's difficult to tease out which ingredient is responsible for which effect.

Other research, though, has supported the benefits of specific ingredients, like vitamins, carbs, or caffeine, to an extent. For instance, taking in carbs during endurance exercise has been found to increase the time you’re able to exercise and the amount of work you can do during that time. Similarly, according to a 2021 position stand in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, caffeine improves muscle endurance, speed, and strength, as well as decreases fatigue. And when caffeine and carbs are combined, it produces an even better increase in endurance performance than carbs alone, according to the same position piece. As for immunity? While vitamin C—a common ingredient in electrolyte packets advertising immune support—does play a role in immune function, its benefits for fighting colds may be over-hyped: Research has been inconsistent, and overall evidence suggests that regularly taking in 200 mg or more per day doesn't reduce colds in the general population, according to the National Institutes of Health.

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Bottom line? More research on electrolyte drinks still needs to be done, especially studies that look at which ingredients may be responsible for what effects, as well as more research with diverse groups of people. In the meantime, though, tempering your expectations on what electrolyte packets can do for your exercise routine—above and beyond simply rehydrating you—can be helpful.

"When we are well hydrated, this positively affects the rest of our body systems," Samuel says. "Having electrolytes can definitely make you feel a lot better and be powerful if you were in need of electrolytes, but they certainly are not the cure to everything."

Remember, athletic performance is complex, and there are tons of things involved that play a part, from sleep to nutrition to training to genetics. All are important, and simply adding electrolytes isn't going to be a magic bullet. At the end of the day, electrolytes are key for staying optimally hydrated, but they’re probably not something you need to keep track of (or pay for) unless you’re doing long and intense workouts that cause you to sweat profusely. So go ahead, add some flavor to your water if you want to, but don't feel like you have to. You can get plenty of electrolytes from food—and chances are, you probably already do.

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