The best way to get electrolytes is through a combination of whole foods and fluids, not supplements or sports drinks. Most people can meet their daily needs by eating potassium-rich vegetables, fruits, nuts, and dairy while salting their food normally. The strategy shifts, though, depending on how much you sweat, what diet you follow, and whether you’re trying to recover from illness or fuel a workout.
Food First: The Most Reliable Source
Your body needs several electrolytes daily, with potassium and sodium being the two you lose in the highest quantities. The adequate intake for potassium is 3,400 mg per day for adult men and 2,600 mg for adult women, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Most Americans fall short of that number, which makes food choices the single highest-leverage fix.
Potassium-dense foods include bananas (about 420 mg each), potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, leafy greens, and avocados. A cup of mashed sweet potato alone delivers over 20% of your daily potassium target and nearly 13% of your magnesium needs. Dairy products like yogurt and milk carry both potassium and calcium. Nuts and seeds, particularly pumpkin seeds and almonds, are among the best food sources of magnesium.
Sodium is the one electrolyte most people get plenty of without trying. Table salt, bread, cheese, and processed foods all contribute. If you eat a typical Western diet, you’re likely already hitting or exceeding your sodium needs. The exception is people on very clean or restricted diets, which we’ll cover below.
When Plain Water Isn’t Enough
For everyday hydration (desk work, errands, light walking), water and a normal diet handle electrolyte balance on their own. The picture changes once exercise enters the equation. Your sweat contains meaningful amounts of sodium, and the harder you work, the more you lose. Research on trained endurance athletes found that sweat sodium concentration averaged about 31 mmol/L during low-intensity exercise but jumped to roughly 49 mmol/L at high intensity. Sweat rates ranged from 0.6 to 2.6 liters per hour, meaning a hard training session can drain a substantial amount of sodium in under two hours.
Potassium losses in sweat are much smaller and relatively stable regardless of intensity (around 8 to 9 mmol/L). So during and after exercise, sodium is the priority electrolyte to replace.
The practical rule: if you’re exercising for less than 60 minutes at a moderate pace, water is fine. Once sessions stretch past an hour, involve heavy sweating, or take place in heat, adding electrolytes to your fluid makes a measurable difference in how you feel and perform. A pinch of salt in your water bottle (roughly a quarter teaspoon per 16 ounces) is a simple, effective approach. You can also eat a salty snack during a break.
Sports Drinks, Tablets, and Powders
Commercial sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade contain about 25 grams of sugar per 12 ounces, formulated at a 6% carbohydrate concentration. That sugar isn’t accidental. It helps your intestines absorb sodium and water faster through a transport mechanism in the gut lining. For prolonged endurance exercise, that combination of sugar, sodium, and water genuinely helps.
For most other situations, though, that sugar is unnecessary calories. If you’re rehydrating after a moderate gym session or just want electrolytes on a hot day, sugar-free electrolyte tablets or powders (brands like LMNT, Nuun, or Liquid IV) give you sodium, potassium, and magnesium without the sugar load. Look at the label: you want at least 500 mg of sodium per serving if your goal is serious rehydration after a sweaty workout. Many “electrolyte-enhanced” waters contain trace amounts that are more marketing than function.
Coconut water is a popular natural option. It’s relatively high in potassium (around 400 to 600 mg per cup) but low in sodium, which makes it a decent everyday drink but a poor choice for post-exercise sodium replacement on its own.
Electrolyte Needs on a Keto or Low-Carb Diet
When you cut carbohydrates significantly, your kidneys excrete more sodium than usual. This is a well-documented metabolic shift, and it’s the primary driver behind “keto flu,” the headaches, fatigue, and brain fog that hit many people in their first week or two of a ketogenic diet. The fix is straightforward: increase your electrolyte intake deliberately.
People following a well-formulated ketogenic diet typically need 3,000 to 5,000 mg of sodium and 3,000 to 4,000 mg of potassium per day. That’s noticeably more sodium than standard dietary guidelines suggest for the general population. A practical way to hit those numbers without obsessive tracking is to salt your food generously, drink one to two cups of broth or bouillon daily (adding roughly 2 grams of sodium), and eat at least five servings of non-starchy vegetables. The vegetables pull double duty, providing potassium and magnesium alongside fiber.
Homemade Electrolyte Drinks
You can make a simple, effective electrolyte drink with ingredients you probably already have. Mix a quarter teaspoon of table salt (about 500 to 600 mg sodium), a splash of lemon or lime juice, and a small amount of honey or sugar if you want some flavor and carbohydrate. Stir it into 16 to 20 ounces of water. This approximates what commercial products offer at a fraction of the cost.
For a potassium boost, use “lite salt” or “half salt” products, which replace some sodium chloride with potassium chloride. A quarter teaspoon of lite salt gives you roughly equal parts sodium and potassium. This is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to get both electrolytes in liquid form.
Can You Get Too Many Electrolytes?
Yes, and it’s worth being aware of the limits. Blood potassium above 5.5 mmol/L is classified as hyperkalemia. Mild cases cause nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. At levels above 6.5 mmol/L, the risk shifts to heart palpitations, irregular heartbeat, and muscle weakness, all of which require urgent medical attention. Healthy kidneys are extremely good at clearing excess potassium from food, so overdoing it from diet alone is rare. The risk comes mainly from concentrated supplements, especially potassium chloride tablets, taken in high doses or by people with kidney problems.
Excess sodium is more common and manifests as bloating, thirst, and elevated blood pressure over time. For most healthy people who sweat regularly and eat a balanced diet, though, the bigger risk is getting too few electrolytes rather than too many.
Matching Your Strategy to Your Situation
The “best” approach depends entirely on why you need electrolytes in the first place. If you eat a varied diet with plenty of vegetables, dairy, and moderate salt, you’re likely covered for everyday life. If you exercise hard or in the heat, prioritize sodium replacement during and after your session. If you follow a ketogenic or very low-carb diet, deliberately increase sodium through broth and salting your food, and eat potassium-rich vegetables daily. If you’re recovering from a stomach illness with vomiting or diarrhea, an oral rehydration solution with both sodium and a small amount of sugar will help your gut absorb fluids faster than water alone.
The common thread across all these scenarios: whole foods form the foundation, and targeted supplementation fills specific gaps. A $1 container of lite salt and a box of broth will cover more electrolyte needs than a shelf full of branded hydration products.