Walk into nearly any grocery store, and you’ll find dozens of store-bought brands advertising their electrolyte mixes as a solution for an electrolyte sports drink. While electrolytes are necessary to fuel your body, some brands can do more harm than good by piling on artificial flavors, sweeteners and chemicals and that’s not a great solution if your body is dehydrated, producing muscle cramps or in a state of electrolyte loss. During these times, we want to stay hydrated most of all! These additives can impede recovery, making the benefits of electrolytes more subtle. 

But don’t worry – rather than guessing which electrolyte drink is actually healthy, you can make your own diy electrolyte drink at home! Many common foods, such as bananas and spinach, contain more than enough electrolytes to support a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body.

Not only are these do-it-yourself electrolyte drinks better for you, but they are often cheaper than the store brands. They offer the opportunity to improve your hydration and health while taking a load off your wallet!

In this article, I’m going to show you how to make your own homemade electrolyte drink and share a few of my favorite homemade drink recipes that are chock full of electrolytes. Once you try these, it can be fun to get creative inventing your own recipes to suit you and your family’s tastes. I like to tailor my recipes to the occasion, whether I’m supplementing electrolytes to hydrate me post-workout or fighting the cold virus going around.

Read on to start making your own healthy, delicious sports drinks!

What Are Electrolytes?

Let’s take a step back: What exactly are these important nutrients? Electrolytes are minerals essential to body functioning. Sodium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphate are among the most common. They help regulate muscle contractions as well as balance your body’s pH levels. In addition, electrolytes can help control your nervous system.

Without the necessary electrolytes, your muscles and nervous system are unable to function properly. This causes symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, nausea, blood pressure changes, and low energy. While most people who eat a well-rounded diet will naturally consume the majority of their required electrolytes, they still may need to supplement them from time to time.

Why? Well, we lose electrolytes through sweating and urination. When you are sick, you have an ever higher risk of losing valuable electrolytes through vomiting. In both cases (heavy exercise and illness), electrolytes can help stimulate recovery and improve your overall wellness. 

Why Should You Make Electrolyte Drinks at Home?

Now that you know more about why electrolytes are so important, you probably want to ensure you’re incorporating them into your diet. But when you buy store-bought electrolyte drinks, you might be creating even more problems than you’re solving. 

Many well-known brands geared toward electrolyte-based sports drinks are artificial. Oftentimes, these products – such as Gatorade – are a hoax, as they are sugary drinks containing extremely low quantities of electrolytes. Not only do they not contain all natural ingredients but they have more added sugar than you can imagine! Other alternatives are scarce, as brands with all-natural electrolyte contents often charge exorbitant prices.

By making electrolyte drinks at home you know exactly what ingredients are going in – and what you can get out of them. You can tailor the drink to fit your personal goals, such as replenishing sodium lost through sweat during a long run or concocting drinks to help with your gut health.

With my electrolyte drink recipes, you will need only ingredients that can easily be found at home – or that are much cheaper than a liter of Pedialyte at the store. Choosing to DIY your electrolyte drinks can be a better decision for your wallet and your health.

Not only making your own electrolyte drinks healthier and cheaper, but it is also simple and fun! With these three recipes, you can adjust the flavors and ingredients to your personal preferences. The world is your oyster when it comes to making delicious electrolyte drinks that you and your family will love. 

My Top 3 Homemade Electrolyte Drink Recipes

With so few ingredients in these homemade electrolyte recipes, it is critical that the ingredients you use are high quality. Before we get to the recipes themselves, here are a few tips to ensure you’re maximizing your benefits. 

When I make these drinks for myself, my daughter, and my husband, I use either sea salt or Himalayan pink salt, as these are less processed than standard table salt. These salts also contain much higher quantities of potassium and magnesium, both important electrolytes.

Natural sugars, such as raw honey or maple syrup, are a great way to boost energy quickly. I opt for these options over processed sugar, as they contain additional beneficial nutrients such as Vitamin C and folate. These vitamins are critical in cell formation as well as in the healing process.

Coconut water is widely considered to be nature’s most nutritious beverage. As an alkaline fluid, it helps to balance acidic bodily pH. Although it is possible to substitute regular water in each of these recipes, I find that by incorporating coconut water, I can pack my drinks with even more vitamins.

Finally, a great addition to any electrolyte drink is ginger. Whether it’s crushed or simply cut up, ginger transmits many benefits. The nutrients in ginger will help you maintain a healthy gut and immune system, ideal for when you’re feeling under the weather!

Now let’s get to the good stuff… 

Recipe #1: Piña Colada

• 2 cups coconut water
• ½ cup pineapple juice
• ⅛ tsp Himalayan pink salt
• Pineapple chunks (optional)

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse for 30 seconds. Drink immediately after serving.

Recipe #2: Raspberry Limeade

• 2 cups coconut water
• ½ cup fresh or frozen raspberries
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• ⅛ tsp Himalayan pink salt

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse for 30 seconds. Drink immediately after serving.

Recipe #3: Citrus Punch (My FAVORITE as shown above)

• 2 cups coconut water
• ½ cup orange juice (fresh preferred)
• ¼ cup lemon juice (fresh preferred)
• 1 tbsp crushed ginger root.
• 2 tbsp raw honey (optional, to sweeten)
• ⅛ tsp Himalayan pink salt

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse for 30 seconds, or shake in a mixer. Strain out ginger after mixing. Drink immediately after serving.

Kick Dehydration to the Curb With Homemade Electrolyte Drinks

Incorporating natural electrolytes into your life is an easy and cheap way to feel better instantly. These drinks can be a pick-me-up in the morning, instead of relying on that pot of coffee – or they can give you the energy you need to tackle all that life throws your way.

Prioritizing your health is incredibly important, and investing in high-quality ingredients can be a great way to protect your and your family’s health, ensuring your crew feels strong and energized every step of the way.

I hope these recipes give you a place to get started – and once you’re feeling confident, I encourage you to play around! There are hundreds of possible flavors for your homemade electrolyte drinks. Every person has different tastes and preferences, and by tweaking my recipes, you can find your ideal formula. Starting with my ingredient recommendations will help you pack your drinks with the nutrients and vitamins you need to thrive.

Follow along with me on my journey as I post more lifestyle tips and tricks, along with healthy and tasty recipes!