What’s on the shelf and what are each one used for. We’ll dive into it, all here on the Hydration Edit.
What a hydration drink actually is
When you walk down the aisle at a supermarket, you’ll find four products that look very similar: Sports drinks, energy drinks, electrolyte powders, and rehydration salts. And they all say very similar things on their packaging too.
Confusing? Definitely.
Here’s your no-jargon guide to understanding them all. Starting with the one word they all have in common on their packaging: electrolytes.
What are electrolytes?
Electrolytes are minerals and salts that carry a positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water, including the water in your body. The main ones are: sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, and bicarbonate.¹
What do electrolytes do?
Your body uses them to:
- Control how much water sits inside and outside your cells
- Carry the nerve signals that make your muscles contract
- Keep your blood at the right level of acidity
Sodium does most of the work, and your kidneys keep or release it to help hold your levels steady.¹
They aren’t a stimulant, and they don’t give you energy the way caffeine or sugar does.
Where do you get electrolytes from?
Mostly from food: salt, vegetables, fruit, dairy, nuts, grains. And you lose them through sweat and urine. Though how much you lose through sweat varies a lot from person to person. (Our piece on salty sweat has everything you need to know about that)
Electrolyte drinks vs sports drinks
Sport drinks, by and large, contain electrolytes, the difference is what else it contains.
A sports drink is built around carbohydrates, the sugar is the point. In the UK, a sports drink can only claim to help you absorb water during exercise if it follows a set recipe.²
An electrolyte drink is built around minerals, with little or no sugar.
Neither is better, they’re just designed for different things. Sports drinks are for fuelling during exercise, electrolyte drinks are designed for adding minerals and flavour to water.
