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Healthy Home Economist / Archives / Recipes / Drink Recipes / Beverage Recipes / Homemade Electrolyte Replacement

Homemade Electrolyte Replacement

by Sarah Pope / Affiliate Links ✔

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Commercial Electrolyte Replacements are Full of JUNK (and carcinogens)
  • Skip the Sports Drinks Like Gatorade Too
  • Homemade Electrolyte Replacement+−
    • Best Salt and Azomite as Electrolyte Source
  • Homemade Electrolyte Replacement

homemade electrolyte replacement

A basic skill any health-conscious parent needs to know today is how to make an electrolyte replacement when needed. I’ve written before about Switchel, which is a traditional thirst quencher and dehydration prevention drink. But, some people don’t care too much for the flavor of the drink which has water and small amounts of apple cider vinegar as the base.

I can relate as one of my children doesn’t care much at all for the sour taste of ACV even when extremely dilute in a beverage. As a result, I thought I would share how I make a homemade electrolyte replacement that appeals to that set of tastebuds too.

Commercial Electrolyte Replacements are Full of JUNK (and carcinogens)

Commercial electrolyte replacements are such nasty products! They are loaded up with chemicals, additives, and synthetics that should be avoided at all costs.

Check out the ingredients of Pedialyte, one of the most popular drinks for adults and children. It is recommended for preventing dehydration and given the thumbs up by many conventional doctors:

Water (unfiltered and likely fluoridated), Dextrose (GMO derived). Citric Acid (GMO derived and laced with MSG residue), Natural & Artificial Flavor (aspartame frequently hidden here), Potassium Citrate, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Sucralose (toxic and potentially carcinogenic), Acesulfame Potassium or Ace K (contains methylene chloride, a mutagen and likely carcinogen), Zinc Gluconate, and Yellow Food Dye 6 (causes adrenal tumors in animals).

What’s even more shocking about these commercial electrolyte replacement drinks beyond the toxic ingredients is that they don’t have much in the way of beneficial electrolytes in them!

I mean, seriously, look at the ingredients above. There are minerals such as potassium, sodium, and zinc electrolytes. That’s it other than additives and artificial sweeteners.

Thanks but no thanks. All that junk, some of it carcinogenic, for a few measly electrolytes is not worth it. A parent can do much better than that with just a few whole ingredients and some filtered water at home!

In raising three children for 18 years, I’ve never purchased a single bottle of Pedialyte and don’t ever intend to. That stuff is nasty and should be pulled off the market in my view. It is not fit for consumption by anyone let alone children.

Skip the Sports Drinks Like Gatorade Too

Sports drinks like Gatorade and energy drinks should never be given to children either. Not only are they loaded with junky additives and GMOs, but they have been found to erode tooth enamel and contribute to obesity issues just the same as soft drinks.

Years ago, one of my children had a coach who insisted that players drink Gatorade during soccer games. My very young son, who knew more than the coach on the matter, would just politely drink his water instead. He would consistently refuse the bottles of Gatorade being very aggressively pushed on him. I was so proud, but needless to say, that misinformed coach wasn’t too happy about it!

Fortunately, by the time my youngest was playing soccer, she had a coach who told the girls to drink water and never sports drinks. I was happy to see that at last, some coaches were starting to appear who actually read the research instead of getting sucked in by sports marketing hype.

Don’t you just cringe when you see a little kid at a sports event toting around a monster Powerade bottle? Do these parents have any idea how much GMO sugar and chemicals are in this stuff?

It’s much better to just give these kids plain bottled water to drink during events or a bottle filled with a homemade electrolyte replacement with real, healthy ingredients.

Homemade Electrolyte Replacement

Below is my recipe for a simple electrolyte drink that is tasty as well as effective. It is excellent for rehydrating after a hot sporting event, hydrating a day or two before a sports event, and/or recovering from the dehydration caused by a tummy bug.

Another yummy drink that replaces electrolytes quickly is homemade orangina.

Homemade Electrolyte Replacement 1
3.45 from 9 votes
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Homemade Electrolyte Replacement

Easy recipe for homemade electrolyte replacement to drink after working out or dehydration from a stomach bug. Healthy sub for unhealthy sports drinks!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 2 cups
Author Sarah Pope

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces filtered water
  • 1 large orange or two small oranges
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp land-based sea salt
  • 1 tsp Azomite powder optional
  • 1 Tbl raw honey optional, preferably local

Instructions

  1. Juice the orange and the lemon. Mix the fresh juices with the sea salt, honey, and optional azomite.

  2. Blend the juice mixture with filtered water in a tall glass.

  3. Serve electrolyte replacement at room temperature, NOT cold as this inhibits absorption.

  4. Sip and drink half within about 1 hour. Consume the rest as needed.

  5. Refrigerate leftovers. Use within 2-3 days.

Recipe Notes

Use spring water or natural mineral water for this drink. Do not use club soda or reverse osmosis (RO) water. RO water is devoid of minerals and club soda is commonly made with RO or tap water.

Best Salt and Azomite as Electrolyte Source

I prefer Himalayan pink salt for an electrolyte replacement because it is land sourced. This type of sea salt is a lower risk for microplastic contamination and has over 80 minerals. Other sea salts like Real Salt contain about 60.

The azomite powder (volcanic rock dust) is listed as an optional ingredient to add even more electrolytes. It has not been specifically approved by the FDA for human consumption. If you feel more comfortable relying on the sea salt alone for the electrolytes in this beverage, that is fine. Here is more information on the safety of azomite according to the Weston Price Foundation:

It [azomite] is safe for human consumption. I recommend it because it is a natural, inexpensive mineral supplement. Tests have never been done on humans and won’t be because the FDA won’t allow it. There have only been studies with animals and it is a good mineral supplement for animals.

It does contain aluminum, but it is also rich in silica, which counteracts the aluminum. People have been eating clay and dirt as a tradition for thousands of years and all clay contains aluminum and silica (1).

 

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Category: Beverage Recipes, Immune support
Sarah Pope

Sarah Pope MGA has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. She is a summa cum laude graduate in Economics from Furman University and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is the author of three books: the bestseller Get Your Fats Straight, Traditional Remedies for Modern Families, and Living Green in an Artificial World.

Her four eBooks Good Diet…Bad Diet, Real Food Fermentation, Ketonomics, and Ancestrally Inspired Dairy-Free Recipes are available for complimentary download via Healthy Home Plus.

Her mission is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.

Sarah was awarded Activist of the Year in 2010 at the International Wise Traditions Conference, subsequently serving on the Board of Directors of the nutrition nonprofit the Weston A. Price Foundation for seven years.

Her work has been covered by numerous independent and major media including USA Today, ABC, and NBC among many others.

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Reader Interactions

Comments (28)

  1. RedBlueSpice

    Jan 4, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    I would love to try this. Are the oranges necessary for electrolytes?
    Sadly, I cannot have oranges, not even an option for my body.
    May I use all lemons or lemon and lime mixture?

    Reply
  2. Alice Rice

    Dec 30, 2019 at 10:07 pm

    curious how much potassium, sodium and magnesium is in a serving. Lived where it is super hot with really high humidity and electrolyte replacement is necessary everyday in the hot season. Have been using a powder that I mix into filtered water, but sometimes it is out of stock. Does it have to have a sweetener.?

    Reply
    • Sarah Pope MGA

      Dec 31, 2019 at 10:17 am

      The honey is optional.

  3. JJ Kearney

    Jul 23, 2018 at 10:44 pm

    Sarah,

    Any idea How much potassium this recipe provides?

    Reply
  4. Tony

    Jun 28, 2018 at 3:37 am

    Hi,
    Could I make a simple homemade electrolyte drink of 16oz water, 1 teaspoon of Hawaiian Sea Salt, 1 Teaspoon of Lime Juice, and 1 tablespoon of Truvia? My budget is tight and I just kind of came up with that based on what I have on hand and kind of putting together information that I’ve read from several different sources, including your article. I’m new to exploring making my own electrolytes so I appreciate any insight you can give me.

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Jun 28, 2018 at 4:39 pm

      Best not to use Truvia. It is an artificial sweetener (genetically modified stevia). Use date syrup, stevia, or raw honey.

  5. Kimmer

    May 6, 2018 at 12:04 am

    Maybe that is why it’s optional in the list of
    ingredients.????
    I didn’t add it. And it’s very refreshing.

    Reply
  6. Kimmer

    May 6, 2018 at 12:00 am

    5 stars
    Love this replacement for hatorade!
    Tastes so much better. ( and never understood
    their need for dyes in it)
    Will be sticking to this recipe.
    Thanks so much!

    Reply
  7. Arlene K

    Nov 10, 2017 at 9:58 pm

    You mention how R.O. water is devoid of minerals. What type of water do you have at your kitchen sink? I understand some water companies are now making an R.O. system that has a filter that adds back some of the minerals that are taken out. I would like to know what your family drinks, as I want to get something similar for my family, I respect the research and recipes you offer. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Nov 11, 2017 at 8:21 am

      I use spring water from a deep well filtered with a heavy duty carbon block with UV light at the tap.

  8. david

    Aug 19, 2017 at 10:55 am

    Jim I can tell you, if all Kundalini Yoga teachers employ that much brain to evaluate a “true story” (gosh!) then I will never in my life visit a Kundalini Yoga teacher, fearing that they might inflict mental harm on me!
    You clearly are religious of some sort, and I am not criticising that (now/here) but it would help YOU the most to engage some brain before posting such nonsense publicly.

    Reply
  9. Andreas

    Jul 14, 2017 at 9:38 am

    My older sister works for a company called ‘Hebalife’ and they tend to use ‘sucralose’ and ‘acesulfame’ in their products.

    Reply
  10. Susan Sobon

    May 2, 2017 at 10:04 am

    Hi, I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow and part of the prep tonight I need to mix miralax (ugh!!) with something. They recommend gatorade, but I won’t do that. I cannot eat oranges, could I sub a bit of juice or something else?

    Reply
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