> Download and Print Article

Think of your body like a house.

Electricity makes the lights turn on and the refrigerator run. But when the wiring is overloaded, breakers trip, and damage happens.

Electrolytes work the same way.

They are essential for life, but too much can overload the system, especially when they come from supplements instead of food.

Today, electrolyte drinks, powders, and packets are everywhere. Many are marketed as daily “hydration” tools, even for people who are not athletes and do not sweat much.

That should make us pause.

What Are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge when mixed with water in the body. That charge allows cells to communicate.

Think of electrolytes like signal bars on your phone.
No signal, messages do not go through.
Too much signal, the system glitches.

The main electrolytes include:

• • Sodium
  • Potassium
  • Magnesium
  • Calcium
  • Chloride
  • Phosphate

They help control:

• • Heart rhythm
  • Muscle movement
  • Nerve signals
  • Fluid balance
  • Blood pressure
  • Energy production

Your body works hard to keep these minerals balanced. Too little or too much can cause problems.

How We Get Electrolytes Naturally

Food: Nature’s Delivery System

Most people already get enough electrolytes from food.

Food is like a well-stocked grocery store. Everything comes packaged together in the right amounts.

Examples:

• • Sodium and chloride from salt are used in cooking
  • Potassium from fruits, vegetables, beans, potatoes, and avocados
  • Magnesium from leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and legumes
  • Calcium from dairy foods, leafy greens, and small fish
  • Phosphate from meat, fish, eggs, and beans

When people eat real food, electrolytes usually stay balanced without supplements.

Water: The Delivery Truck

Water moves electrolytes through the body.

If the delivery truck is running well, you do not need to overload it with extra cargo.

For most people, hydration matters more than adding electrolytes.

A Personal Perspective From the Field

This topic is personal for me.

As a former professional athlete and someone who has trained and worked as a nutritionist for many world champions across multiple sports, I have spent decades helping people perform at the highest level.

Here is what surprises people.

I never encouraged routine electrolyte supplementation.

Not once.

Why? Because my athletes ate real food.

Their meals already provide the right balance of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Their bodies did not need powders or packets to perform.

That is why today’s explosion of electrolyte supplements honestly saddens me.

I am not saying no one would ever benefit from supplementing electrolytes. It would be rare. And the people most likely to believe the marketing are often the same people most likely to create more harm than good.

Electrolytes are not missing because people lack supplements. They are out of balance because people lack real food.

A Brief History of Electrolytes in the United States

Electrolyte supplements did not start as a wellness trend.

They started as a sports medicine solution.

The first electrolyte product to gain widespread popularity in the United States was Gatorade, developed in 1965 at the University of Florida. It was created to help college football players replace fluids and sodium lost during long practices in extreme heat.

At the time, this made sense.

These athletes were:

• • Training for hours
  • Sweating heavily
  • Losing large amounts of sodium and fluid
  • At real risk for dehydration and heat illness

Electrolytes were never meant for casual, everyday use. They were designed for specific, high-loss situations.

Over time, that context was lost.

TIMELINE: How Electrolytes Went From Sports Medicine to Daily Supplements

1960s
Electrolyte drinks are developed for elite athletes.
Gatorade is created for college football players training in extreme heat.

1970s–1980s
Electrolytes move into professional sports.
Use is still limited to intense physical activity.

1990s
Sports drinks enter mainstream culture.
Recreational athletes and youth sports adopt them.

2000s
Electrolytes become linked to “hydration,” not performance.
High-sugar sports drinks dominate the market.

2010s
Low-sugar electrolyte powders and packets appear.
Marketing shifts toward “daily wellness.”

Today
Electrolytes are sold as everyday supplements for people who:

• • Sit at desks
  • Lightly exercise
  • Are not losing significant electrolytes

The original purpose has been replaced by marketing.

When Electrolytes Are Helpful

Electrolyte supplements are like jumper cables.

They can be helpful in specific situations:

• • Endurance athletes train for hours
  • People sweating heavily in extreme heat
  • People with vomiting or diarrhea
  • Certain medical conditions, under medical guidance

But you do not drive around every day with jumper cables attached to your battery.

For most people, food does the job.

What Happens When You Get Too Many Electrolytes

Electrolytes are powerful. Turning every dial up does not improve health. It creates stress.

Excess Sodium

Like crimping a garden hose while the water is on full blast.

• • May raise blood pressure*
  • Increases fluid retention
  • Strains the heart and kidneys

Excess Potassium

Like throwing off the rhythm of a metronome.

• • Can disrupt heart rhythm
  • Causes muscle weakness
  • Dangerous for people with kidney disease

Excess Magnesium

Like dimming the lights too much.

• • Causes diarrhea and nausea
  • Can lower blood pressure too much
  • Leads to weakness and confusion

Excess Calcium

Like hard water leaving mineral buildup.

• • Raises kidney stone risk
  • Interferes with other minerals

Excess Chloride

Like tipping the body’s acid-base scale.

• • Disrupts fluid balance
  • Often worsens blood pressure with sodium

Excess Phosphate

Like draining money from a bone “bank account.”

• • Weakens bones over time
  • Stresses kidneys

[Photo: Woman drinking water mixed with electrolyte powdered supplement while working out]

A Story That’s Becoming More Common

Imagine this.

You go to your doctor for a routine visit. You feel fine. You have been drinking more water and trying to be healthier. You even added an electrolyte supplement because you heard it was good for hydration.

Then your doctor tells you your blood pressure is elevated.

You are confused.

You exercise. You do not eat fast food. So, the doctor asks about supplements.

That is when it clicks.

The electrolyte product you take daily contains high amounts of sodium, chloride, and magnesium. You have been stacking electrolytes on top of an already adequate diet.

In another version of this story, lab work shows early kidney stress. Again, supplements come up. The product contains sodium, potassium, calcium, and phosphate, minerals that the kidneys must tightly regulate.

All because you assumed electrolytes were harmless.

Doctor–Patient Dialogue

Doctor: “Are you taking any supplements?”
Patient: “Just an electrolyte powder. I thought it was healthy.”
Doctor: “How often?”
Patient: “Every day. Sometimes twice a day.”
Doctor: “That may be contributing to your blood pressure and kidney labs.”
Patient: “Really?”
Doctor: “Electrolytes help when you need them. Too much is a different story.”

Could Your Electrolyte Supplement Be the Problem?

Ask yourself:

• • Am I sweating heavily or training for hours?
  • Do I already eat salty or processed foods?
  • Am I using electrolytes daily “just in case”?
  • Have my blood pressure or labs changed?

Electrolytes act more like medications than vitamins.
Using them without a reason can backfire.

Sodium and Blood Pressure*

Sodium is essential. But when intake becomes excessive, it may increase blood pressure* by increasing fluid volume and pressure inside blood vessels (1).

*Important Context About Sodium and Blood Pressure

*This is not a simple cause and effect.

Many studies showing blood pressure improvement also include:

• • Less ultra-processed food
  • Less refined carbohydrate
  • Less industrial seed oils
  • More potassium, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and polyphenols

Diet quality and metabolic health strongly influence how the body handles sodium.

Balance Matters More Than Supplements

Electrolytes are like an orchestra.

If one instrument is too loud, the music falls apart. Balance makes it work.

Most people do not need electrolyte supplements. They need:

• • Real food
  • Enough water
  • Less ultra-processed food
  • Better metabolic health

Bottom Line

If there is one message to take away from this article, it is this: food should come first.

Electrolytes are essential, but most people already get what they need from real food and water. Adding supplements “just in case” can create problems rather than solve them.

If you are unsure whether an electrolyte supplement is helping or hurting you, or if your blood pressure, labs, or energy levels have changed, do not guess.

You can email me directly at robert@dietfreelife.com or schedule a free consultation to review your food intake, supplements, and overall health approach. Sometimes the healthiest move is not to add something new, but to remove what you do not actually need.

Food is still the best supplement.

References

1. 1. Guyton, A. C., & Hall, J. E. (2021). Textbook of medical physiology (14th ed.). Elsevier.
   2. Cade, R., Spooner, G., Schlein, E., Pickering, M., Dean, R., & Wiggins, J. (1966). Effect of water, electrolyte solutions, and glucose solutions on endurance and metabolism during exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 21(3), 932–938.
   3. He, F. J., & MacGregor, G. A. (2009). A comprehensive review on salt and health. Journal of Human Hypertension, 23(6), 363–384.
   4. Aburto, N. J., Ziolkovska, A., Hooper, L., Elliott, P., Cappuccio, F. P., & Meerpohl, J. J. (2013). Effect of lower sodium intake on health. The British Medical Journal, 346, f1326.
   5. O’Donnell, M., Mente, A., Rangarajan, S., et al. (2014). Urinary sodium and potassium excretion, mortality, and cardiovascular events. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(7), 612–623.
   6. National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2023). Dietary supplement fact sheets: Sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and phosphorus.

________
Robert Ferguson is a California- and Florida-based single father of two daughters, clinical nutritionist, Omega Balancing Coach™, researcher, best-selling author, speaker, podcast and television host, health advisor, NAACP Image Award Nominee, creator of the Diet Free Life methodology, and Chief Nutrition Officer for iCoura Health. He also serves on the Presidential Task Force on Obesity for the National Medical Association and the Health and Product Advisory Board for Zinzino, Inc.

🗓️ Schedule a FREE consultation with Robert Ferguson about becoming a client: SCHEDULE FREE CONSULTATION

👉🏽 To order the BalanceOil+ with the BalanceTEST, > CLICK HERE

👉🏽 Watch a free online presentation on the BalanceOil+ and the BalanceTEST: WATCH NOW.