Do you need electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals. And when you start researching nutrition and minerals you are likely to come accross an array of conflicting information. Some articles will talk about toxicity caused by minerals and the next article will tell you about the diseases caused by mineral deficiencies. The marathon runner who passes out at the end of the race because of dehydration caused by mineral depletion, knows for sure that minerals are essential.

Minerals help hold water in our bodies. That's why people who have edema are told not to eat salt (probably the most common mineral in our diets today). I have many patients who drink the recommended half their weight in ounces everyday who show signs of dehydration with muscle cramping, constipation, decreased skin elasticity, and in their functional bloodwork analysis. Obviously their body is unable to hold onto the water they are consuming - simply a mineral imbalance.

There are long, expensive metal and mineral hair, blood, or urinalysis studies you can order that will tell you if you have too much or too little of certain minerals compared to the averages (which seem to vary a lot from lab to lab). I used to run these expensive panels on patients because certain deficiency/ toxicity patterns are consistent with certain disease processes. However I have come to realize that (with the exception of overconsuming isolated minerals like with salt, supplements, sodas and processed foods) it is not the mineral imbalance that causes the disease but the disease that causes the mineral imbalance. So I rarely run these panels anymore because I think if you heal the body, the mineral imbalance will correct itself.

Almost everyone has some level of adrenal stress, which causes mineral imbalances because your adrenals make mineralcorticoids which help to balance your minerals. When the adrenals are overused (stressed) for a long period of time you can develop thyroid or any number of other hormone imbalances. The best way to improve adrenal function is NOT to eat or eliminate minerals that show up deficient or excessive on some lab, but to eliminate processed sugar, develop healthy sleep patterns, decrease emotional stress levels, and have a regular aerobic exercise routine.

In the case of taking mineral supplements, taking too much of any mineral like iron or calcium can cause toxicity and health problems because it can create a mineral imbalance. The reason for this is that your body is designed to eat food, not dirt. When minerals are consumed in a natural food source, nature naturally balances the ratios for you. Consuming sodas and many processed foods will cause increased levels of phosphorous in your blood which causes your body to leech the calcium out of your bones to maintain a proper calcium/phosphorous balance. Therefore osteoporosis isn't necessarily caused by not consuming enough calcium.

It is rare that I recommend an isolated mineral, and if I do it is only for a temporary treatment of a specific condition. There are many whole food supplements like Juice Plus that work well for general nutrition and mineral supplementation. However if you are suffering with symptoms like muscle cramping I would suggest one of the several targeted whole food mineral supplements from Standard Process. Unless you are running a marathon, or sweating profusely on a regular basis it is unlikely you need to supplement with electrolyte drinks. However if you do I would suggest avoiding any drinks that contain chemicals that harm your body like aspartame, sucralose, and food colorings (such as most Gatorade and Powerade drinks).