For athletes pursuing optimal hydration, electrolytes have long been celebrated as a quick fix.

These products, crafted to be consumed before, during, and after workouts, are often marketed as tools to boost performance and enhance overall well-being.

However, today’s electrolyte supplements are no longer limited to the realm of football players or ultramarathoners.

Store aisles are now brimming with electrolyte options—available as liquids, powders, and tablets—with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow among their high-profile endorsers.

One of the most recognizable names is Lucozade Sport, priced as low as £1, which claims to improve hydration and sustain performance during extended endurance activities.

Moreover, some brands have positioned their affordable powders as solutions to combat fatigue, alleviate migraines, and even tackle hangovers.

But do you really need to replenish the electrolytes lost in your sweat? Are drinks, supplements and powders the best way to do it? And which are expert recommended? 

The Daily Mail spoke to three of the UK’s leading nutrition experts to help separate fact from fiction. 

What do electrolytes do?

‘Electrolytes are essential minerals that have a range of functions in the body including regulating fluid balance, muscle and nerve function and heart health,’ Bridget Benelam, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the British Nutrition Foundation, says. 

These include sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

‘But there are circumstances in which you may lose electrolytes, having an impact on health and performance,’ Ms Benelam adds. 

‘These include strenuous exercise in hot conditions where sweat losses are high and during episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea.’

Excessive electrolyte loss in sweat can impair sports performance, as well as more critically, lead to problems with blood pressure, breathing and heart rates.

But while they’re found in supplements and sports drinks, electrolytes are also in the foods we eat every day.

Lucozade Sport, sold for as little as a £1, is one of the most recognisable products promising to ‘enhance hydration and help maintain performance during prolonged endurance exercise’

When do you really need them? 

Experts agree that electrolytes are most useful when people are at real risk of dehydration or significant salt loss, such as gastroenteritis, food poisoning or heat illnesses and prolonged heavy sweating. 

People suffering a fever in hot weather and certain patients on diuretics may also benefit from electrolytes.

According to Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a registered dietician and author of How to Not Eat Ultraprocessed, certain electrolytes may be more effective than others for such conditions.

‘For gastroenteritis, oral rehydration solutions which comprise of 75mmol/L of sodium and 75mmol/L of glucose are the gold standard,’ she said. 

‘Sports drinks are not appropriate substitutes for diarrhoea as there’s too much sugar, and too little sodium.’

She adds: ‘I advocate prioritising oral rehydration solutions for dehydration gastrointestinal issues and using electrolyte-containing fluids during long or hot training or races.

‘This replaces sweat sodium and reduce hyponatraemia — low sodium — risk.’

Supermarket and pharmacy shelves are now packed with electrolytes in all forms — liquid, powders and tablets — with Jennifer Aniston among the famous faces who have promoted them. Pictured in 2024

A number of celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow have also promoted electrolytes to their fans

But experts say you likely don’t need to reach for a sports drink during your regular workouts. 

Since the 1990s, standard medical advice has recommended sodium-rich drinks for athletes during any exercise that lasted more than an hour. 

Rob Hobson, a nutritionist and author of Unprocess Your Family Life, says: ‘Anyone training or working hard in hot, humid conditions, or doing long or intense workouts lasting over an hour, may benefit from electrolyte drinks. 

‘While replacing sodium and other minerals lost through sweat, they keep the body in balance and reducing the risk of cramps, dizziness or fatigue. 

‘You don’t, however, need electrolyte drinks every time you exercise.’

Can electrolytes actually help migraines or hangovers?

Touted as a faster route to rehydration than water, and a way to replace vital salts lost during heavy drinking and partying, the focus on festivals this year was the latest twist in a global boom for electrolytes. 

One UK health store even promoted electrolyte sachets as ‘festival essentials’ while other brands marketed products as ‘all-night electrolytes’ for party people, and tablets to prevent or recover from hangovers. 

But ‘despite the marketing, electrolyte imbalance isn’t the main driver of hangovers, so electrolytes alone won’t “banish” them,’ Ms Ludlam-Raine says. 

‘Sleep, time, light food, and sensible alcohol intake matter more.’ 

Mr Hobson agrees. ‘Rehydrating, whether with water or an oral rehydration solution, may help ease some of the symptoms such as thirst, fatigue, or light-headedness,’ he adds. 

‘But electrolytes won’t cure a hangover or counteract alcohol’s toxic effects. 

‘They may make you feel a little better, but only time and rest can fully resolve it.’

Equally, there is ‘no solid scientific evidence that electrolytes treat migraines directly’, Mr Hobson adds. 

‘If you are prone to migraines then it’s better to focus on consistent hydration, good nutrition, quality sleep, and prescribed treatments.’ 

The products, typically designed to be consumed before, during and after exercise, are often lauded by manufacturers as optimizing performance and even overall health

What should you look out for?

Some sports drink brands contain high levels of sugar and sodium, with just one bottle sometimes containing enough to undo all the hard work of your 30 minute gym session. 

‘Both should be limited in the diet and so it’s important to check nutrition labels if consuming these products,’ Ms Benelam says. 

‘Athletes usually need to consume more sodium than other people.

But for everyone else, supplements with more moderate levels of sodium — around 200 to 300 mg — should be enough to rehydrate, experts say. 

‘If you are taking them when you don’t need them then you are just adding more sodium to your diet, not great if you already have high blood pressure,’ Mr Hobson adds.

About one-third of otherwise healthy people are sensitive to salt, meaning that consuming high amounts of sodium causes an increase in blood pressure. 

People with kidney disease, heart failure, or on sodium or fluid restrictions should also always seek medical advice before using high-sodium products.

The NHS recommends that adults consume no more than 2.4 grams of sodium, which is equivalent to six grams of salt per day — roughly one teaspoon. 

So which are the best products on the market? 

‘For medical rehydration and gastrointestinal illnesses, I recommend pharmacy oral rehydration solution sachets,’ Ms Ludlam-Raine says. 

‘For sports, choose products that clearly state sodium per litre and carb per cent, for example sports drinks or gels that provide carbs plus sodium for long events.’

Before trying any new health products or supplements, experts always advise consulting with a medical professional. 

Not everything is suited to everyone. But these are the recommendations of Mr Hobson. 

Healthspan Elite Active Hydrate Citrus – £15.99 for 40 tablets 

Nuun Sport Hydration Tablets – £4.99 for 10 tablets

SiS Hydro Electrolyte Effervescent – £7.60 for 20 Tablets