By: Emily Ing and Igor Klibanov

So, you’ve heard about these things called electrolyte drinks and how they can almost work miracles for diabetics. Now you want to learn more about them and if they can really help you out.

You’ve heard about all the undesirable side effects that can come from electrolyte imbalances, like:

  • Irregular heartbeat… as if you need any more worries about your heart
  • Weakness… when you might have low energy levels to begin with
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting

…not exactly fun stuff. So you figure if you balance your electrolytes, you might be able to avoid these… and maybe even make your diabetes better in the process.

electrolyte drinks for diabetes
Original source: here.

In this article we’ll be covering a few topics about electrolyte drinks, and helping you navigate the best plan of action for yourself. Here’s what we’ll be going over:

  • What are electrolytes
  • What do electrolytes do in the body
  • Symptoms of electrolyte imbalances
  • Why electrolyte drinks for diabetics
  • Common electrolyte drinks
  • Good sources of electrolytes

Before we hop in, you might be wondering what qualifies me to be talking about all of this and if you can trust a single thing I say. Let me introduce myself, I’m Igor. Nice to meet ya 🙂

Now, let’s hop into the article. 

What are Electrolytes?

Before we can start talking about electrolytes, let’s just make sure we have a solid understanding of what they even are.

Electrolytes may seem like a big fancy science word, but in simplest terms electrolytes are just minerals that carry an electric charge. There are only 6 minerals that are electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate. 

What do Electrolytes do in the Body?

Now that we know what electrolytes are, you may be wondering what they do. They actually have a few different functions, which include: 

Hydration

If you find yourself constantly reaching for a water bottle and drinking water, but are still somehow always thirsty, you just think to yourself that you’re dehydrated. But beyond dehydration, you might also be low on sodium. 

Despite so many of your daily foods containing a fair amount of sodium, one of three things could be happening that cause low sodium levels: 

1) You’re not eating enough sodium for your body

2) Your body isn’t absorbing the minerals well (poor digestion)

3) You’re losing a lot in your urine and/or sweat (especially if you experience excessive sweating)

Blood Pressure Management

Another use for electrolytes in your body is that they help you balance your blood pressure. Typically, if somebody has low blood pressure one of the causes is low sodium levels. WIth high blood pressure, it’s typically caused by high sodium. Magnesium is another electrolyte at play when it comes to blood pressure (when blood pressure is high, magnesium is low). 

In short, with electrolyte imbalance, specifically potassium, sodium, and magnesium imbalances your blood pressure may take a hit and fluctuate. 

Nerve Communication & Muscle Contraction

When you think about it, nerves are kind of like the messenger systems of your body. They help bring messages and tasks from one part of the body to another. For example, they are in charge of telling the muscles when to contract and relax. Of course, nerves aren’t only limited to delivering messages to muscles, they can deliver messages to other nerves, organs, etc.

How does a nerve do its job as a messenger? Nerves work by sending small electrical signals to the part of the body it needs to communicate with. 

Now you may be wondering what electrolytes have to do with any of that? Well, without electrolytes, specifically calcium, nerves can’t really do their job. Calcium is needed to not only help send the messages, but also for muscles to contract. Magnesium is also important for your muscles because your muscles can’t always be contracted and tight, in order for them to relax, they need magnesium.

Symptoms of Electrolyte Imbalances

If you’re reading this and you’re wondering if you might possibly have electrolyte imbalance, here are a few common symptoms of electrolyte imbalances. 

  • Low or High blood pressure
  • Lethargy/fatigue
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Muscle spasms
  • Confusion
  • Numbness
  • Chronic diarrhea

Please remember, we are not doctors so if you think you have electrolyte imbalances, get tested before using electrolyte drinks. There is absolutely no benefit, and even potential harm to use them when you don’t need them. You may create an electrolyte imbalance by using electrolyte drinks without an imbalance to begin with. 

Why Electrolyte Drinks for Diabetes?

At this point, you’re probably thinking to yourself “electrolytes sound cool and all. But why do I need it more specifically as a diabetic?”

There are a few reasons as to why electrolytes may be a little more of a concern for diabetics.

Firstly, diabetics experience more kidney damage than non-diabetics. The kidneys are responsible for regulating electrolytes based on the body’s water content and the relationships between electrolytes in the body. When we talk about the relationships between electrolytes this is what we mean: the 6 electrolytes make up 3 pairs, sodium & potassium, calcium & magnesium, chloride & phosphate. When one of them is too high or low, the body has something like a thermostat to notify the brain which will change a bunch of things to make the levels balanced again.

 If your kidneys are damaged, that just means they don’t do as good of a job as healthy kidneys do when it comes to the balancing act. And because of this, the kidneys can end up causing electrolyte imbalances. 

Secondly, the use of potassium-sparing medications. Potassium-sparing medications are diuretics that remove water from your body while retaining the potassium levels. One of the more commonly used potassium-sparing medications is hydrochlorothiazide (pronounced hai – dro – klaw – ruh – thai – uh – zide) aka HCTZ.

Thirdly, insulin deficiency. As odd as this may sound at first, since most diabetics have insulin excess, once somebody has had diabetes for a while, they can potentially have an insulin deficiency because their pancreas burns out. 

Common Electrolyte Drinks

When searching for electrolyte drinks to solve electrolyte imbalances, there are definitely a few common ones that come up… even though they might not be the best source of electrolytes. As a reminder, there is no one magical drink that contains or is a good source of all 6 electrolytes. Most drinks are only high in 1 or 2. But here are some of the most common drinks we found that were recommended by online sources.

Organic Coconut Water

Despite being one of the most commonly recommended electrolyte drinks, we really don’t understand why. Coconut water is claimed to be a good source of potassium and sodium. But the truth is, it really isn’t.

Coconut water typically only contains 670 mg of potassium and 50 mg of sodium. For reference, you need 4700 mg of potassium and 1500-2400 mg of sodium per day. Which would mean you would need to drink 7 servings of coconut water to get your daily amount of potassium! Or if you’re aiming to get your intake of sodium from coconut water, you would need anywhere from 30 servings to a whopping 48 servings! No cheers to that.

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is another drink frequently recommended for its electrolytes. Unlike cow’s milk, its calcium content is very low (at around 40 mg, out of the 1200-1500 mg that we need in a day). But where it shines above all else is magnesium. It contains slightly over 100 mg of magnesium (we need 300-500 mg/day).

Other than magnesium, it’s pretty low in other electrolytes.

I don’t frequently advise coconut milk for its electrolyte content, because of its caloric content. One cup has around 450 calories. That’s a whopper. There are lower calorie ways to get your magnesium.

Organic Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is frequently recommended for reasons that I don’t understand. It’s low in almost every mineral, and certainly every single electrolyte.

But it has 2 disadvantages:

  1. If it’s unsweetened lemon juice, it’s great for your blood sugar level… but tastes sour
  2. If it has added sugar, the problem is obvious: not good for your glucose levels.

Water

Another commonly recommended electrolyte beverage is water. This is another drink that frankly just confuses us as to why it’s recommended so often. 

Water has no electrolytes in it. Water has no calories, fat, protein, carbs, or minerals, which means it also has no electrolytes. Of course there are variations of water out there that contain electrolytes like coconut water. But water by itself contains absolutely no electrolytes. 

Milk

Milk has a number of minerals, most famously calcium. And in terms of calcium it’s a pretty good source, since it contains about 285 mg of calcium per cup, when we need anywhere from 1200-1500 mg per day. 

But for just about every other electrolyte… it’s not that great. Milk is also said to be a source of potassium and sodium. And while yes, it contains these, it’s not a great source. It only contains 360 mg of potassium and 115 mg of sodium (and remember, daily intake needed for potassium is 4700 mg, for sodium it’s anywhere from 1500-2400 mg). 

If you want a drink that’s lower in calories, but has all the calcium of regular milk, try skim milk. Either partly skim, or completely skim milk has all the calcium of regular milk, but fewer calories (although in my humble opinion, it also doesn’t taste nearly as good).

Keto Electrolytes’ Electrolyte powder

First off, let’s talk about the word “keto”, also known as ketogenic. Keto is a type of diet that is low carb, high fat, and adequate protein. However, we’re unsure as to why it’s called keto since all electrolytes are keto, because minerals have no calories, and therefore, no carbs, protein, or fat! About the only reason I can think of electrolytes being keto is because they’re often found in powders with sugar. But it’s the sugar that’s not keto – not the electrolytes. I suppose that a keto electrolyte powder would have zero sugar.

I suppose you could also use it for sugar free sports drinks or energy drinks (most of the energy in energy drinks is from caffeine).

Aside from that small thing, this electrolyte powder is actually a decent source of magnesium and potassium. It’s not that great for sodium, chloride, or calcium but most electrolyte drinks are only high in one or two electrolytes. So it’s okay! 

Magnesium Sea Minerals

This supplement contains the obvious: magnesium. And it s a great source of it. Beyond that, there’s not much to say… it doesn’t have any other minerals/electrolytes, but there’s nothing much that differentiates it from most kinds of magnesium (magnesium glycinate, citrate, threonate, etc.)

Himalayan Pink Salt

This is another common recommendation as far as electrolytes go. The most common argument for it is that it has minerals. Sure, it has minerals. The real question is: how much? Its sodium content is (unsurprisingly) very similar to regular table salt. One gram of table salt has around 380 mg of sodium. One gram of Himalayan Pink Salt has around 370 mg of sodium. As for the potassium and the magnesium content in both salts, it’s negligible – less than 1% of what you need in a day.

Organic Tea

Tea is great for lots of things, but electrolytes are not one of those things. It has virtually no vitamins and minerals. Its potassium content is around 43 mg per cup (we need around 4700 mg/day), and as for sodium, magnesium and other electrolytes, close to 0. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t drink tea, just don’t expect it to help you with you electrolyte requirements.

A Note On Sweeteners

The previously mentioned drinks just scratch the surface, but they are the most commonly mentioned drinks when it comes to electrolytes.

But I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention sweeteners in this section, since this is after all an article for people with diabetes.

There are lots of sweeteners out there, from artificial sweeteners (which, by the way are not the same as artificial flavors), to regular ol’ cane sugar, to stevia leaf extract, and others.

The worst thing that a diabetic can have is regular ol’ cane sugar, since it’s 50% glucose and 50% fructose, and hence will raise blood glucose levels. In general, it’s recommended that diabetics avoid sugar… unless they have hypoglycemic tendencies.

The next worst thing is high fructose corn syrup. This one is similar to cane sugar, but a slightly different composition. It has 45% glucose and 55% fructose. So it will still raise blood sugar levels. This is typically what they put in fruit juices if they add sugar. If they don’t add sugar, it’s primarily fructose. Which doesn’t make it good, but slightly better than pure sucrose (table sugar).

Better than that are artificial sweeteners, like aspartame and sucralose. Why? Because they don’t raise blood sugar at all, since they’re zero calories, so they’re better for blood sugar control. Other than that, although there is intense debate about whether artificial sweeteners are good for you or bad for you, there is almost no evidence that it does any harm in humans (although there is evidence that it does harm in mice and rats…. so don’t feed it to your pet rat ;)).

And perhaps even better than artificial sweeteners are natural sweeteners, like organic stevia. It doesn’t raise blood sugar, and in all likelihood, it’s safe.

Good Sources of Electrolytes

While there are commonly recommended sources of electrolytes, not all of them are that great at helping electrolyte imbalance… As we just discovered in the last section. But when there is a not so good side of things, there is also a good side. So here are some good sources of each electrolyte.

Sodium

Sodium is one of the more commonly found electrolytes since it’s in a lot of food items. Some of the best sources of sodium include:

  • Tomato Juice
  • Olives
  • Pickles (or anything pickled)

There are definitely other sources of sodium in the world. But those are just some of the more commonly found ones. 

Potassium

Potassium is also another very easily found electrolyte that you’re probably consuming more of than you think. 

Have you ever heard somebody tell you to eat your bananas to get your potassium in? Well, despite bananas being potassium’s poster child, the reality is that bananas don’t nearly have as much potassium as dried fruits or vegetables. 

You guessed it! Dried fruits like dried apricots, raisins, dates, prunes, sun dried tomatoes, and more are our recommendation if you want to raise your potassium levels. All of these have more potassium than bananas.

And by the way, in chapter 2 of my book I give 2 reasons why dried fruits can actually help with blood sugar regulation, and diminish fluctuating blood sugar levels.

Calcium

Calcium is another electrolyte with a poster child, this time milk takes the spotlight. You’ve probably heard somebody tell you to drink your milk so you get enough calcium so your bones can grow strong. 

While this isn’t entirely wrong, milk actually isn’t the best source of calcium you can get. The best source may be quite surprising since it’s actually sardines. Yep, those tiny fish in a can are your best friend when it comes to calcium. Since sardines are eaten bones and all, they end up containing about a third of your daily dose of calcium in a single serving.

The second best source also isn’t milk, but rather cheese. Most cheeses are very good sources of calcium. Specifically, parmesan cheese offers the most calcium per serving. Softer cheeses are often less calcium rich, but still pretty good sources.

Finally, the one we’ve all been waiting for… milk. Milk along with many other dairy products are also good sources of calcium. 

Magnesium

If magnesium is what you’re looking for, your best bets will be with Brazil nuts, dark chocolate, and cocoa powder (but the bitter stuff – not the sweet stuff).

Chloride

Good sources of chloride are similar to that of good sources of sodium. So, pickles/pickled foods, olives, seaweed, and more. 

Phosphate

A lot of protein sources will be a fairly good source of phosphate. These would include chicken, turkey, pork, and seafood. But of course if protein isn’t exactly your thing you can also get phosphate from foods such as pumpkin, sunflower seeds, and even dairy products.

And if you’re wondering “what about Ensure Drinks and Glucerna Shakes?” First of all, they’re not electrolyte drinks, but second of all, I cover them in way more detail in their respective articles.

Conclusion

What’s the verdict? The verdict is that if you don’t have electrolyte imbalance, you shouldn’t worry about drinking electrolyte drinks or anything of the sort. At best, they’ll do you no good, and at worst, they’ll do some harm. On the other hand, if you do think you have electrolyte imbalances, please consult your doctor to get tested and then proceed with getting your electrolytes in. 

Electrolyte drinks can be good for you, but definitely no miracle worker despite being important to fix any imbalances. 

If you found this topic interesting and want to learn more about reversal secrets for type 2 diabetes, check out my book at that link. 

And if you want to learn about other aspects of nutrition and supplementation for diabetics, check out my articles on pre-workouts for diabetics, my review of Curalin supplements, and whey protein for diabetics.