Hydration vs hype: Who really needs electrolytes?

Mint

12 hours ago

A sachet that carries lofty promises can sometimes kill you. Parth Shivendra, 47, a software professional in Bengaluru, who is also a marathon and triathlon runner, almost died last year when he consumed a sachet of electrolytes (he refused to name the brand) containing sodium chloride and potassium during a pickleball competition.
After a late night out with his friends, Shivendra woke up early the next morning, went to the gym because he 'had to clock in" his workout, had a quick breakfast and went straight to the pickleball court.
'I instantly felt nauseous, although this was a brand I was used to having daily. A few minutes in, my mouth went dry and my hands and body felt heavy and weirdly out of control," Shivendra said. Medical tests revealed he had a sudden sodium overdose after a salty breakfast and gulps of an electrolyte drink. The doctor advised him to stop taking all hydration supplements for a few months.
'I had not done any regular medical tests until then. I would work out, I had no extra fat, and no complaints. A year after that incident, I am back to my normal exercise routine, but now I take every supplement with a lot of caution. I am more in tune with my body," he said.
Shivendra's case is that of a cautionary outlier. For most people, any formulation of electrolytes or hydration salts in limited quantities is safe, and perhaps even useful in the climate-change era, with rising humidity levels compounding heat stress.
Hydration nation
Hydration salts are a rapidly growing segment of the global wellness market, and India is no exception. Everyone from women in menopause to millennial pickleball players worry about balancing their minerals and salts. Pritie Jadhav, a 44-year-old pickleball player who has played in Mumbai's pickleball circuit for the past one-and-a-half years said, 'It's common to see an electrolyte company sponsoring a pickleball event. I see the interest in and consumption of these brands increasing."
Do we all have a need for fluids packed with sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium? And if not all of us need these electrolyte elixirs, is the hype around them and the market swell proportionate to the good they can do?
According to a study by Global Market Insights (March, 2025), the global electrolyte drink market was valued at $38.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at 5.6% from 2024 to 2034. Several Indian newspapers reported in April that with the sweltering heat and unusually high temperatures, demand for dehydration-preventing drinks soared in India this year. According to the market research firm PharmaTrac, sales of the widely used brand Electral rose 27% in March.
Electral is a legacy brand. Generations that grew up in the 1980s and 1990s associate the granular white powder with rough tummy days. The brand, more than 50 years old and manufactured by the pharmaceutical company FDC Limited, now has tough competition in urban India. New brands are being launched every year, ones that promise 'cellular hydration' and much more. They undergo quality testing at private labs such as Equinox, Fare and ALS, accredited by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), after which they get the pre-launch FSSAI safety stamp. Unlike herbs or plant-derived products, which come with the risk of heavy-metal toxins, hydration salts are much safer because the ingredients are usually lab-tested.
Do you need electrolytes?
To know who needs electrolytes – beyond regular water intake – it's important to know the basics. Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge when they are dissolved in certain fluids. The ones human bodies rely on are sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium and phosphate.
Our bodies make bicarbonate on their own, and it's fairly easy to meet our phosphate and calcium needs through what we eat. Sodium chloride — or table salt — used in almost all cooked food in India is the other essential.
The electrolytes most commonly featured in lushly marketed new-age drinks are potassium, magnesium and sodium. What transpired in the body of the gym-obsessed pickleball player who fainted is this: he already had an excess of sodium in his body, so the sodium from his fizzy electrolyte drink sent him into hypernatremia, severe cases of which can lead to neurological issues such as confusion, seizures, and even coma.
Electrolytes are essential for many bodily functions, including maintaining fluid levels, helping heart and nerve function, and regulating blood pressure. Magnesium helps with everything from muscle and nerve function to bone health, while chloride aids fluid balance and digestion. Potassium helps to regulate your heartbeat, lower blood pressure and regulate kidney function, while muscles need calcium, sodium andpotassiumto contract. Without electrolytes, our bodies run into dire difficulties quite rapidly.
But are we in as much danger of running out of them as wellness companies would like us tobelieve?
It all depends on what you are doing. The main way we lose electrolytes is through body fluids, so for otherwise healthy people, the biggest risk comes from a bout of sickness or diarrhoea. Other health conditions can also cause electrolyte deficiencies.
For many of us, drinking habits fuel the need for extra electrolytes. If you drink lots of alcohol, you are at risk of dehydration, which can throw your electrolyte levels out of balance. Electrolytes can probably reduce the symptoms of a hangover. After all, the main ingredients in Myers Cocktail, the IV infusion now considered the holy grail of hangover cures, and popular among the elite in Los Angeles, Milan and Mumbai, are magnesium, calcium, Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants. But electrolytes are not a cure for systemic issues in the body caused by alcohol consumption.
Generally, the groups most likely to benefit from an immediate infusion of electrolytes are endurance athletes or gym-goers who keep the intensity high. If you are in that category, sweat profusely, and your sportswear looks a bit white or crunchy when dry, it's a sign that you're losing a lot of electrolytes.
Too much of a good thing
Sports medicine doctors say the concentration of salt in sweat may increase as you perspire more heavily. Dr Aashish Contractor, director, rehabilitation and sports medicine, Sir HN Reliance Hospital, Mumbai, said, 'Water is the best form of natural hydration. Most people should aim to drink enough during the day so their urine is a clear pale yellow colour.
"As a general rule of thumb, plain water is good enough for indoor workouts that are under an hour. For strenuous outdoor workouts that last more than 30 minutes, electrolytes might help. Do keep in mind that even if it's a short indoor workout, having a small quantity of electrolytes won't have any negative effects but may not be necessary. With the weather these days, dehydration is usually a greater cause of concern than over-hydration."
Contractor cautioned that there for some individuals, excess electrolytes may be harmful. 'Those with a low heart pumping capacity, known as ejection fraction (if it's below 35%) should have these drinks only after consulting their cardiologist. Hyponatremia is another, in which a person over-consumes sodium," he added.
Dr Divya Chauhan, an Ayurveda researcher and formulation expert, said, 'Ayurvedic hydration isn't about chugging neon-colouredliquids, it's about smart, synergistic fluids that work with your body. Ayurveda doesn't just see water as H₂O; it's one of the five elements (panchamahabhuta) that constitute all life. These remedies hydrate, yes, but also stoke agni, flush toxins, and balance your unique constitution. And honestly? A glass of coriander water on a hot day feels like a cool breeze from the inside out.It's not just about water entering your body — it's about how deeply it nourishes your cells." (See the box for Ayurvedic recipes that Dr Chauhan recommends for deep hydration).
Mumbai-based functional medicine nutritionist Urvi Lakhwani stressed the need for electrolytes for hormone regulation in women. 'In women, fluid needs fluctuate across hormonal phases. This will depend on your activitylevels, whether you sweat a lot, the climate, your diet, and whether you have or or are prone to conditions such as blood pressure fluctuations, fatigue, abdominal conditions or heavy periods. If I was looking to buy, I would look for something that did not containextra sugar or artificial colours," Lakhwani said.
Weight and body composition play a role in how we absorb and metabolise electrolytes. Muscle stores more water than fat does. So someone carrying less body fat and more muscle will have more water content in their body than someone who's carrying more weight and less muscle. If you're in the latter group, electrolytes help maintain optimal hydration.As we age, muscle mass tends to drop while fat can go up, decreasing our water content increasing the riskof an electrolyte imbalance.
Brand matters
This is where the role of sodium and the quality of a brand matters. The electrolyte that most of us have more than enough of, she says, is sodium — it's in the salt we use daily. Magnesium is one that many are deficient in, leading to symptoms such as severe muscle cramps. But this brings us to one of the biggest problems regarding claims about electrolyte content: when a food or supplement manufacturer says that their product simply has 'more" electrolytes than the competition, that is not a particularly helpful metric. Sodium, for instance, is easy and cheap to add to almost anything, and it's a salt we get enough of already. Technically, you could claim that a roadside pav bhaji or dosa is loaded with electrolytes. If you do need to add salt to your diet – if, say, you are training for a marathon – adding a pinch of salt to your water can be enough.
The market and emerging conversations around the need for electrolytes is largely hype. Yes, Indians are more active than they used to be as fitness is now aspirational, and that electrolyte sachet or pill is an easy thing to add to your daily life and feel good about. Brands know and exploit this need well.
Currently, prices of these drinks vary from ₹600 to upwards of ₹5000, depending on the formulation and the brand. Notable brands in India include Ace Blend's Hydro Hype, Wellness Nutrition's Hydrasalt, Steadfast Nutrition's Steadlytes, Supply 6, Poptopia, and the oldest one, Fast & Up 9 (sales of which soared during the pandemic). The most elite electrolyte brands globally are LMNT, Nuun, Salt of the Earth, Cadence, DripDrop — some of which were born in wellness labs of the Silicon Valley — and Noval Djokovich's brand Sila, which is yet to be sold in India.
Hear it from three of India's popular brands:
Shivam Hingorani, founder, Ace Blend, said before they launched their electrolyte brand Hydro Hype, their research showed that a number of chronic health conditions such as fatigue were due to ineffective hydration. He said, 'What we found even more relevant to India is that we are a sodium-sensitive population. While brands in the West focus on high levels of sodium or 'salts' targeted at athletes, aping that concept in India is not only futile but can also be detrimental. Many conventional electrolyte drinks either underdose or overdose sodium, creating problems for people with heart conditions or hypertension. It's crucial to know that hydration also isn't limited to athletes. It's a lifestyle need for office-goers, students, parents, and anyone exposed to long hours of humidity or stress."
Hydro Hype is a nitrate-infused electrolyte, which, besides hydrating the body, enhances nutrient transport through vasodilation, according to the company. Natural dietary nitrates (from beetroot) widen blood vessels, improve circulation, and allow for better delivery of electrolytes throughout the body, it claims.
Aman Puri, founder of Steadlytes Nutrition, whose electrolytes brand SteadLytes is an effervescent formulation, said each tablet contains sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium, besides vitamin B12 and Vitamin C. 'As awareness around hydration grows and wellness continues to influence consumer choices, we expect this segment to grow rapidly, driven by innovative formulations with added vitamins and antioxidants, and increased adoption beyond professional athletes to the everyday consumer," said Puri, a competitive mountain biker, shooter and triathlon running, and a certified nutrition and fitness expert.
Wellbeing Nutrition's Hydra Salt is an 'isotonic formula with optimized ratio of electrolytes, essential vitamins, amino acid, pink Himalayan salt and coconut water". Shradha Khanna, lead nutritionist, said, 'Sugar makes hydration less effective. As carbs are burned, they lose their osmotic benefit. HydraSalt™ uses an optimised ratio of electrolytes and essential micronutrients without any added sugar or carbohydrates to accelerate hydration and sustain it for longer." Launched as recently as April 2025, the brand has since grown three-fold, Khanna said.
Hydration drinks are an extension of the #watertok craze of 2024 — an obsession with staying hydrated that went viral on TikTok and Instagram. Hydration goals are as aspirational as matcha – be it consuming a certain amount of water, simply remembering to drink more each day, or choosing filtered water and electrolyte drinks over tap water and fizzy drinks.
At the Wellness Co in Mumbai – a swanky wellness destination for various kinds of treatment such as NAD IVs, cryotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen treatment or infusions for skin health – hydration is the foundation on which other ingredients are delivered to the body.
The longevity era
Wellness trendcasters including the Global Wellness Institute have predicted that going into 2026, there will be health drinks for every imaginable need in the nutraceuticals market. Prepare to say hello to collagen drinks, gut health drinks, sleep drinks, healthy alcohol substitutes, herbal hot chocolates, pottering waters and several adaptogenic libations comprising ashwagandha, turmeric or cordyceps. The pressure to quaff healing liquids rises as we navigate the 'longevity era'.
The takeaway on the hype around hydration then is this: if you already eat fruit, nuts, leafy greens and protein every day, drinking plenty of water and don't sweat too much, you can probably go about your life without worrying about electrolytes. But if you sweat, they are worth thinking about. The unanimous view of experts interviewed for this story is that if you feel thirsty a lot, experience stress-related symptoms, are unable to focus, and feel that 3 pm brain fog, electrolytes are one of the cheapest health interventions you can try, after ensuring that none of these the symptoms are related to underlying conditions that need medical intervention.
Ayurvedic hydration recipes
Dr Divya Chauhan, Ayurveda researcher and formulations expert, recommended the following natural recipes to achieve optimal hydration the Ayurvedic way.
Process: Soak 1 tbsp of lightly crushed coriander seeds in 2 cups of water overnight. Strain and add a pinch of rock sugar (dhage wali mishri if possible, or jaggery). Don't use honey as it has hot potency and may do more harm than good.
Effect: Deeply cooling, replenishes minerals, and gentle on kidneys. Ideal for hot summers.
Portion: 30–40 ml on an empty stomach for 5-7 weeks.
Process: Mix juice of ½ lime + pinch of Himalayan salt + 1 tsp jaggery in warm water. Cool to room temp.
Effect: Balances all six tastes, replaces sodium/potassium lost in sweat, and provides iron through jaggery.
Process: Toast cumin seeds, crush and blend with water, lime, mint and a pinch of rock salt.
Effect: Cumin boosts absorption; solution combination provides salt/minerals to prevent cramps.
Process: Dilute 3 tsp of plain yogurt with 60 ml of water, add roasted cumin powder, salt as per taste.
Effect: Probiotics aid gut health, electrolytes hydrate, and it's pitta-pacifying (acid-neutralising).
* After cooking rice (not in a pressure cooker but an open vessel), drink the cooled starchy water mixed with a pinch of rock salt or Himalayan salt to soothe dryness and nourish tissues.
* Steep rose petals, mint, or vetiver roots (khus) in water overnight for a cooling and toxin-clearing drink.
Sanjukta Sharma is a Mumbai-based journalist, and founder of the wellness and health IP, @the_slow_fix.