An electrolyte is a vitamin or mineral in your body that affects the way your cells function. They get their name from their electric charge when dissolved in water or body fluids, including blood and urine.

Electrolytes are important for many reasons:

• Balancing the amount of water in your body
• Moving nutrients in and wastes out of your cells
• Supporting muscle and nerve function
• Keeping heart rate and rhythm steady
• Keeping blood pressure stable
• Keeping bones and teeth healthy

Electrolyte imbalance symptoms may include muscle cramping, fatigue, weakness and confusion.

Foods high in electrolytes

The most well-known electrolytes are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. As you know, you get a lot of these from foods. For example, kiwi, avocado, oranges, grapefruit and pinto beans are excellent sources of potassium. Green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains provide magnesium. With a balanced diet and normal lifestyle, many people won’t need electrolyte drinks or supplements.

“Our kidneys are very good at helping regulate our bodies,” said Dr. Rebecca Blonsky, Marshfield Clinic Health System nephrologist. “The kidneys will hold on to electrolytes if needed, distribute them appropriately or get rid of them if in excess.”

But there are situations when you may want to think about boosting electrolytes.

Electrolytes when sick

Electrolyte drinks or supplements are beneficial when you sustain “insensible losses.” These are body fluid losses that you can’t calculate well.

“When you have diarrhea or vomiting, you don’t have a good measure of how much fluid you’re actually losing,” said Dr. Blonsky. “And when you’re losing all of that fluid, you’re losing electrolytes as well.”

Dr. Blonsky says a drink like Gatorade or Pedialyte will help prevent electrolyte imbalance symptoms when you have a stomach bug.

Electrolytes and working out

Sports drinks like Gatorade are fixtures at many sporting events, and for good reason.

“Sweating is another ‘insensible loss’ that will deplete your electrolytes,” said Dr. Blonsky. “So whether you’re doing a vigorous workout, working in the yard on a hot day or playing a sport, keep the electrolytes handy.”

If you drink plain water, you can cause low salt levels in the blood, which in turn, is an electrolyte imbalance.

“That’s why some marathoners have a hard time at the finish line because they have sweat so much and they’ve been only drinking plain water,” said Dr. Blonsky. “They have diluted their blood with water and haven’t replenished electrolytes.”.

Electrolytes after drinking

Some products nowadays market electrolyte drinks to consumers looking for hangover relief. That’s because alcohol has a diuretic effect. It means you urinate more than you would if you weren’t drinking alcohol. As a result, you could lose electrolytes and become dehydrated.

“Drinking an electrolyte beverage after drinking is not going to harm you,” Dr. Blonsky said. “Will it cure your hangover completely? Probably not.”

She adds that something with sodium can be beneficial in numerous ways. That’s because salt is known to help settle an upset stomach, a common side effect of drinking too much.

Electrolytes and kids

Replacing lost electrolytes when you’re sick with vomiting and diarrhea or dehydrated is recommended by Dr. Blonsky. She says that especially rings true with kids because they don’t have as much fat or glucose stored up. They don’t tolerate vomiting as well as adults and tend to get low on blood sugars.

One thing to be wary of is the amount of added sugar in some electrolyte drinks. You should aim for less than 25 grams of sugar daily for kids aged two and older. 12 ounces of Gatorade has nearly 20 grams of sugar.

“If you’re a healthy person with no known kidney problems, you shouldn’t have to worry about electrolytes in most situations,” said Dr. Blonsky. “Added electrolytes are not going to hurt you, but your kidneys will balance everything for you without them.”