I’ll be honest: Up until four-or-five years ago, my only experience with electrolytes was the enormous jug of Pedialyte I would have waiting for me in my fridge after a “sassy” night out with friends. I was living in New York in my twenties where the only A/B testing I’d perform outside of my day job was “What X factor will prevent tomorrow’s hangover?” Other than that, electrolytes were just for people who were dehydrated or all-star athletes, right?

Wrong! I was so wrong.

Since moving back to Los Angeles to pursue a life of “balance” and “wellbeing” (which is a WIP, I assure you), I’ve discovered that electrolytes are anything but a special occasion add-on (even though they are great for hangovers). Especially during the pandemic, I experienced first-hand the role minerals and effective hydration have on the body’s overall immune function and energy levels. Not to mention, 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated and don’t even know it. Scared for us!

Nowadays, it’s safe to say electrolytes are having a real “moment,” with almost every supplement brand on the market creating its own version of electrolytes. But are all electrolytes created equal? How are you supposed to know which one to choose and how to incorporate them into your everyday life if you’re neither a scientist nor a hydration specialist?

Enter: LMNT, the electrolytes that we can’t stop, won’t stop, haven’t stopped talking about, thanks to their uber clean ingredients and their science-backed formulation that promots “More salt, not less.” Given that you can now find them in every health foods store, wellness spa, or doctor’s office (my naturopathic doctor is obsessed), it’s safe to say we’re on board.

In an attempt to see how a little more mineralization could transform my life, I tried incorporating LMNT into my daily wellness routine (which is just my daily routine since I’m so hopped up on wellness!). Here are all the ways I used electrolytes and how they made me feel.

More Salt, Not Less

For decades, we’ve all been running around thinking that salt harms the body. I, myself, grew up in a “Don’t pass the salt! That sodium is going to give you a heart attack!” family, where salt-fear was ever-present, thanks to the FDA’s mandate that people should have fewer than 2.3g of sodium per day so as to avoid high blood pressure and therefore worse health outcomes. However, LMNT has turned sour on this recommendation with science-backed research to prove that salt is not the bad guy we’ve insisted it is.

Counter to conventional perceptions about salt intake, LMNT insists we need about 2-3x more salt than we’re getting on a daily basis, and that the nasty sodium in American diets is coming from processed food rather than salt specifically. In fact, the Intersalt study showed that across 48 global populations, dietary salt intake didn’t predict the prevalence of high blood pressure. The highest salt population actually had a lower median blood pressure than the even lowest salt population, and that people reducing their sodium intake were at a higher risk of high blood pressure.

In a 2011 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers looked at salt intakes and hard heart disease outcomes (heart attack, stroke, death) in 28,800 high-risk heart disease patients. They found that the lowest risk for bad outcomes—the “sweet spot,” if you will—was between 4-6 grams of sodium per day. People restricting sodium had a 19% higher risk of cardiovascular death than those in the sweet spot. Now, that leaves a salty taste in our mouth.

Living Better With LMNT

You don’t have to really exert yourself to lose electrolytes. Whether you’re sick, traveling, working out, stressed, or even hydrating like an Olympian, you are likely not getting enough electrolytes to support your daily existence. Tired? Sore? Sick? Dehydrated? These are all signs that you are at a subpar level on your #MineralGoals, which is no bueno when it comes to your body functioning at optimal levels. Minerals are a necessity for your body’s muscles, brain, heart, central nervous system, hormonal system, immune system—name the system—they help to keep your body in balance so as to manage your pro and anti-inflammatory regulation process. Also a fun fact: in Traditional Chinese Medicine, salt is actually used part of formulas to help resolves issues in the kidneys, useful for resolving lumps and bumps as well as helping with constipation.

Unlike any other sugar-filled electrolyte on the market, just one stick of LMNT celebrates salt as the star, containing 1000 mg of sodium, 200 mg potassium, and 60 mg magnesium. This specific, science-backed formulation was designed to deeply hydrate and replenish electrolytes for a full-body effect that will keep your energy levels up and your muscles restored throughout the day.

With so much chatter about how electrolytes could improve one’s everyday life, I wanted to experience the benefits firsthand.

Wellness, But Make It Salty

Here are all the ways I incorporated LMNT into my weekly wellness / life routine.

FIRST THING IN THE AM | On average, you lose about 200ml of sweat per night while you sleep, which is a pretty significant amount of water loss over eight hours. Because of this, it’s no surprise that I wake up feeling like a truck ran over me the night before. Typically, I’ve turned to hot water and lemon for my morning rehydration, but I decided to add half a pack of LMNT to my mug in the AM instead and then take my dog for a walk. I noticed almost instantly that I felt energized… buzzing, even. I felt the puffiness around my eyes decrease and sensed an overall increase in my alertness, which made me more efficient when getting home and starting my day. I also found my body “eliminated” much easier and more quickly, which ensured that I could enjoy my day sans bloating or digestive upset.

Pre-WORKOUT | It’s not uncommon for serious athletes to lose 6-10% of their body weight in sweat loss, which calls for equally serious electrolyte support. While I’m very much not an athlete, I am very physically active—working out 5-6 days per week (at least three of them pretty intensely). Since research shows that performance can be affected when the body is just 2% dehydrated, I opted for a full stick pack of LMNT mixed into my wellness water (which consists of vitamin C powder and chlorophyll) on the days I was doing circuit training. My energy levels sustained throughout the 45-minute class, and I noticed that I had significantly less soreness post-workout, which helped support better overall recovery (and #Gains).

DURING THE SAUNA | One of my favorite wellness activities is sauna bathing in an infrared sauna as a consistent part of my detox + recovery routine. However, after 60 minutes of perpetual sweating, I notice that I can often feel depleted or tired, exacerbating any potential detox symptoms I may be experiencing. During my latest trip to Pause, I came fully prepared—again, with my wellness water—and a stick of LMNT, which you can also buy there. I made sure to drink them throughout my sauna session, which allowed me to avoid that “I’m going to faint” feeling or feeling overheated altogether. I also found it pretty satisfying to see those black sweat spots on my towel (IYKYK) and know that I was replenishing my electrolyte balance while also pushing out deep-rooted toxins.

to combat stress | My mom and I always joke that us at our most relaxed state would be someone else’s nervous breakdown. Maybe that’s because my body seemingly enjoys being a chronic state of fight-or-flight (we’re working on it). However, while it’s funny to joke about being stressed, it’s not funny that stress and cortisol levels can actually significantly impact electrolyte balance because of changes in urinary secretions. I’ve been feeling very “Age of Aquarius” lately, which has made my life feel very frenzied and hectic (which also means I feel like the walking dead by the end of the day). On the days where I felt super stressed or “wirey,” and hadn’t already taken an LMNT, I would take a break from work and make a restorative cacao-rose protein shake with a stick pack of electrolytes added (think: a salty-sweet treat). I’d feel my life reenter my body (which we love) and felt like I had the strength to revisit my bolded inbox. It also greatly improved my mood, which tends to drop by 3pm on any given weekday.

Final Thoughts

There are many, many reasons LMNT has become the “one to watch” in the electrolyte space (which is why we’ve written about them over and over, and over again). They’re dissolving all suspicion around one of the earth’s most powerful minerals that is inarguably a huge life-force and significant life-source in a super clean, super simple, super effective formula. LMNT co-founders Robb Wolf, Luis Villaseñor, Nicki Violetti, and James Murphy have made it their top priority to make electrolytes and the education that surrounds them as accessible as possible with tons of community-inspired recipes for easy remineralization.

I have continued on with my electrolyte (or electro-lit) journey, where I’ve decided that minerals are not just a part of my wellness routine, but rather their very own facet of my overall self-care. I’m excited to see how I’m able to progress in my daily activities that I love when my body has what it needs to perform at its best…and then some. So I say to you, please pass the salt with a free LMNT Sample Pack with any order!*

*Side note: I prefer the unflavored LMNT, but warn that it is the most salty-tasting of them all!

All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health-related programs.

This story is brought to you in partnership with LMNT. From time to time, TCM editors choose to partner with brands we believe in to bring our readers special offers.