Electrolyte powders went from niche to everywhere in about four years. They used to be something marathon runners carried. Now they're in wedding welcome bags, and sales have more than doubled nationally since 2020 according to consumer research firm NIQ.
We make a drink with electrolytes in it. So take this in the spirit it's offered: most people buying electrolyte powders every day probably don't need them.
That's not a modest claim to make on a hydration brand's blog. But the alternative is repeating something that a search takes about thirty seconds to contradict, and we'd rather be the brand that told you first.
What electrolytes actually do
Electrolytes are minerals carrying an electrical charge: sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, bicarbonate. They regulate fluid balance inside and outside your cells, carry nerve signals, and allow muscles to contract.
That's genuinely important. Nothing below disputes it. The question isn't whether electrolytes matter, it's whether you need to add extra ones to your day.
What the researchers say
Graeme Close, a sports nutrition researcher at Liverpool John Moores University, told the BBC that most people are spending money they don't need to. His point is that the body is good at keeping electrolyte levels stable, and most people get what they need from eating a reasonably normal diet, since most foods contain salt and fruit and vegetables supply potassium and magnesium.
His advice for moderate exercise, a gym session or a 5k, was blunt: sip water, it's more than good enough, and keep your money for other things.
Mark Loafman, chair of family medicine at Cook County Health in Illinois, made a similar point to Axios, saying the Western diet already contains enough electrolytes, with average sodium intake north of three grams a day. Grant Lipman, an emergency medicine physician, backed the same view.
Loafman went further and suggested part of why electrolyte drinks feel effective is placebo. We do feel better when we're doing something we believe is healthy.
When they genuinely help
The researchers above aren't saying electrolytes never matter. They're saying the daily habit is oversold. The situations where supplementation earns its place are specific.
Long or intense exercise, especially in heat. This is the clear case. The Collegiate and Professional Sports Dieticians Association notes that a runner losing three liters of fluid in an hour is losing somewhere between 1,380 and 5,520mg of salt. Water alone won't replace that. Close's own caveat was that for extended exercise, particularly if you're a salty sweater, adding sodium back is sensible.
Illness. Vomiting and diarrhea cause rapid fluid and electrolyte loss, which is exactly why oral rehydration solutions exist and why they're on the WHO essential medicines list.
Serious heat exposure. Working outdoors in a Texas August is a different situation from sitting in an office.
Low-carb and ketogenic diets. These increase sodium excretion, and people on them frequently report symptoms that resolve with added salt.
Difficulty drinking enough water. This one's less about chemistry and more about behavior. Electrolyte drinks increase thirst, which for some people means they drink more overall. If flavored water is what gets you to hydrate, that's a real benefit even if the minerals themselves aren't doing much.
When water is fine
If you work an indoor job, exercise moderately, eat normally, and aren't ill, plain water covers you. Your kidneys are extremely good at managing mineral balance, and your food is already delivering more sodium than you need.
Joshua Beer, a sports medicine specialist at University Hospitals, frames it around sweat: the electrolytes that matter most in sweat are sodium and chloride, and powders and tablets are helpful specifically where sweat loss has been significant. That's a narrower window than daily.
So why do we put electrolytes in our drink?
Fair question, and the honest answer has two parts.
The first is that the electrolytes in SÜTHE aren't the reason to drink it. They're there because if you're making a functional water, hydration that actually absorbs is table stakes, not the selling point. The reason someone reaches for SÜTHE is the L-theanine and the calm focus. The sodium bicarbonate and potassium chloride are supporting cast.
The second is that we'd rather be honest about the category than inflate it. Plenty of hydration brands built their marketing on the idea that you're chronically depleted and need rescuing. You're mostly not. If you're sitting at a desk drinking water and feeling fine, you don't have a mineral deficiency, and no drink is going to unlock a version of you that's been trapped behind inadequate sodium.
What SÜTHE is for is narrower and more honest: the hours where you want steady focus without caffeine, and you'd rather that drink hydrate you properly than not.
The short version
Daily electrolyte supplementation is unnecessary for most people who eat normally and exercise moderately. It's genuinely useful during long or hot exercise, illness, heavy sweating, and on low-carb diets. And if flavored water is the thing that gets you drinking more, that's a legitimate reason on its own, just don't confuse it with correcting a deficiency.
See exactly what's in every can, and how much.
Sources referenced
Close, G. (Professor of Sports Nutrition, Liverpool John Moores University), interviewed on BBC's Sliced Bread regarding everyday electrolyte use.
Loafman, M. (Chair of Family Medicine, Cook County Health) and Lipman, G. (Emergency Medicine, Washington Hospital Healthcare), quoted in Axios, August 2023, on daily electrolyte supplementation.
Beer, J., DO (Sports Medicine, University Hospitals), July 2024, on sweat composition and when supplementation helps.
Collegiate and Professional Sports Dieticians Association, on sodium loss during endurance exercise.
NIQ consumer research data on electrolyte powder sales growth.
This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. If you have kidney disease, heart conditions, or take medication affecting fluid balance, talk to your doctor before adding electrolyte supplements.