Electrolyte Water vs Alkaline Water vs Mineral Water Vs Regular Water

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Testing Water Brands: Is Functional Enhanced Water Better For You?

On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m comparing the benefits of buying electrolyte water vs. alkaline water vs. mineral water vs regular water.

Towards the end of the post I’ll also perform a pH test on each brand of water.

The results are going to surprise you.

To be respectful of your time, I’ve included jump links to all the questions and answers in the table of contents below.

Table Of Contents: Jump Links

Is electrolyte water, alkaline water, mineral water, or pH balanced water better for you than regular water, or is it just a waste of money?

Let’s jump into it to break down the differences.

Electrolyte Water Benefits

What does drinking electrolytes do for your body?

The 7 primary electrolytes for health and hydration include:

1. Sodium (Na⁺): Regulates fluid balance and supports nerve and muscle function.
2. Potassium (K⁺): Maintains proper muscle contractions and heart rhythm.
3. Calcium (Ca²⁺): Strengthens bones and supports nerve signaling and muscle function.
4. Magnesium (Mg²⁺): Promotes energy production, muscle relaxation, and nerve function.
5. Chloride (Cl⁻): Aids in digestion and fluid balance by forming stomach acid.
6. Phosphate (HPO₄²⁻): Supports bone health and energy production through ATP.
7. Bicarbonate (HCO₃⁻): Helps maintain pH balance in the body.

Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are the 4 most crucial electrolytes for hydration, nerve and muscle function.

When you’re dehydrated, fasting, or sweating heavily, your electrolytes can drop, leading to fatigue, cramps, and dizziness.

Drinking electrolyte water helps maintain and replenish these essential minerals lost through sweat during intense workouts, better than plain water.

Adding electrolytes to water helps:

1. Maintain hydration by absorbing and retaining water.
2. Prevents muscle cramps.
3. Boosts performance by enhancing endurance, strength, and energy.
4. Improve recovery and reduce soreness.

Consider adding electrolytes to your water if you are:

• Working out intensely for over an hour
• Sweating a lot during exercise
• Sick with vomiting or diarrhea
• In the heat for extended periods
• Fasting over 16 hours

However, if you only engage in moderate physical activity, regular water may be sufficient for hydration, thus making the higher price of electrolyte water less justified.

Electrolyte Water Retention

Does drinking electrolyte water make you retain water and cause bloating?

One cause of bloating is often excessive sodium intake.

Therefore, if you’re consuming electrolyte water with more sodium than your body needs, it may contribute to bloating or puffiness.

However, when the ratio of sodium to other electrolytes like potassium and magnesium is properly balanced, these electrolytes play a key role in regulating water retention by moving water into cells and tissues, thus eliminating bloating.

Most moderately active people may typically benefit from electrolytes with 250-500 mg of sodium.

However, if you’re training intensely in hot areas for longer than an hour, you could go up to 1000 mg of sodium, since you lose a lot of sodium through sweat.

To support my body’s hydration needs with a balanced ratio of electrolytes, I try to stick close to the following ratios:

• Sodium To Potassium: 3:1 to 4:1 ratio
• Sodium To Magnesium: 10:1 to 20:1 ratio
• Sodium To Calcium: 10:1 to 20:1 ratio

Electrolyte Water And Drinks vs Water With Electrolytes Added For Taste

If you need to replenish your electrolytes, don’t fall for this.

When you’re looking for a good bottle of electrolyte water, you need to “turn and learn”.

In other words, don’t trust the labels on the front.

Even though bottled water may have electrolytes branded on the front of the label and listed in the ingredients, many of these brands typically only contain very small trace amounts of electrolytes added for taste only.

For example, these bottled water brands added trace amounts of electrolytes for taste not function:

• Smartwater
• VOSS+ Aquamin
• Core Hydration
• Essentia
• LifeWtr

In other words, it’s not suited to replenish your electrolytes.

Always turn and learn by reading the nutrition facts label to see the quantities of the 4 main electrolytes:

1. Sodium
2. Potassium
3. Magnesium
4. Calcium

If they’re not listed or you see, “electrolytes added for taste”, it’s should not be considered an electrolyte water.

Best Brands Of Electrolyte Water Drinks

Are you looking for the best ready to drink bottle of electrolyte water?

Here are the best brands of electrolyte water drinks.

1. BodyArmor Flash I.V. Rapid Rehydration Electrolyte Beverage

If you are a heavy sweater and train really hard, go with this BodyArmor Flash I.V. Rapid Rehydration electrolyte beverage.

It contains the most electrolytes and is higher in sodium then the other brands, which is essential for rehydration after a sweaty workout.

Electrolytes per 20 fl oz bottle:

• Sodium: 530 mg
• Potassium: 720 mg
• Magnesium: 65 mg
• Calcium: 80 mg

Even though it contains 15g of added sugar, you’ll more than use that for recovery after the workout.

Get BodyArmor Flash I.V. on Amazon here.

2. Essentia Hydroboost Enhanced Water Beverage

The next best electrolyte water option that is moderate in sodium is Essentia Hydroboost.

Electrolytes per 15.2 fl oz bottle:

• Sodium: 200 mg
• Potassium: 170 mg
• Magnesium: 30 mg
• Calcium: 0 mg

It contains a decent amount of electrolytes, contains no artificial sweeteners or colors, and is also lower in added sugar with only 5g.

Get Essentia Hydroboost on Amazon here.

3. Vita Coco Coconut Water

A more natural electrolyte drink option is coconut water.

Electrolytes per 16.9 fl oz:

• Sodium: 148 mg
• Potassium: 993 mg
• Magnesium: 40 mg
• Calcium: 61 mg

Even though it’s a little lower in sodium, I consider it nature’s natural electrolyte drink.

Get Vita Coco Coconut Water on Amazon here.

4. Prime Hydration Drink

At only 10mg of sodium, Prime is very low in sodium for an electrolyte sports drink option, however it is high in potassium and magnesium.

• Sodium: 10 mg
• Potassium: 700 mg
• Magnesium: 124 mg
• Calcium: 0 mg

Get Prime Hydration on Amazon here.

5. Gatorade’s Gatorlyte Rapid Rehydration

Lastly, even though Gatorade’s Gatorlyte Rapid Rehydration is packed with electrolytes, unfortunately I’m not a fan of it containing artificial color and artificial sweeteners.

Electrolytes per 20fl oz bottle:

• Sodium: 490 mg
• Potassium: 350 mg
• Magnesium: 105 mg
• Calcium: 120 mg

Get Gatorlyte Rapid Hydration on Amazon here.

Best Time To Drink Electrolyte Water

When is the best time to drink your electrolyte water?

For optimal benefits, drink electrolyte water:

• Before a workout to enhance hydration and prevent cramps.
• During exercise if you’re sweating heavily or working out for over an hour.
• After a workout to replenish lost electrolytes and support recovery.
• During periods of illness (e.g., vomiting or diarrhea).
• Extended fasting to maintain electrolyte balance.

For most people, regular water works at other times of the day.

Alkaline Water Benefits vs Regular Water

Is alkaline water really better than regular water?

Alkaline water is often promoted as offering several potential benefits compared to regular water due to its higher pH level, which is thought to help neutralize acid in the body.

Brands of alkaline water include:

• Essentia Water: pH of 9.5
• Smartwater Alkaline pH of 9+
• BodyArmor ph of 9+

Water marketed as “pH balanced” typically has a neutral pH around 7, meaning it is neither acidic nor alkaline, while regular water can vary, sometimes falling into slightly acidic ranges.

The health differences between pH-balanced water and regular water are relatively minimal for most people.

Alkaline water has a pH greater than 7, typically ranging from 7.5 to 9.0 or higher.

The water becomes alkaline when it reacts with the added minerals:

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Potassium

With a pH above 7, Alkaline water is often marketed as helping:

• Support bone health by reducing acidity in the body
• Enhance detoxification
• Improve hydration recovery after exercise

However, scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited, since research often indicates the body effectively regulates pH levels, thus it may not significantly impact pH levels.

Many health experts agree that for most people, drinking regular water is adequate for maintaining hydration without the need for alkaline enhancements.

However if you enjoy the taste of alkaline water, the extra cost could be worth it to you.

Alkaline Water Side Effects

What are the negatives of alkaline water?

Some people claim drinking alkaline water may have negative side effects on blood pH, medication absorption, and digestion.

However, scientific research shows that drinking alkaline water does not significantly alter blood pH, as the body tightly regulates its pH balance through natural processes.

Based on this, even though it is theorized that extreme changes in stomach pH could affect the absorption rate of certain medications, there is no conclusive scientific evidence that alkaline water causes interference with medication absorption.

Lastly, even though excessive consumption could potentially lead to minor issues like nausea or stomach discomfort in some individuals, there is also no conclusive scientific evidence proving that alkaline water causes digestive problems.

If you’re concerned with any of these potential side effects, it’s best to talk to your doctor.

Alkaline Water Test At Home

Are you wondering how to test the alkalinity of water?

An alkaline water test at home, also known as ph balance water test is a simple way to measure the pH level of your water, ensuring it’s in the 8.0-9.0 alkaline range.

You can use pH test strips or a digital pH meter to check the water’s alkalinity.

If your water’s pH is between 8 and 9, it’s considered alkaline.

To perform the test, dip the pH strip into the water, or use the digital meter to get an immediate reading.

Here’s an Amazon affiliate link to the pH Test strips I purchased from the brand Just Fitter on Amazon.

Let’s test the pH of each water brand:

• My Aquasana under sink filtration water system: neutral pH of 6-7
• Evian mineral water: neutral pH of 8 (they market a 7.2 pH on their label)
• Essentia alkaline water: neutral pH of 7 (even though it’s marketed as having a 9.5+ pH)
• Core pH balanced water: neutral pH of 7 (they market a 7.4 pH on their label)
• Sanpellegrino mineral water: neutral pH of 6-7

Based on my pH test results, Evian water showed the highest pH.

Since Essentia is marketed as having a 9.5+ pH, I re-tested it a second time and it came back with a pH of 7 again.

Mineral Water Benefits

Now, let’s talk about mineral water.

Compared to regular water and other bottled water, mineral water is sourced from natural springs which includes the natural electrolytes:

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Sodium

Popular brands of mineral water include:

• Sanpellegrino
• Fiji
• Evian
• Perrier

When comparing the mineral content, San Pellegrino is a carbonated mineral water that tends to be higher in minerals than Perrier, while Evian is a non carbonated brand of still water that tends to be higher in minerals than Fiji water.

Which is Better For You: Electrolyte Water, Alkaline Water, Mineral Water Or Just Regular Water?

The best water depends on your specific needs.

Regular water is sufficient for most people, keeping you hydrated and supporting overall health.

Electrolyte water is better during intense exercise or dehydration, as it replenishes lost electrolytes.

Mineral water offers natural minerals like calcium and magnesium, which support bone and muscle health.

Alkaline water is promotes as helping neutralize body acidity, however scientific evidence for these claims health is limited.

For most people, regular water is perfectly adequate, while electrolyte water or mineral water is ideal for specific hydration or nutritional needs.

Question Of The Day

Let me know in the comments:

• Do you typically drink regular water, electrolyte water, alkaline water, or mineral water?
• Which brand of each do you drink most?

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