Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge when they dissolve in water.

Think of them like spark plugs for your cells.

They’re essential for nearly every function in the body, regulating hydration, maintaining blood pressure, helping your nerves communicate properly, keeping your muscles, including your heart, contracting smoothly, balancing your body’s pH, and even transporting nutrients and removing waste.

Now, where these electrolytes live in the body also matters.

Sodium, chloride, calcium, and bicarbonate are mostly found in the fluid outside your cells.

Meanwhile, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate are stored inside the cells.

This separation is crucial because it helps maintain fluid balance and supports all those vital functions I just mentioned.

Here’s where things get tricky.

Our modern diet is heavily skewed toward sodium.

Table salt, which we use all the time in cooking and seasoning, is made up of 40% sodium and 60% chloride.

On average, a typical American diet delivers between 3 to 7 grams of sodium daily. That’s a lot more than the recommended limit.

To put this into perspective, the U.S. dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.

The global average?

It’s over 4,300 milligrams per day.

That’s more than double the World Health Organization’s ideal limit of 2,000 milligrams, or roughly one teaspoon of salt.

Getting enough sodium isn’t hard.

Even whole foods contain some. But the big problem comes from processed foods—things like deli meats, canned soups, packaged snacks, chips, dressings, and sauces.

These are all loaded with added sodium.

Now let’s talk about potassium, the often-neglected hero.

Most potassium lives inside our cells, and unlike sodium, you won’t find much of it in processed foods.

You’ll only get enough potassium from real, whole foods, bananas, leafy greens, avocados, legumes, beans, fruits, and vegetables.

For ideal health, you want your potassium-to-sodium ratio to be around three to one.

Unfortunately, for most people, this ratio is flipped. We’re getting way too much sodium and not nearly enough potassium.

When this balance is off, it can cause a range of issues, most notably, high blood pressure and water retention. And that’s just the beginning.

Elevated blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, gastric cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, and kidney disease.

In fact, it’s estimated that nearly 1.9 million deaths each year are linked to excessive sodium consumption.

The good news? There are simple steps you can take right now to reduce your sodium and bring your electrolytes back into balance.

Start by eating mostly fresh, minimally processed foods. Remove the salt shaker from the table.

When you cook, try using less or even no added salt. Use herbs, spices, lemon, and natural flavorings instead.

Switch out your regular table salt for a lower-sodium salt that contains potassium.

And limit your use of packaged sauces, dressings, and instant foods as much as possible.

At the same time, put a real focus on increasing your potassium intake.

Load up on fruits and vegetables, eat your dals and legumes, snack on bananas, and aim to get at least 3,000 milligrams of potassium per day—ideally even more.

If you stick to this for just 21 days, especially if you’re dealing with high blood pressure, you’ll likely see your numbers improve.

Your body will feel more balanced, your energy will improve, and your risk of chronic illness will begin to drop.

So don’t underestimate the power of these tiny minerals. Electrolytes may be small, but they play a massive role in your overall health.

Thank you

Stay healthy, stay fabulous.