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Home » Drinks » Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Published: May 17, 2023 by Dora · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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Whether it's a cold, flu, stomach bug, or you simply need to rehydrate after heavy exercise, you can make your own homemade electrolyte drink with simple natural ingredients to get you back on your feet.

*This post has been written by Dora Babic-Cikos, PhD Nutritional Science

portrait view of the diy electrolyte drink

If you like healthy drinks full of nutrients you can check out our How To Make Strawberry Juice, Healthy Blueberry Spinach Smoothie or the Detox Apple Spinach Smoothie with Lemon.

Jump to:
  • What are Electrolyte drinks? 
  • Store-bought Rehydration drinks 
  • Natural Homemade Electrolyte Drink 
  • How to make ORS at home - ingredients
  • How to make a healthy electrolyte drink? Step-by-step
  • Substitutions for a DIY electrolyte drink
  • Variations and add-ins for your electrolyte beverage
  • What equipment do you need for your DIY electrolyte drink
  • How to store homemade ORS
  • Homemade electrolytes top tips 
  • FAQ
  • MORE RELATED RECIPES
  • Homemade Electrolyte Drink
  • Comments

What are Electrolyte drinks? 

Electrolytes are essential minerals found in the bodily fluids - blood, sweat, urine and other bodily fluids. And therefore they are also easily lost through those fluids. 

Key electrolytes in the body include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, sulphate and bicarbonate. 

Drinks with electrolytes are a great way to recover from an electrolyte imbalance (which can lead to muscle cramps) and loss of fluids to make sure you are giving back to your body what it has lost. 

You can find a large variety of different electrolyte drinks on the market. Whether it's electrolytes drinks from grocery stores that are already in their liquid form or pharmacy-bought powders such as Pedialyte powder. 

Electrolyte drinks can also be found under the name of oral rehydration solutions (ORS). 

Store-bought Rehydration drinks 

The thing with store-bought electrolyte drinks is that besides having electrolytes and fluids, they also very often have harmful ingredients such as artificial colors, artificial ingredients or artificial flavors. And they don't taste that great very often. 

And I really want to avoid those even for myself, let alone for my kids. So it was only natural to develop a natural electrolyte drink recipe that will not only do the job but also taste good. 

Natural Homemade Electrolyte Drink 

Natural electrolyte drinks are really easy to make and you already probably have all the required ingredients laying around in your kitchen anyway. 

The key is to ensure the body gets enough salt but also you'd want it to taste good so a fair amount of sweetness is necessary. 

To avoid your homemade electrolytes tasting and looking bland, you'd want to add some natural juices. Those can add to the vitamin and overall nutrient content of your healthy electrolyte drink as well. 

How to make ORS at home - ingredients

ingredients on white background - oranges, lemons, honey, salt and water

Making homemade electrolytes is fairly easy and quick using our simple recipe. You just need a few fresh ingredients to get you started: 

  • water
  • fresh fruit juice - lemon and orange are the best option in my opinion, they are high in vitamin C. In this case you are making your own from fresh lemons and oranges. 
  • salt - pink himalayan salt is always my first choice 
  • sweetener -I am an advocate of natural raw honey

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make a healthy electrolyte drink? Step-by-step

collage fo 4 process shots

You can make your own electrolyte drink at home really easily using simple ingredients and following this easy recipe.

  1. Make orange and lemon juice out of the oranges and lemons in a citrus juicer or juicer.
  2. Combine all ingredients in a blender or simply stir in a jar.
  3. Store in jars in the fridge or in small portions in the freezer.
  4. Serve in a glass or pop it into your water bottle. 

Substitutions for a DIY electrolyte drink

Even though salt is one of the main things you need for your natural electrolyte drink, and it is not to be substituted, other ingredients can be changed to better accommodate what you have at home. 

  • Lemon juice - instead of lemon juice you can just increase the amount of orange juice or substitute it with lime juice 
  • Orange juice - orange juice can be substituted with pretty much any other fruit juice that has some sweetness to it. Kiwi, pineapple or even apple juice can be a good choice. 
  • Honey - even though I always tend to use raw honey as the most natural sweetener, if you are vegan or just don't have and/or want to avoid honey, you can use any other sweetener of choice. Pure Maple syrup, coconut sugar or even refined sugar as the very last resort can be used. 
  • Salt - I prefer to use himalayan salt but just in case that is not an option for you for whatever reason you can also use table salt, Celtic sea salt or other
homemade electrolyte drink in a glass with cut up oranges and lemons in the background

Variations and add-ins for your electrolyte beverage

If you want to give your electrolyte drinks a different flavor and spice things up each time you make, you can use one of the suggestions to variations below. 

  • Herbs - to give it an extra taste add some fresh herbs such as parsley, mint and or basil 
  • Fresh citrus fruit - to give it some extra taste, you can add some cut up citrus fruits such as orange, lime, grapefruit or lemon 
  • Ice cubes - for a cold drink especially during the summer months, add some ice cubes. 

What equipment do you need for your DIY electrolyte drink

Making a homemade electrolyte drink is easy with minimum equipment needed. 

If you are using solely orange and lemon juice (so citruses) then all you need is a good citrus juicer. I prefer the electric one (for obvious reasons) but a manual one will do the job just fine. 

If you are using any other fruit juice, then a juicer would be preferable. Another option could be blending the fruit with a good quality blender and then draining it through a cloth. 

How to store homemade ORS

  • fridge - store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir before serving. 
  • freezer - freeze in ice cube trays, silicone bags or glass containers and keep for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. 

Homemade electrolytes top tips 

If I was to give one tip for great and natural electrolyte drinks it would be to always use fresh juice. Not the store bought juices. That way you can be sure you are really using the most natural and original ingredients for your natural electrolytes. 

top down view of the drink

FAQ

Can I use a store-bought fruit juice?

I don't recommend using store-bought fruit juices just because making your own from fresh fruit at home is just so much healthier. But I do understand it might not always be convenient. So if you do need to buy it, make sure it is labelled as 100% fruit juice and with no added sugars.

How often should I give this electrolytes drink if my child has a cold?

If you're child is eating and drinking well with a cold, an oral rehydration drink might not be necessary. If however you see that they are not peeing as usual and are showing signs of dehydration then 1 serving per day should be enough.

How are homemade electrolyte drinks given for the stomach bug?

With excessive vomiting and if you or your child is unable to keep anything down, even water, then the electrolyte drinks need to be given slowly. To start it should be no more than 1 teaspoon every 15 minutes and then if it is tolerated well it can be gradually increased in the amount (e.g. 1 tablespoon) and frequency (every 5 minutes).

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If you've tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, please rate it and leave a comment below!

orange homemade electrolyte drink

Homemade Electrolyte Drink

Whether it's a cold, flu, stomach bug or you simply need to rehydrate after an extensive workout, this homemade electrolyte drink is the easiest and fastest recipe to get you back on your feet.
5 from 6 votes
Author: Dora
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 10 minutes mins
Servings 2 servings
Fridge Life? 3 days
Freezable? 3 months

EQUIPMENT

  • 1 Citrus juicer
  • 1 Juicer optional
  • 1 Blender optional

Ingredients

  • ½ cup orange juice approx. 3 oranges
  • ¼ cup lemon juice approx. 2 lemons
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon honey raw
  • ¼ teaspoon salt himalayan

Instructions
 

  • Make orange and lemon juice out of the oranges and lemons in a citrus juicer or juicer.
  • Combine all ingredients in a blender or simply stir in a jar.
  • Store in jars in the fridge or in small portions in the freezer.
  • Serve in a glass or pop it into your water bottle. 

Nutrition

Serving: 2gCalories: 67kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 298mgPotassium: 161mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 126IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 0.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jodie

    July 26, 2023 at 7:35 pm

    How much should an adult drink if they have flu symptoms and are very weak?

    Reply
    • Dora

      August 01, 2023 at 10:44 am

      Hi Jodie. Thank you for your question. There is no specific recommendation that can be generalized for everyone but it would be more of a case-by-case approach. Given that these are all natural ingredients the suggestion would be that you can follow the guidance to rehydrate with the drink tablespoon by tablespoon throughout the day until you are feeling more hydrated. But in case of severe flu symptoms and weakness it is always best to consult your doctor for a definite diagnosis before taking any action.

      Reply
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