What are the best electrolytes for POTS?

drink wholesome makes the best electrolyte drinks for POTS.

Written by Jack Schrupp & endorsed by Baylee Reller, RDN

What is POTS? 

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POTS stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. It is a medical condition that primarily affects the autonomic nervous system, leading to an abnormal increase in heart rate when a person moves from lying down to standing up.

Normally, when you stand up, your body compensates for the change by increasing your heart rate slightly to maintain blood flow to the brain and other organs. In people with POTS, this increase is excessive, often to the tune of 30 beats per minute or more.

POTS patients usually have a normal heart. Their symptoms arise from a combination of: 1) a lower amount of blood in the circulation 2) excessive pooling of blood below the level of the heart when upright and 3) elevated levels of certain hormones such as epinephrine.

What are electrolytes? 

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Electrolytes are minerals like sodium, potassium, and calcium that carry an electric charge. They are found in bodily fluids like blood and urine, and play a crucial role in nerve and muscle function, blood pressure regulation, and other physiological processes. Maintaining the right balance of electrolytes is crucial for overall health.

Why are electrolytes important for people with POTS?

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First of all, increasing electrolyte intake has been shown to decrease tachycardia (high resting heart rate) in people with POTS, as a result of increased blood pressure through increasing blood volume. Electrolytes, particularly sodium, can increase blood volume by influencing fluid retention in the body.

Many people with POTS have issues maintaining fluid balance due to a condition called hypovolemia – a state of abnormally low extracellular fluid. Electrolytes can help these people by directing fluids to the tissues that need them the most through a process called osmosis. During osmosis, water moves through the wall of a cell membrane from a dilute solution (more water and fewer electrolytes) toward a more concentrated solution (less water and more electrolytes).

Finally, people with POTS experience a host of gastrointestinal (GI) issues, including vomiting and diarrhea. Both these symptoms involve the loss of fluid containing electrolytes, which can lead to severe dehydration. For these individuals, replenishing electrolytes as quickly as possible is extremely important

As you can see, POTS patients often need to intake significant amounts of extra electrolytes. Eating foods rich in electrolytes like bananas (potassium), leafy greens (magnesium), dairy products (calcium) can help, but it is often not enough. This is where electrolyte drinks come to the rescue. Be careful, however, because not all electrolyte drinks are created equal.

What are the best POTS electrolytes?

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Many electrolyte drinks are made with ingredients that can cause painful GI side effects and long term health problems. Some of the top offenders include fake sweeteners, fake flavors, and food additives like anti-caking agents, colors, and preservatives.

Ingredients like these look nothing like real food, which makes them hard to digest. As a result, they can cause symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, and stomach pain. They can also disrupt your gut microbiome — the collection of microorganisms living in your gut. An unhealthy gut microbiome is a leading driver of inflammation, and linked to the development of several chronic diseases. I do not know about you, but this is not a risk I am willing to take.

It follows that the best POTS electrolytes are made with a short list of simple ingredients. The fewer the ingredients, and the more the ingredients look like real food, the less likely it is that your electrolyte drink will compromise your gut health.

Why drink wholesome?

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Available in strawberry and blueberry flavors, our hydration powders are hands down the electrolytes for pots POTS. We use only simple ingredients like real fruit, coconut water, maple sugar, and sea salt, all of which are easy to digest. 

our ingredients: 

blueberries, coconut water, maple sugar, sea salt

the alternative:

SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CITRIC ACID, SALT, SODIUM CITRATE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, MONOPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM SILICATE, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, CARAMEL COLOR, RED 40

In case you were wondering, the coconut water and sea salt provide most of the electrolytes, and the fruit and maple sugar help transport these electrolytes to the tissues that need them the most. This is a natural way to hydrate, and completely safe for people with POTS. 

A homemade electrolyte drink for POTS.

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Ingredients: 

-1 tbsp strawberry hydration powder

-4 oz water 

-carbonated beverage of choice (we like Olipop) 

-2 lime wedges

-ice

Instructions : 

Mix the hydration powder into the water. Top off the glass with the carbonated beverage, squeeze in some fresh lime juice, and add ice. Add ice, and enjoy delicious hydration and electrolytes for POTS.