Quick answer

There is no single electrolyte dose. Adults need 2,600 to 3,400 mg of potassium and 310 to 420 mg of magnesium a day, and should keep sodium under the 2,300 mg Daily Value. Exercise lasting over about 2 hours, or done in heat, adds roughly 300 to 600 mg of sodium an hour.^1,2,3,4

Key facts

Americans already eat about 3,400 mg of sodium a day, roughly 1,100 mg over the Daily Value.³
No upper limit is set for potassium in healthy people, but potassium-only supplements usually stop at 99 mg a serving.⁵
The 350 mg upper limit for magnesium counts supplements and medicines only, not food.²
Athletes typically sweat 0.5 to 2 liters an hour, and average sweat holds about 1 g of sodium per liter.^4,6

Daily amounts for adults

The Daily Value for sodium is less than 2,300 mg a day, about the sodium in 1 teaspoon of table salt. Americans eat about 3,400 mg a day on average.³

Men need 3,400 mg of potassium a day and women 2,600 mg, rising to 2,900 mg in pregnancy and 2,800 mg while breastfeeding.^1,5

Men need 400 to 420 mg of magnesium a day and women 310 to 320 mg, from food and supplements together.²

The adequate intake for chloride is 2.3 g a day from age 14 to 50, 2.0 g from 51 to 70 and 1.8 g from age 71.⁷

These are totals from everything you eat and drink in a day. A drink mix only adds to them, so the useful question is what a mix adds on top of your normal diet, not whether one serving reaches these numbers by itself.

Sodium is the one to watch. Its figure is a ceiling rather than a target, and the average American passes it before any drink: at about 3,400 mg a day, intake runs roughly 1,100 mg over the Daily Value.³

During long or sweaty exercise

Guidance for these situations is about 300 to 600 mg of sodium an hour.⁴

Athletes typically sweat about 0.5 to 2 liters an hour, and whole-body sweat holds roughly 230 to 1,600 mg of sodium per liter, so losses differ several-fold from person to person.⁶

The hourly figure exists because sweat drains sodium faster than food replaces it during a long event. Average sweat holds about 1 g of sodium per liter, so someone losing 1.5 liters an hour for three hours could lose around 4,500 mg, though real losses vary several-fold.^4,6

To estimate your own losses, weigh yourself before and after a typical session, allowing for what you drank and any bathroom stops. Position stands recommend this because sweat rates differ so much from person to person.^6,8

Rough sodium losses at average sweat sodium (about 1 g per liter)^4,6
Sweat rate	One hour	Three hours
0.5 liter an hour	About 500 mg	About 1,500 mg
1 liter an hour	About 1,000 mg	About 3,000 mg
2 liters an hour	About 2,000 mg	About 6,000 mg

Guidance does not ask you to replace all of it as you go. The hourly target of 300 to 600 mg covers part of the loss, and meals afterwards make up the rest.^4,9,10

Reading an electrolyte label

A Supplement Facts panel lists the amount of the mineral itself, such as elemental potassium, not the weight of the whole compound.⁵

FDA counts a serving with 20% or more of the Daily Value for sodium as high in sodium, and 5% or less as low.³

A quick way to judge a mix is to compare its sodium with 460 mg, the point at which FDA calls a serving high, and with how much you expect to sweat. A serving with 1,000 mg suits a long, hot session; on a rest day it is mostly extra salt.³

Check the mixing directions as well. Sodium above about 1,000 mg per liter of finished drink tastes very salty, so a high-sodium scoop in a small glass can be hard to finish.⁴

How much is too much

Sodium: the Daily Value is less than 2,300 mg a day from all sources. Potassium: no upper limit is set for healthy people with normal kidney function, because the kidneys pass the excess, though very large amounts from supplements or salt substitutes can still raise blood potassium. Magnesium: 350 mg a day for adults from supplements and medicines, not counting food.^2,3,5

Most of the risk sits with sodium, because the starting point is already high. Adding a 1,000 mg serving every day takes an average intake of about 3,400 mg to about 4,400 mg, and diets high in sodium raise the risk of high blood pressure.³

Potassium has no set limit for people with healthy kidneys, but kidney disease and medicines such as ACE inhibitors, ARBs and potassium-sparing diuretics change that, and even ordinary food amounts can then push blood potassium too high.⁵

For magnesium, diarrhea, nausea and cramping are the usual signs of too much from supplements.²

What's in ours

What’s in ours

Creatine + Electrolytes: Sodium, 1,000 mg per serving, from the label

One scoop of Creatine + Electrolytes has 1,000 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium and 60 mg of magnesium. Against the Daily Values of 2,300 mg, 4,700 mg and 420 mg, that is 43%, 4% and 14%.^3,5,11

Who should check the amounts with a doctor

Anyone told to limit salt or potassium
People with kidney disease, heart failure or high blood pressure
People taking a water pill, a blood pressure medicine, lithium or a medicine that raises potassium
Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, when needs for potassium and magnesium change^1,2

Questions people ask

How much electrolytes per day is too much?

For sodium, anything that keeps you above the 2,300 mg Daily Value day after day. For magnesium, more than 350 mg a day from supplements. Potassium has no set limit for healthy kidneys, but large amounts from supplements or salt substitutes can still raise blood potassium.^2,3,5

How much sodium should an electrolyte drink have?

It depends on the job. Typical sports drinks hold about 230 to 690 mg per liter. For long events the target is about 300 to 600 mg an hour, and drinks above about 1,000 mg per liter get hard to drink.⁴

Do I need more electrolytes when it is hot?

If you are active in the heat for a long time, yes. You sweat more, and guidance for exercise in heat or beyond about 2 hours is about 300 to 600 mg of sodium an hour, along with enough fluid.^4,12

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Sources

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.