The Most Nourishing Way to Stay Hydrated All Summer Long

Make this ultra-hydrating electrolyte drink with everyday herbs.

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Ok, so tricks aside, this hydrating electrolyte drink is actually an herbal tea. But it’s an herbal tea that’s made with the most naturally electrolyte-rich herbs. Naturally sweetened and jazzed up with a squeeze of fresh lemon, this herbal tea blows any store-bought electrolyte drink out of the proverbial water! ( I’m looking at you, Gatorade!) Here’s how to make an electrolyte drink that’s easy, more affordable, and totally, hands-down 100% good for you.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I can never drink enough water. No matter how many liquids I drink, I think these Florida summers just suck all the moisture right out from the inside of your body and leave it in a thick layer of sweat on the outside.

TMI? Sorry… it’s just part of life down here in the Sunshine State.

Dehydration is dangerous, and the easiest thing we can do to help prevent it is to drink plenty of fluids and eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The high mineral content in whole foods is the ultimate source of electrolytes.

Isn’t that just the answer to everything? Eat more fruits and vegetables. But I’ll add to that: drink more herbal teas too.

What are electrolytes?

Electrolytes are essential minerals key to so many bodily functions. These minerals, when dissolved in water, produce charged ions that enable the flow of electrical signals throughout the body.

Every day, we lose valuable electrolytes as a normal part of having a human body. We lose them in normal everyday “activities” such as sweating and urinating. But we can also experience increased electrolyte loss with diarrhea or vomiting when we’re sick.

Luckily, we can usually gain these electrolytes back through the foods we eat. Hence, eat more fruits and vegetables.

The 5 main electrolytes found in the body are:

• sodium
• potassium
• calcium
• magnesium
• chloride

What do electrolytes do?

To simplify it, electrolytes essentially keep us alive. They not only help us to absorb fluids and stay hydrated, but electrolytes also help to regulate body pH, brain function, and other important bodily functions such as muscle contractions.

Here are some examples of how electrolytes work in our bodies:

• Calcium ions help to transmit nerve signals, are important in blood clotting, as well as teeth and bone formation, and also aid muscle contraction.
• Chloride ions help to regulate osmotic pressure in the body, as well as how much water our bodies retain. They also aid the secretion of stomach acid for better digestion.
• Potassium ions help to contract muscles, including the heart.
• Magnesium ions help to activate enzymes essential to bodily functions.

About The Herbs Used To Make This Electrolyte Drink

This homemade electrolyte drink relies on mineral-rich herbs to help replenish all those electrolytes you lose every day. Maybe you enjoy lots of intense exercise or have a job that requires a lot of physical labor. Maybe you’re recovering from the flu or your child is recovering from a stomach bug. Or maybe it’s just summer and sitting still is enough to make you sweat profusely for long periods of time.

Regardless of the reason, we could all use a little extra help sometimes and this easy-to-make electrolyte tea is a handy herbal pantry staple to be able to grab whenever you need it.

Here’s a little bit about the herbs used in this tea:

The Health Benefits of Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) shines brightest as a serious antiviral and calming, but uplifting mild sedative or nerve tonic. It’s included in this electrolyte drink recipe not only for its mineral content but also for its delicious taste.

However, the health benefits of lemon balm don’t stop there. Lemon balm is also an antioxidant, a carminative that helps to support healthy digestion, a mild antidepressant, and more.

The Health Benefits of Rosehips

Rosehips are the fruit of the rose (Rosa spp.) and are incredibly high in vitamin C and antioxidants and are particularly nourishing to the digestive system.

Rosehips can help protect against inflammation in the digestive system, helping us to better absorb vitamins and minerals (including electrolytes), thus helping to prevent dehydration.

The Health Benefits of Elderflower

Elderflower is the sweetest little precursor to the immune-boosting elderberry (Sambucus spp.). They’re anti-inflammatory, can help to ease stress and anxiety by helping to soothe the nervous system (nervine), and can also help to soothe irritated and inflamed internal tissues (demulcent).

In this electrolyte drink, elderflower helps to promote hydration by decreasing stress and inflammation that may lead to poor vitamin and mineral absorption.

The Health Benefits of Stinging Nettle

Stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica) is often called “nature’s vitamin,” and it’s for good reason. The impressive health benefits of stinging nettle make this a beloved herb by herbalists everywhere. Due to its high mineral content, stinging nettle is considered to be a nutritive tonic and an alkalinizing agent that helps to regulate body pH.

The Health Benefits of Chickweed

When spring comes in to rescue up from a long winter, chickweed is often one of the first wild edible weeds to pop up. It’s as if nature knows that we’ve been starved of mineral-rich foods, living on winter squash and potatoes for months, and are in serious need of some mineral-rich greens.

Enter chickweed.

Like stinging nettle, chickweed is a veritable nutrient powerhouse. It’s high in chlorophyll, vitamin C and B, and also provides more calcium and iron per serving than spinach. Chickweed is also especially high in magnesium, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, and potassium.

And in addition to being mineral-rich, chickweed actually contains plant compounds called saponins that further aid our ability to absorb its nutrients.

The Reason Salt Is Included In This Herbal Electrolyte Drink

When dissolved in water, salt breaks down into sodium and chloride ions, two of our main electrolytes. Boom! Saltwater is basically instant electrolytes!

Need I say more?

How to Make This Herbal Electrolyte Drink

This electrolyte drink recipe is adapted from Master Recipes from the Herbal Apothecary by JJ Pursell. And this recipe is as simple as making any herbal tea! In fact, this is an herbal tea!

In this recipe, I’m sharing how to make a quart of electrolyte drink that you can keep in your fridge and enjoy all day long or over the course of a few days.

This recipe makes enough for 6 quart-sized batches of electrolyte-rich herbal tea.

Equipment Needed

• Kitchen Scale or Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Quart-Sized Glass Jar (for brewing)
• Fine-Mesh Strainer
• Airtight Storage Container (for your herbal tea blend)

Ingredients

• 1 oz. (~2/3 cup) Lemon Balm, dried
• 1/2 oz. (2 tablespoons) Rosehips, dried, cut and sifted
• 1/4 oz. (1/4 cup) Elderflowers, dried
• 1/4 oz. (1/2 cup) Stinging Nettle, dried
• 1/4 oz. (~7 tablespoons) Chickweed, dried
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
• Water
• Slices of Fresh Lemon
• Optional: Sweetener of Choice (honey, maple syrup, or your favorite herbal syrup)

Method

1. Blend all herbs and salt together. Weigh or measure out all the herbs. Combine together in a small mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
2. Make a cold infusion with this herbal electrolyte blend. Add 1/4 cup of the herb blend to your jar and fill the jar to the top with cold or room temperature water.
3. Add a few slices of lemon. The acidity of the fresh lemon slices will help extract more electrolytes from the mineral-rich herbs. Plus, citrus itself is full of its own electrolytes.
4. I generally use a 1/4″ thick lemon slice per cup of water (4 slices per quart of water). Pop the slices in the jar and then screw the lid on tightly and give it a few shakes to make sure all the herbs are exposed to the water.
5. Let infuse for 8–12 hours or overnight. Set the jar of tea in the fridge and allow to infuse for 8–12 hours or overnight. The longer you let the tea infuse, the more minerals (ie. electrolytes!) will be extracted from the herbs. In the summer, I get into the habit of making this tea before I go to bed. That way I can strain it in the morning and have it ready for the day (or the next couple of days).
6. Strain. Use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the herbs. You can strain it directly into another clean, quart-sized glass jar or first into a 4-cup glass measuring cup before transferring it to a clean glass jar for storage.
7. Start replenishing those electrolytes! Pour a cup of the tea into a drinking glass, add ice and the sweetener of choice if desired. (Or get real herbal fancy and sweeten your electrolyte drink with homemade lavender syrup!)

Stay hydrated, y’all! For more detailed information, visit the original article at https://www.botanyculture.com.

DISCLAIMER: The information given in this article is intended for educational purposes only. Always consult with your healthcare practitioner before consuming certain herbs & medicinal foods, especially if pregnant, nursing, or taking any prescription medications.