I love drinking beer after a run. It's also good to drink electrolytes after a run.
Is it possible to add electrolytes to beer? How would you do it?
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2 Answers
Electrolytes are just dissolved salts, where the ions can help transmit an electrical charge through the liquid. So adding some table salt to your beer would be a way to add electrolytes.
That said, drinking alcohol will dehydrate you, so added electrolytes might not actually help. If you are feeling thirsty after your run, it would be best to drink water (with or without added elecrolytes) rather than replacing water with beer. Save the beer until after you've rehydrated.
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Here here! Also, your body goes through electrolytes much slower than it goes through water, so you probably don't need to actually replenish them. Unless you're exercising for more than an hour, you can just drink regular water with no added electrolytes. Feb 5, 2014 at 5:00
Beer already contains electrolytes, which are disassociated metal salts (the compound splits into positive and negatively-charged ions.)
In beer, Calcium (Ca), Pootassium (K), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (F) and Sodium (Na) ions are found in quite high levels
Mineral content in a 25 cl glass of lager or light beer, average values.
+------------+----+------+----+----+----+----+------+-------+-------+-----+
| 1 glass | Ca | Fe | Mg | F | K | Na | Zn | Cu | Mn | Se |
+------------+----+------+----+----+----+----+------+-------+-------+-----+
| | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mg | mcg |
| Lager | 18 | 0,10 | 21 | 43 | 89 | 18 | 0,07 | 0,032 | 0,043 | 4,3 |
| Light beer | 18 | 0,14 | 18 | 42 | 64 | 11 | 0,11 | 0,085 | 0,057 | 4,2 |
+------------+----+------+----+----+----+----+------+-------+-------+-----+
(source)
If you wanted to increase the electrolyte level, you could experiment with adding small amounts (e.g. 1/8tsp) of these salts, since they also have an effect on the taste of the beer (so makes for an interesting taste experiment!):
- Calcium Chloride (CaCl) - rounds out and softens the beer emphasizing the malt
- Calcium Sulphate (CaSO4) - makes the hop bitterness crisper
However, eating some commonly available foods is even more effective at replenishing electrolyte levels, simply because they contain so many, and is better for you than the typical sports drink that contains a lot of sugar to cover the taste of the salts.
Also keep in mind, that beer is a diuretic, so you should drink water prior to and after drinking beer to avoid further dehydration after your exercise.
