The science
The science of sodium
Sodium gets a bad reputation, but it is essential to how your body holds fluid and functions. Here is the science, and how to get the right amount.
How it works
The right amount, measured
Most of the sodium in a typical diet comes from processed food you cannot measure. A serving of Saltivate is a known, consistent dose of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, with zero sugar.
How much sodium is ideal?
Too much sodium, the kind in processed and fast food, can raise blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney issues.
Too little sodium is also a problem. It regulates nerve and muscle function, fluid balance, and blood pressure. Run low and you get muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue, and at the extreme, hyponatremia: dangerously low blood sodium.
So what is the ideal sodium intake? A 2011 JAMA study by O’Donnell and colleagues found a J-shaped curve: cardiovascular risk rises at both very high and very low sodium levels. The healthy range sits in the middle.
Our story
What the data shows
This chart from the JAMA study plots 24-hour urinary sodium against cardiovascular events: death, stroke, heart attack, and hospitalization for heart failure.
Both ends of the curve carry risk; the goal is the middle.
Why it matters
What sodium does in your body
Nerve and muscle function
Sodium helps nerves fire and muscles contract; running low shows up as cramps and weakness.
Fluid balance
Sodium regulates how much water your body holds, which is why plain water alone can leave you flat.
Blood pressure regulation
Both too much and too little sodium disrupt healthy blood pressure regulation.
Signs you are low
Muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue are the common signals of inadequate sodium.
How much sodium do you lose in sweat?
Whole-body sweat carries roughly 230 to 1,600mg of sodium per liter, measured across athletes, and heavy sweaters sit near the top of that range (Baker, Sports Medicine, 2017). Sweat hard, especially in heat or humidity, and you lose meaningful sodium. Water alone does not replenish it, and a low-sodium diet widens the gap.
Those losses are easy to underestimate. Our founder can finish a hard workout two pounds lighter than he started, all of it sweat, and sweat carries sodium out along with the water. The free sodium loss calculator lets you put a number on your own sessions.
That gap is what Saltivate is built for: 800mg of sodium per serving to replace what you lose through sweat, plus 240mg of potassium and 60mg of magnesium. See how brands stack up on our electrolyte powder comparison, or read the story behind the formula on our about page.
Why zero sugar?
Most diets already carry more sugar than anyone needs, so we left it out.
Sugar does have a real job in medical rehydration drinks, the kind used during illness and emergencies. It accelerates sodium absorption, and in a medical setting that speed matters.
Replacing the sodium you lose in sweat is a simpler job. It works without sugar, so every serving of Saltivate contains 0g.
Formulation
What's in it, and why
Sweetness comes from Reb M, made by fermenting rice, with no stevia leaf and no stevia aftertaste. Potassium comes as potassium citrate, a form we chose for its milder taste. We work with formulation and quality specialists so every detail on the label holds up.
Flavored Saltivate carries a light sweetness and gentle flavoring. Raw Unflavored drops both entirely. It is plain, and it still changes what you mix it into: 800mg of sodium noticeably seasons a drink, and that salty edge works especially well in chocolate, peanut butter, and banana.
Sources
The research behind this page
Baker (2017), sweating rate and sweat sodium concentration in athletes, Sports Medicine
FDA, Sodium in Your Diet: the 2,300mg Daily Value
By the Saltivate team. Updated August 2026.
Go deeper
Check the work
The evidence behind the formula, published where you can read it.
Put it to work
Hydration backed by the science
The sodium, potassium, and magnesium your body loses through sweat, in one measured serving. Over 1,000,000 drinks served since launch. Mix any four full-size and the fourth is free.
