Electrolyte Imbalance

Our electrolytes are made up of acids, bases, or salts. Common electrolytes are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, phosphate, and bicarbonate. Electrolyte balance is necessary for basic life functioning, like fluid balance , waste removal, and blood pressure.

Maintaining our electrolytes is a balancing act. Levels that are too high or too low, can disrupt normal body functions and lead to life-threatening problems.

Sodium

Sodium helps your cells maintain the proper balance of fluids. Too much sodium causes potassium levels to fall too low. This can easily happen if you eat a lot of restaurant food or processed food products. Excess sodium can cause sleeping problems, restlessness, and rapid breathing.

Drinking too much water can cause sodium to be diluted. Low sodium can cause headaches, nausea, confusion, seizures, and delirium.

Potassium

Potassium works in tandem with sodium, and is critical for heart function. Low potassium causes heart arrythmias, weakness, fatigue, excessive thirst, frequent urination, dizziness, passing out when standing up too fast, or muscle twitching. This commonly occurs due to chronic diarrhea or vomiting, laxative abuse, bowel diversion surgery, or taking insulin intravenously.

Too much potassium can cause heart arrythmias, muscle cramps, muscle weakness, inability to move muscles, or break down of muscle tissue.

Calcium

Calcium sends messages to the nerves, controls muscles, and manages heart rhythm. Absorption of calcium can be hindered by deficiencies in vitamin D and magnesium as well as hypoparathyroidism.

Low calcium can cause cardiac arrhythmias, confusion, behavior changes, muscle cramps, loss of muscle control, spasms in throat muscles making it difficult to speak, brittle nails, dry, scaly skin, and coarse hair.

Too much calcium can be due to hyperparathyroidism, taking excessive amounts of vitamin A, vitamin D, or calcium supplements . Medications, like thiazide diuretics and lithium can elevate calcium to unhealthy levels. Excessive calcium can cause headaches, fatigue, confusion, constipation, abdominal pain, vomiting, urinary frequency, kidney stones, kidney failure, arrythmias, and pain in bones and joints.

Calcium that is not properly absorbed ends up in the blood. Whether there is more calcium than the body can use or it is not being absorbed properly due to other nutritional deficiencies, any calcium not used can be deposited into other areas. This can result in clogged arteries due to calcium deposits. It can also cause hardening of the arteries and heart valves, calcified pineal gland, or kidney stones.

Magnesium

Magnesium helps to turn nutrients into energy. Low magnesium keeps water from making it into the cells, causing loss of energy. This imbalance can be a result of alcohol use disorder, gastrointestinal problems, or excessive loss of protein, electrolytes, or fluids through urination.

Low magnesium can lead to abnormal heartbeats, seizures, loss of muscle control, and muscle twitching. It can also cause difficulty breathing and cardiac arrest. Certain medications, like omeprazole, can cause magnesium to be depleted.

Too much magnesium can be caused by taking excessive magnesium supplements, laxatives, or antacids. It can cause nausea, vomiting, facial flushing, low blood pressure, muscle weakness, irregular heartbeats, and trouble breathing. If the magnesium levels go too high, it can result in toxicity and even death.

Bicarbonate

Carbon dioxide not exhaled by your lungs is turned into bicarbonate. Bicarbonate keeps the body's pH balanced. Acidosis is the state of low bicarbonate where the blood is too acidic. Bicarbonate can be lost due to diarrhea resulting in nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and confusion.

Alkalosis is the state of excess bicarbonate where the blood is too alkaline. This can cause confusion, irregular heartbeat, and muscle twitching.

Chloride

Chloride is one of the most abundant ions in our bodies. It is necessary to control fluid balance in the cells and outside of the cells. It also plays a part in keeping the body's pH balanced.

Loss of bicarbonate through diarrhea can cause excess chloride in the body, leading to acidosis (see bicarbonate). It can also be caused by too much potassium. When this happens, it can cause severe kidney problems or kidney failure.

Low chloride can result from vomiting, low sodium, or excess water gain as seen in congestive heart failure. This can result in symptoms of alkalosis (see bicarbonate). It can also occur due to low potassium. When this happens, diarrhea, leakage of fluids from the pancreas, and serious urinary tract problems can occur.

Phosphate

Phosphate transports chemical compounds and molecules outside the cells. An imbalance can result from poor diet, gastrointestinal problems, and kidney disorders. It is regulated by vitamin D3, along with calcium.

Having too much phosphate can lead to low calcium. Symptoms of excessive phosphate do not usually manifest until it is severe, which is associated with excessive itching.

Low phosphate levels can lead to muscle weakness, heart weakness, trouble breathing, seizures, and break down of muscle tissues, which can lead to kidney damage.

Nourish Your Body

As you can see, the body is amazingly complex and, when properly nourished, runs like a well-oiled machine. When it doesn't get what it needs, chaos ensues. Eating a whole-food diet of mostly meat, fruit, raw milk, and fermented vegetables can greatly enhance your health and balance nutritional deficiencies. As long as there is breath in your lungs, it is not too late to change your health.

Dehydration

Dehydration can occur with excessive loss of fluids like excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea. This can greatly affect the electrolyte balance in the body. To avoid dehydration, drink plenty of water with minerals. You can use mineral drops or add 1/4 teaspoon of mineral salt to 32oz of water. This can help your body maintain proper electrolyte balance.

Do not use white, bleached, refined salt. This will hurt you, not help you. Mineral salt like Redmond's Real Salt has over 60 minerals in it. Your white table salt has nothing beneficial.

For more information on electrolytes or if you have other questions, message me!

Resources

1) Shrimanker, I., & Bhattarai, S. (2023, July 24). Electrolytes. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541123/

2) Mph, C. M. R. (2025, February 13). What happens to your body when your electrolytes are low. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-happens-when-your-body-is-low-on-electrolytes-8758873

3) Cafasso, J. (2024, November 25). Hyperchloremia (High chloride levels). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/hyperchloremia#causes

4) Hypocalcemia. (2025, July 21). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23143-hypocalcemia

5) Hypercalcemia - Symptoms and causes. (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypercalcemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355523

6) Barhum, L. (2025, April 9). Can you take too much magnesium? Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-you-take-too-much-magnesium-8572128

7) Electrolytes: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002350.htm

8) Professional, C. C. M. (2025a, April 25). Electrolytes. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes