Electrolytes

Electrolytes are minerals in your body that carry an electric charge. They are crucial for various bodily functions, including regulating nerve and muscle function, maintaining hydration levels, balancing blood pH, and supporting overall fluid balance. They play a vital role in ensuring proper communication between cells and maintaining optimal health. Electrolyte imbalances can lead to symptoms like muscle cramps, fatigue, weakness, and irregular heartbeat.

Electrolytes: The Unsung Heroes

• Instant hydration for mental and physical cellular health
• Reduces water retention around ankles, knees, face and hands
• Zero sugar, and no insulin spiking sweeteners or artificial flavours
• Provides a complete mineral profile for enhanced brain activity
• Avoid bloating and retaining water at altitude
• Replaces lost minerals from heat, exercise or poor diet

When your body is low on electrolytes, you may experience brain fog, a general of ‘meh’, dizziness, headaches, nausea, an irregular heartbeat, water retention, a thirst you struggle to quench, crampy or weak muscles, dry skin and hair, brittle nails.

You can make them at home: here's a recipe, or you can try ElectroTide, a completely natural electrolyte powder which comes in handy, single serving rehydration sachets, 3 delicious flavours: watermelon, cherry or citrus and which offers a complete mineral profile.

Apart from being used as a diuretic for millenia, this is a much loved extract of bodybuilders during ‘peak week’ when they are aiming to reach the zenith of their physical appearance for competitions.  Many of us have a diluted version of this hustle when we are aiming to maximise the discipline we apply to our ‘holiday’ body - it’s still us, but on a good day!  As is often the case with plants that have been used traditionally for eons, hard modern science lags a few eons behind.  Scientific articles end up calling for further scientific research when a plant shows promise in order for the scientific field of human experience to come to conclusions that we already empirically know from experience, as though an ancient plant extract just landed on the Earth for scientific study.  Of course our ingredients demand high levels of integrity, but, especially with more traditional natural ingredients, given their long-standing traditional use, we encourage self-experimentation:  get into a dialogue with your body and dandelion and your body will show and tell you all you need to know.

‘Based on these first human data, T. officinale ethanolic [dandelion] extract shows promise as a diuretic in humans. Further studies are needed to establish the value of this herb for induction of diuresis in human subjects.’

Study Link

Authors: Bevin A Clare, Richard S Conroy, Kevin Spelman

Further Reading...

The product is a traditional herbal medicinal product for use in the specified indications exclusively based upon long-standing use.

‘Traditional herbal medicinal product to increase the amount of urine to achieve flushing of the urinary tract as an adjuvant in minor urinary complaints.’ 

Study link

As you know, you don’t need to take our word alone when we vouch for our ingredient choices.  We respect the expertise of time-served professionals and this is the case with our ingredient choice horsetail.  While its name might take your mind to the swishing of ponytails, this herb medicine is an ancient plant that has been around long enough to be found in fossils.   It is certainly not the new kid (foal!) on the block and it might even be a magical unicorn when it comes to your waterworks with this little wonder loving nothing more than making you pee more.  At WillPowders, we don’t claim medicinal knowledge, it is worth noting that The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products concluded that there is a plausibility of horsetail: 

‘on the basis of its long-standing use, these horsetail preparations can be used in minor problems affecting the urinary tract (structures that carry urine) to increase the production of urine in order to achieve flushing of the urinary tract.’   

Study Link

More generally, we all understand that inflammation is at the root of many health problems.  When the body isn’t happy with something, it puts up its defenses.  That is an amazing thing for our bodies to do for us in the short term.  In the long term, over-engagement with the modern world bombardment of chemicals and stressors, can render our immune system trapped in defense mode, which is not how our immune systems are designed to operate.  

As a bonus, according to peer reviewed science on the use of horsetail on in vitro cells, the plant may have an anti-inflammatory effect.

‘The data indicate that the used extract of Equisetum arvense interferes with the polyfunctionality of immunocompetent cells thereby providing an anti-inflammatory mode-of-action.’

Study Link

Authors: Gründemann, C., Lengen, K., Sauer, B. et al.

Published: 2014