Sharing is caring!

I drink a lot of water. I still miss soda.

Not the sugar crash. Not the 39 grams of it sitting in a can of Coke. I miss the cold, the fizz, the snap of opening something that feels like a treat at 3pm. For years my gut and my soda craving were at war, and on the hard days the soda usually won.

LMNT Sparkling is one of the first things that ended that fight for me.

LMNT Sparkling: the electrolyte drink that scratches the soda itch (without the soda)

Click HERE to save this article for later.

What’s actually in the can

Sparkling water, salt, magnesium malate, potassium chloride, citric acid, natural flavor, and stevia leaf extract. That’s the full label.

Flavors:

Black Cherry, Lemonade, Orange, Pineapple.

No sugar, no artificial colors, no fillers your gut has to argue with.

A soda gives you fizz and sugar. This gives you fizz and minerals your body is probably short on.

Why a gut-health person keeps these in the fridge

Electrolytes are the minerals your body uses to move water into cells, fire muscles, and send nerve signals. Sodium, potassium, and magnesium are three of the big ones. When you run low, you feel it: headache, fatigue, that flat, dragging afternoon.

Here’s the part most people don’t hear: a lot of us are walking around low on two of the three.

Magnesium is the one I care about most for gut folks. Roughly 48% of Americans take in less magnesium than they need from food and drinks, according to NHANES data summarized by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Among adults specifically, older surveys put that figure even higher, around 61% below the estimated average requirement.¹

That gap shows up in your bathroom habits. Magnesium helps pull water into the intestines and supports the muscle contractions that move things along.

In a national study of more than 9,000 US adults, higher dietary magnesium intake was linked to a lower rate of chronic constipation, and the connection was strongest in women.²

Your digestive tract is muscle, and magnesium helps that muscle do its job.

Potassium is the other shortfall.

The NIH lists it as a “nutrient of public health concern” because most people in the US eat less than the recommended amount, and low intake is tied to high blood pressure and heart issues. Potassium balances sodium and helps regulate fluid in and around your cells. Most of us run the ratio backward: too much sodium from packaged food, not enough potassium from produce.³

So a drink that delivers real potassium and magnesium with the fizz of a soda is doing something useful, not just tasting good.

The summer case

Heat makes the argument on its own. You sweat out sodium and potassium, then chug plain water to catch up.

Plain water dilutes what’s left, so you can end up feeling more washed-out instead of refreshed. Replacing the minerals and the fluid at the same time is the whole point of an electrolyte drink, and the cold carbonation makes it the rare healthy swap that actually feels like a reward.

I reach for one mid-afternoon, after a sweaty walk, or any time one might normally crack a Coke out of habit.

By the way, in case you’re wondering….my FAVORITE flavor [by far!] is the Black Cherry. My son, who drinks about 5 x the amount of these as I do loves the Black Cherry and Orange Salt.

One honest note (who this is NOT for)

LMNT is salty on purpose. The brand’s entire position is more salt, not less, based on research arguing for higher sodium targets than the standard government guidance. That works well for active people, low-carb eaters, and anyone who sweats a lot. It does not work for everyone.

If you have high blood pressure, kidney disease, or you’re on a sodium-restricted plan from your doctor, talk to them before adding daily electrolytes. This is a tool, and tools fit some people and not others. That’s the whole A Gutsy Girl philosophy in one drink.

For everyone else who just wants the soda feeling without the soda fallout, this one earns its spot in the fridge.

Try it: when you order LMNT Sparkling through my link HERE, you’ll get a free sampler pack with your purchase.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. LMNT Ingredients (What do Electrolytes Have to Do with the Gut?)
2. My Honest Review: BIOptimizers Mushroom Breakthrough
3. Truly Free [Why It’s More Than Just Laundry Detergent]

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I actually use and believe in.

1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/ ↩︎
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34925793/ ↩︎
3. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/potassium-healthprofessional/ ↩︎