I work outdoors in florida. for years now. yes over summer. electrolytes. my. beloved.
So what even are electrolytes? the stuff in gatorade, right? salt. yeah?
in essence. electrolytes are all those trace minerals your body needs to live. yes including Sodium and Chlorine (table salt my beloved)
but ALSO including: Calcium. Magnesium. Phosphorus. Potassium.
Gatorade hassss: Sodium and Potassium. better than nothing but not exactly a nutritionally complete multivitamin. if you only drink gatorade you are going to get sick bc you are also sweating out all those other elements and not replenishing them
My personal favorite electrolyte drink is Coconut water!
coconut has: potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium! if you don't like the slightly metallic taste (thats the electrolytes baybeee) you can cut it with some juice for flavor.
I will keep a jug of fruit juice in the fridge, and then every time i have a glass, refill it with coconut water. so far yet to find a bad flavor combo, though i will say that cranberry/raspberry juice + coconut water tastes uncannily like jolly ranchers and can be a bit... baffling? to the tongue???
anyways. next electrolyte source: literally all fruit.
Fruits basically all have electrolytes in them. in different combinations. eat as much fruit and as much variety of fruits as physically possible. if you find yourself with an uncanny craving for something specific, it probably has an electrolyte that you need. go eat a ton of it.
for proteins, go with vegan proteins (usually seeds: high in magnesium and phosphorous), white meat (Selenium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Sodium, Calcium), and fish (electrolytes vary by species, but they're typically high)
these are also often eaten cold, which. try not to eat hot food when it's hot out. eating hot food will also add heat to your body, which is not the goal, when it is hot out.
now, my least favorite electrolyte: milk.
one of my coworkers drinks an entire gallon of milk every single day and it upsets me so much, but she IS incredibly powerful and most likely going to live forever, so ymmv
lactose intolerance is also no excuse, UNFORTUNATELY. almond milk is a good source of Phosphorus, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Potassium, as well as some vitamins i guess. Cashew milk has Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, and yeah vitamins.
so yeah also chug some (nut or dairy) milk, ugh.
anyways, when it's hot out be sure to eat a lot of sushi. seafood usually has phosphorous, avocado and cucumber are hard to beat, seaweed is a great source of iodine, calcium, iron, and manganese, rice is a simple carb that is easy to digest (digestion generates heat!!!!!! eat complex foods when it's cool out and simple stuff when it's hot! proteins and fats are complicated for the body!!! eat starch!), sauces usually have a good mix of stuff
yeah anyways this whole post was just to encourage people to eat sushi. and poke bowls if you're not in the mood for rolling things. and fruit. and Go In The Water
basically if hawaiians came up with it it's a fuckin GENIUS thing to do. do more of that.