Minerals for Gut Health

Most of us know hydration is important, but what you hydrate with matters, and water on it's own just doesn't do it. In fact, if you’re dealing with bloating, constipation, loose stools, reflux, or fatigue, that's a sign that you're likely missing some key minerals. As a functional dietitian, I work with women who are stressed, busy, depleted, and often navigating complex gut symptoms. And I have come to see a pattern: hydration alone isn’t enough - we need minerals to support healthy digestion. Your gut needs the right balance of minerals—especially sodium, potassium, and magnesium—to regulate fluids, support motility, produce digestive juices, and maintain the integrity of the gut lining.

I’ll walk you through why minerals are essential for optimal digestion, how dehydration affects the gut, the symptoms I look for in practice, and the hydration strategies that help my clients feel better quickly and sustainably.

Why Water Alone Isn't Enough

Most women I work with are drinking water all day long—yet they still feel thirsty, bloated, sluggish, or constipated. That’s because hydration isn’t just about fluid intake. True hydration means getting water into your cells, and that process depends heavily on electrolytes (electrolytes are minerals that have a charge, like sodium and potassium).

Without minerals, water can’t move across cell membranes effectively.

Sodium and potassium help to regulate fluid balance on a cellular level. Magnesium helps muscles—including the intestines—contract and relax normally. These minerals also support the production of stomach acid, digestive enzymes, bile flow, and healthy motility (you should be pooping daily).

When minerals are low, this is what I see: 

1. Sluggish digestion (bloating, gas, delayed stomach emptying)

2. Inconsistent bowel patterns (constipation or loose stool - often both)

3. Increased sensitivity (acid reflux, cramping, food sensitivities)

How Mineral-Depletion Can Affect the Gut

1. Low Stomach Acid & Poor Protein Digestion

Stomach acid is your first major line of defense in digestion. It breaks down protein, destroys pathogens, and triggers downstream digestive events (release of enzymes and bile). Chloride (from salt) and zinc are both important for stomach acid production.

Low minerals → low HCl → bloating, burping, heaviness after meals.

As a clinician, I consistently see clients who think they’re “acidic,” when in reality their symptoms stem from too little stomach acid—often driven by chronic stress and poor mineral status. Seriously though, I see this ALL the time.

2. Slowed Motility and Irregular Bowel Movements

Your intestines are lined with smooth muscle, and muscle tissue needs magnesium and potassium to contract.

When these minerals drop:

• Stool becomes slow, dry, or difficult to pass

• OR motility becomes uncoordinated, leading to loose stool or urgency

• Gas gets trapped

• Bloating gets worse as digestion slows

3. Poor Bile Flow and Fat Digestion

Bile is essential for breaking down fats, absorbing fat-soluble vitamins, and maintaining antimicrobial balance in the small intestine. Sodium and taurine play a huge role in bile formation and flow.

Low sodium intake—or excessive sodium loss through sweat, caffeine, stress, or chronic diarrhea—can contribute to:

• Nausea when eating fatty meals (even good fats)

• Floating stools that look greasy and/or leave smears

• Gallbladder discomfort (can feel like back pain)

  I find that mineral repletion often improves fat tolerance in those who previously struggled with even small amounts of healthy fats.

4. Compromised Gut Lining (“Leaky Gut”)

Minerals like zinc, selenium, magnesium, and sodium help maintain the tight junctions that keep the gut barrier strong. Zinc in particular is well studied for its role in intestinal integrity.

When minerals run low, the gut becomes more reactive:

• Increased food sensitivities

• Histamine reactions

• Skin conditions like eczema or acne

• Immune overactivation

• Bloating after nearly every meal

Many clients describe feeling “reactive to everything.” Replenishing minerals is the first step in calming the gut’s alarm system.

5. Adrenal Stress 

Hydration and stress are connected. Cortisol output (from your adrenal gland) is affected by electrolyte balance—especially sodium and potassium.

High stress depletes minerals.
Low minerals heighten the stress response.
And an activated stress response shuts down digestion.

This loop is one of the most common patterns I see in my practice, especially among women juggling demanding schedules, heavy workloads, and chronic symptoms. Hydrating with minerals helps restore balance and resilience. And energy. Minerals are a game changer for that mid-afternoon crash.

Why Are We So Mineral-Depleted?

Even clients with very “healthy” diets frequently show signs of mineral depletion. This is often due to: 

• High stress (burns through sodium and magnesium quickly) - I see this all the time on the HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis) I do for my clients

• Coffee first thing in the morning (diuretic effect, plus you're still dehydrated from last night's sleep)

• Alcohol (increases mineral loss)

• High-intensity workouts with inadequate replenishment

• Low stomach acid → poor mineral absorption

• Hormonal changes (especially postpartum and perimenopause)

• Medications such as PPIs and diuretics 

• Chronic diarrhea or loose stool (potassium gets lost quickly here)

This is why all the hype about "mineral mocktails" is actually legit. Especially for women under modern stress loads.

Common Symptoms of Mineral Depletion

• Fatigue or afternoon crashes

• Thirst despite drinking water

• Salt or sugar cravings

• Bloating, constipation, or loose stool

• Headaches or dizziness

• Muscle cramps or twitching

• Anxiety, irritability, or “wired but tired” feeling

• Low stress tolerance

• Poor recovery from workouts

• Dry skin or hair loss

These are the symptoms that signal to me that hydration needs to shift from water-only to water + electrolytes + mineral-supportive foods.

Why Minerals Work 

When you add sodium and potassium to your water, you create a solution that allows water to move into cells efficiently through sodium-potassium pumps. Anyone remembering Bio 101 from high school? You need this to get things in and out of the cell.

This is where people feel the difference. And it's a quick win! Much of gut health and repair is not quick, but this is.

Most of my clients feel better within a few days:

• Less bloating

• Better bowel regularity

• Fewer headaches

• More stable energy

• Improved mood

• Reduced muscle tension

• Stronger workouts (and faster recovery)

• Fewer sugar cravings

This quick win matters, especially for those who are feeling so stuck.

So What Does Hydration with Minerals Actually Look Like?

Mineral hydration doesn’t have to be complicated. It simply needs to be consistent, balanced, and free of ingredients that irritate the gut (artificial sweeteners, gums, food dyes, etc.).

I typically recommend:

• Morning minerals to stabilize energy and digestion

  • Coconut water, splash of lemon or grapefruit juice, pinch of salt

• A mid-afternoon mineral mocktail to prevent that afternoon crash

  • Link to Mineral Mocktails Guide

• Avoiding water overload without minerals, especially during exercise

  • Honestly, I'm always looking to ADD some kind of mineral support to my water any time I'm drinking it

• Choosing products with clean ingredients + strong sodium/potassium ratios

  • Cure Hydration is one of my favorites. Lemon and grapefruit are my current go-to's. 
  • Use code KFNUTRITION to save 20% 
  • I usually add a scoop to a water/coconut water mix and sip all morning, then repeat in the afternoon. Be sure to choose unsweetened coconut water.

When to Consider Testing: The Role of HTMA

If someone is experiencing persistent symptoms even after improving hydration, I may recommend an HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis). It gives a 3-month view of sodium/potassium ratios, magnesium status, copper balance, adrenal trends, and deeper mineral patterns that affect the gut.

For clients with chronic digestive symptoms, fatigue, anxiety, or hormonal dysregulation, this test helps me customize mineral strategies even further.

Mineral depletion is one of the simplest and most overlooked tools for restoring gut health and digestion. They help your body absorb water, regulate motility, support stomach acid, maintain the gut barrier, and keep digestion moving smoothly. When minerals are low, the gut struggles. When we restore them, digestive symptoms often improve, and quickly.

In my practice, supporting hydration with minerals is one of the first strategies I implement because it’s simple, effective, and clinically reliable. It's easy to do - just make up a quick mineral mocktail with coconut water (high in potassium), citrus, and a pinch of salt. Or use one of my fun mineral mocktail recipes from the guide. Want to press the easy button and use a powder? Rayvi is great for potassium, Jigsaw's Adrenal Cocktail is good, and Cure Hydration (my current personal favorite) checks the boxes for clean ingredients, is gut-friendly, and has the right sodium-potassium ratio to support cellular hydration.  

I find my clients have noticeable improvements in digestion, energy, and overall resilience after just a few days of intentional mineral support. For women who want to feel better fast—without adding complexity—minerals are an important foundational step.