What’s one easy morning routine, popular amongst doctors, elite athletes, and high-achievers?
Consuming a healthy morning electrolyte super drink.
One of the most powerful habits to set up your ideal day.
In this quick post, I’ll share the benefits of consuming electrolyte-rich, supplement-infused morning water. And how you can easily make your own.
Myriad Benefits of Starting With a Morning Hydration Drink
Recovering from a late night out?
Trying to set new athletic records?
Struggling with keto or intermittent fasting?
Or just trying to look, feel, and perform your best?
An upgraded morning drink benefits you in many ways:
- Increases energy
- Boosts metabolism
- Aids weight loss
- Accelerates workout recovery
- Alleviates hangovers
- Supports healthy hormone balance
- Satiates appetite
- Kickstarts detoxification
- Improves gut health
After a night of sleep, we lose significant water and electrolytes. Our body needs ample liquids to run its myriad bioelectromagnetochemical processes.
On top of that, stress, non-native electromagnetic fields, sweating, lack of mobility, processed foods, etc. all dehydrate us further.
Consuming adequate water in the AM sends a biological signal that your body’s not in famine and can safely burn body fat Click To Tweet
Thirst often masks itself as hunger. So folks trying to lose weight or practice intermittent fasting/time-restricted eating benefit from the appetite-suppressing effects of this drink.
Getting adequate liquid and nutritional support also stabilizes blood sugar, sensitizes the body to insulin, and keeps hormones in an optimal range.
Instead of coffee in the morning, try my “Genius Fuel” first. You may find that you feel great without any stimulants.
Or, if you do use it as I often do, your body will already have all the raw materials it needs. Which means less depletion and fewer side effects.
Outliyr Healthy Morning Drink: Key Ingredients & Recipe
Now, what does the drink itself look like and how do I make it?
Water is the base. I use the highest quality filtered water I can get. Bonus points for clean, freshly harvested, local, natural spring water. According to more recent molecular estimates, our bodies are made of up to 99 percent water. I usually fill my Mason Jar with 20-26 oz of warm water.
Unrefined salt is likely the most important addition, and it’s something we all (should) have in our pantries. It’s the single most important mineral. Get enough salt and your body spares some of the other electrolytes. Making it the master electrolyte. Medical institutions wrongly vilify salt. Salt, more than sodium, is vital for optimal health. Especially in the morning as it supports the adrenals, neural activity, and healthy cortisol production.
Essentially, salt activates the body and mind (careful with evening salt consumption). It should be balanced with potassium (mentioned later). Use between a pinch and 1/4 TSP of unrefined sea salt in your water.
Magnesium is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies with up to 90% of Americans not consuming enough. Recent research shows this super mineral is involved in 3,700+ biochemical reactions throughout the body and mind. Deficiency is associated with issues related to cardio health, stress regulation, nervousness, sadness, mood, cognition, sleep, relaxation, energy generation, and much more. Magnesium comes in many forms — but only seven have value.
If I could choose one to use in my water, it’d be magnesium malate for its energy-boosting effects. Although each part of the body absorbs and utilizes different forms. I’ll either use 500mg of magnesium malate powder or pop two Magnesium Breakthrough capsules (or pull them apart and dump them into my water).
Essential amino acids (EAAs) are the building blocks of life. Most of the body is water, and half of the rest is made up of amino acids. These are nutrients that we’d die without, and like some of the others, most of us don’t get enough. There are 20-23 total amino acids, and our body can produce all but nine. Those nine are the essential amino acids. A few of their many involvements include: increasing fat burning, stimulating lean muscle growth, accelerating recovery, reducing appetite, elevating physical and mental performance, boosting energy levels, and improving sleep.
EAAs technically inhibit autophagy as they build muscle. So this would blunt some benefits of fasting. Loss of lean tissue (sarcopenia) is one of the primary drivers of aging, and most people need more of specific essential aminos. Supplementing is smart. I add 5-10 grams of quality EAAs to my morning water.
Shilajit is an ancient adaptogenic ingredient beloved by cultures around the world for its potent nutrient density. Nicknamed the “destroyer of weakness” and “nectar of the Gods” because it contains vitamins, minerals, 80+ minerals, fulvic acid, humic acid, and other bioactives. Humic and fulvic acids are especially interesting (and powerful for our purposes) because they amplify the effects of the other nutrients we consume.
These compounds act like beneficial trojan horses, helping our body better absorb and assimilate everything we ingest. Therefore, making our morning drink stronger and healthier. Shilajit comes in many forms and qualities. I like to add 6 drops of sun-dried Himalayan shilajit to my water. If you don’t enjoy the smokey flavor, you can choose one of the other forms.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV). One of the more iconic additions to the stereotypical “healthy morning drinks. Apple cider vinegar does a few interesting things that health giants like WebMD and Cleveland Clinic now validate. First, it increases levels of hydrochloric acid in the stomach which improves digestion, gut health, protection against food-borne micro-organisms, and nutrient assimilation. Raw, organic, ACV “with the mother” provides some natural probiotics and antioxidants. It’s famous for aiding weight loss.
Perhaps most importantly, ACV stabilizes blood sugar and prepares the body to better handle any incoming glucose spikes. In other words, it’s an excellent, cheap, available glucose disposal agent (GDA). I rarely measure and instead, just use a splash. Make sure to choose a raw, organic, “with the mother” brand.
Lemon or lime. These citrus fruits contain bioflavonoids, break down oxalates and other plant toxins, support liver health, and act as an antioxidant-rich digestive tonic that also suppresses appetite. The tartness also offsets some of the unpleasantness of essential amino acids. I use the juice of half of a fresh lime or lemon.
Potassium is another typical deficiency. Although we can get therapeutic amounts from the right foods. Together with salt, potassium is the other hydrating mineral. While sodium saturates the outside of cells with water, potassium brings it into cells. Whenever possible, it’s best to consume them together. Potassium is one of the main reasons athletes consume bananas (which are actually mediocre sources) and coconut water for hydration.
If you eat semi-low carb as I do, your potassium requirements increase. Unless you’re consuming an avocado or two per day, look into potassium. Potassium citrate is cheap, tasteless, and well-absorbed. There are 700-900mg in an avocado. I like to add 1/4 TSP of potassium citrate to my water. That equates to a safe ~600mg. Be careful with potassium. It is one of the few minerals that must be dosed carefully. I never exceed 1/2 TSP.
Sometimes, I’ll run out of an ingredient and/or forget to add it. Sometimes, I will add additional “boosters”.
Morning Drink Upgrades
I often hear that people feel great from the base recipe alone. Some prefer to add a clean flavoring and/or sweetener to mask the smokey citrus taste.
Eventually, you might want to make more significant upgrades.
Here are some of the other ingredients, technologies, and add-ons that work well with the morning drink.
Analemma water wand makes the filtered water “coherent” and more biocompatible. Usually, when we drink water, the body must use infrared light to structure it into H3O2—the form present and usable throughout the body. A couple of swirls of this little device through water make a demonstrable difference.
It’s small, portable, and easy to travel with. The main issue is its fragility. I’m generally skeptical of water devices, but this one has significant science behind it. Learn more about this powerful tool in my Analemma Water System Review.
Hydrogen gas. Molecular hydrogen (H2) is a powerful health and performance therapeutic rarely discussed outside of advanced circles. It’s beneficial both for healthy folks as well as helps improve 200+ different conditions. H2 is considered a selective antioxidant and I call it the “master bodily protection compound”.
It’s especially great while traveling, for those under heavy stress, and hard chargers. Hydrogen therapy is incredibly safe and beneficial.
You can just drop one of these high-quality hydrogen tablets into the drink and it will dissolve within a minute or so. Personally, I prefer to use Brown’s Gas. Which is essentially the molecular hydrogen 2.0 upgrade.
Infopathy is a device that harnesses the best of healthy electromagnetism to “imprint” water with specific benefits. Every substance has a unique electromagnetic signature and Infopathy has a massive catalog of thousands of ingredients for every goal. You choose your “recipe” and use the device to apply it. Mimicking the effects of the original physical molecule.
The effects only feel like a strength of 1-3 out of 10. Nonetheless, it’s incredibly safe, inexpensive, and makes designer molecules available to anyone, anywhere. My Infopathy System Review unpacks the science, uses, benefits, and more. Or you can learn about “digital drugs” in the Outliyr archive.
Quinton is an incredible marine plasma liquid replete with every element in the periodic table of elements (in the appropriate concentrations). It’s the ocean’s multivitamin and multimineral. In fact, decades ago, medics successfully transfused soldiers with Quinton when they ran out of blood.
I regularly hear glowing testimonials from users and I sometimes take this with me traveling. There are two types (different concentrations) for particular uses and lifestyle considerations. Learn more about the suppressed science, use cases, and benefits of Quinton water here.
Creatine is among the most studied supplements in the world. Not only as an ergogenic aid for athletic performance but for cognition and holistic health. It increases nutrient delivery, energy generation, cellular hydration, normalizes hormones, improves cell signaling, and much more.
Unless you eat an animal-based diet, you probably stand to benefit from supplementation. It’s a quasi-vitamin for vegetarians and vegans. The most common and inexpensive form, creatine monohydrate, does cause some water retention which disappears after stopping usage. A dose of 2-3 grams is fine for most people and reduces the (minimal but) potential side effects.
Micro-Algae. If you don’t mind blue-green colored water, spirulina and chlorella are two of the best natural foods/supplements you can consume. These are two of the most nutrient-dense and bioavailable “superfoods” on the planet. Compatible with virtually every diet and lifestyle. Nature’s top multivitamin, multimineral, and much more.
Revered by the United Nations as “the answer to world hunger”, and an essential product NASA packs with astronauts. You can mix the powder into water, or take micro-algae in tablet form. I personally use it every single day. When I travel, this is my nutritional insurance policy. But it’s not all the same. I wouldn’t touch most products. This spirulina & chlorella supplements guide explains the key details.
Proteolytic enzymes. On an empty stomach, proteolytic/system enzymes help break down impacted waste. Protein in the bloodstream; deposits throughout the body where they don’t belong; along with dead cells, organelles, and other waste materials. They amplify fasting by increasing autophagy. Using proteolytic enzymes spares your body’s limited enzyme “bank account”. Freeing up those resources for important functions.
Improving gut health, digestion, mental clarity, energy, and accelerating recovery. Making your morning drink even more effective. Most enzyme formulas don’t do much and are expensive for what you get. I like to break open a few capsules and use these BioEnzymes to unlock increased absorption and assimilation of key nutrients.
Those are just a few of the many ways I improve my healthy morning electrolyte-infused drink.
Pre-Made Healthy Morning Drink Supplements
I avoid most of the pre-made morning electrolyte products.
Very few contain the right ingredients, at the proper dosages, and equally important, do not contain binders, fillers, excipients, and other questionable additives.
Of the few products that fit these criteria, fewer still use natural whole-foods based forms of ingredients. Most choose cheap and marginally effective synthetics.
In a pinch, I’ll use Paleovalley’s Essential Electrolyte Mix. It contains a full spectrum of unprocessed ingredients. Natural sources of many of the electrolytes previously mentioned. Including ancient sea salt, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and 60+ trace minerals. Coming from organic coconut water, seaweed extract, seawater, and more.
The Ultimate Morning Beverage for Health & Performance
Starting your morning off with “super water” is a great idea.
When you wake, your body’s highest priority is hydration. To replenish everything lost during sleep as well as providing the raw materials needed for the day.
Often, folks using this Outliyr Super Water report higher energy, less appetite, greater mental clarity, better digestion, and improved athleticism.
Plus, the single serving helps satisfy many of the most common nutrient deficiencies. Quenching deficiencies is the fastest way to overcome weight loss plateaus, performance hurdles, and chronic issues.
I buy the ingredients in bulk which makes every serving quite affordable.
Then when I drink my Homemade Outliyr Genius Coffee later in the day, it’s stronger, smoother, and with fewer side effects. This morning drink also amplifies the benefits of my brain-boosting nootropic supplements.
I am sure that there are all kinds of other beneficial morning elixir additions. From extensive trial and error, I’ve found these to be the most useful. Do you make a morning beverage? Drop a comment below and let me know what you include and why.