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Formulation worksheet

Electrolyte Mineral Budget Calculator

Convert elemental mineral amounts per serving into millimoles, milliequivalents and per-liter concentrations, with exact %DV for adults and children aged 4 years and older. Use it to compare an electrolyte drink mix formulation on a common basis.

Elemental sodium, not the weight of the salt.

Elemental potassium.

Elemental magnesium. The initial values are arithmetic examples, not recommendations.

Elemental calcium.

Chloride ion from all chloride salts.

For a powder, the reconstitution volume in the directions.

Used only to show ingredient grams for the magnesium amount.

Calculated result

Enter the values above to calculate. Results appear here.

Results are arithmetic conversions only. They do not predict osmolality, solubility, taste or label compliance.

Why millimoles and milliequivalents

Milligrams are what the label shows, but they hide how many ions are present. A magnesium electrolyte drink formulation with 60 mg magnesium and 230 mg sodium carries about 2.47 mmol magnesium and 10.0 mmol sodium. Because magnesium carries a 2+ charge, those 2.47 mmol equal about 4.94 mEq. Converting every mineral to the same units makes formulas easier to compare and helps the team see how much of the cation load comes from each mineral.

mmol = mg ÷ atomic weight. mEq = mmol × ionic charge, using 1 for sodium, potassium and chloride and 2 for magnesium and calcium. Per-liter values = per-serving values × 1,000 ÷ serving mL. Atomic weights are the CIAAW abridged standard values: Na 22.990, K 39.098, Mg 24.305, Ca 40.078 and Cl 35.45.

The worksheet also reports cation milliequivalents that chloride does not balance. In a real formula that charge is carried by other anions, such as citrate, glycinate, lactate or phosphate, which this tool does not list. Treat the figure as bookkeeping, not as a measure of stability, osmolality or acidity.

Daily Values used

Exact %DV uses the values for adults and children aged 4 years and older in 21 CFR 101.9: the Daily Reference Value for sodium, 2,300 mg, in 101.9(c)(9), and the Reference Daily Intakes in 101.9(c)(8)(iv) for potassium 4,700 mg, magnesium 420 mg, calcium 1,300 mg and chloride 2,300 mg. Other population groups use different values. The output is unrounded; Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts apply their own rounding rules. Magnesium rounding under those two panels is shown in the beverage magnesium serving calculator.

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