Perimenopause & Minerals - Brenna May Wellness

When I was 19, sitting at a collegiate football game, I suddenly swelled up like a balloon. My rings got stuck, my jeans felt like a vice, and I had to leave the stadium to walk, find shade, and guzzle water. I ended up unzipping my pants just to breathe.

At the time I had no idea what was happening — I just knew salt sometimes helped. What I didn’t know yet was that I’d picked up parasites during a student exchange at the end of high school, and they were quietly stripping my body of minerals. My body was crying out for help in the only way it could: with dramatic, uncomfortable swelling.

Fast forward a few years. In my mid-20s, I was leading an outreach team with YWAM in Norway. The youth group we were supporting thought it would be funny to pour food dye into the milk. I drank it, completely unaware, and within hours I went from looking fit and healthy (even a little petite at 5’7” beside the towering Norwegians) to full-on Michelin Man.

The swelling was so severe I had to buy new clothes just to get through the outreach. It took six weeks for my body to clear that toxic load. The Norwegian youth leaders — wonderfully blunt — pulled me aside in shock: “What happened! You were so cute, and now you look terrible!” They felt awful, and I laughed it off (I haven’t taken myself too seriously since elementary school), but physically? It was miserable.

Both experiences taught me early that hydration isn’t just about water. It’s about minerals.

Why Minerals Matter

Electrolytes — sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and trace minerals — are the spark plugs of your body. They:

Move water into your cells where it’s actually useful
Keep nerves firing and muscles contracting properly
Buffer stress and protect your adrenal glands
Help mitochondria create ATP (your cellular energy currency)

Without them? Water just sloshes through you without actually hydrating your body. You stay thirsty, you swell, and your energy tanks.

Minerals, Migraines & Autoimmunity

While my struggle showed up as thirst and swelling, my husband’s showed up as migraines. Supporting him through them has taught me just how much mineral balance affects the brain and nervous system.

Magnesium relaxes blood vessels and calms overexcited nerves — low levels are a migraine trigger.
Sodium + potassium are like electrical wiring; imbalance can short-circuit into head pain.
Trace minerals regulate inflammation — another hidden trigger for migraines and autoimmune flares.

Add in autoimmunity, and the stakes are higher. Parasites, gut inflammation, food intolerances, and “greenwashed” additives (yes, those so-called “natural flavors”) all deplete minerals and push symptoms louder.

Why Electrolytes Matter in Perimenopause

By the time perimenopause hits, the demand for minerals only increases:

Hormonal fluctuations shift how your body holds water and electrolytes.
Adrenals burn through sodium, magnesium, and potassium faster under stress.
Autoimmune flares worsen when minerals are depleted.
Energy crashes deepen when mitochondria can’t make ATP without cofactor support.

That’s why in perimenopause, plain water isn’t enough.

My Clean Electrolyte Stack

Not all electrolytes are created equal. Most commercial sports drinks and “hydration powders” are loaded with junk: dyes, artificial sweeteners, and “natural flavors” that are anything but.

Here’s what I trust for myself and my clients:

Seeking Health Optimal Electrolyte – balanced minerals, clean formula
Needed Hydration Support – thoughtful ratios, designed with pregnancy and adrenal health in mind
Quicksilver Isotonic / Hypertonic – ocean minerals for deep trace support
Whole food minerals – grass-fed butter, sea salt, bone broth, mineral-rich greens

What I skip: LMNT (too sodium-heavy for my system) and anything with sucralose, dyes, or petrochemical-derived flavors.

Practical Tips

Start your day with minerals before coffee — caffeine is a diuretic and will drain you faster if you’re already depleted.
Pair water with clean electrolytes at least once daily.
Add a pinch of unrefined sea salt to meals and drinks for adrenal support.
Pay attention to your feedback: thirst, swelling, migraines, fatigue, or food reactivity are mineral signals.

Minerals are not optional. They’re foundational for hydration, energy, adrenal resilience, and autoimmune balance.

Your body will tell you when it’s depleted — sometimes dramatically. Swelling, thirst, migraines, flares: they’re not failures, they’re feedback.

Water hydrates. Minerals energize. Together, they protect your adrenals, calm your nervous system, and buffer your terrain through perimenopause and beyond.

Thanks for walking through this with me. If you’re ready to support your minerals and find the kind of hydration that actually sticks, I’m currently accepting new 1:1 clients.

👉 Apply to work with me

Brenna May, NTP

This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.

Next up: Perimenopause, Autoimmunity & the Yo-Yo Weight Cycle: Finding Stability in Body Composition