Electrolyte-enhanced beverages, often known as sports drinks, help replace water, electrolytes, and energy lost during exercise. Potassium, salt, magnesium, and calcium are found in some of the electrolyte packs sold on the market today. They help alleviate dehydration and its symptoms, such as muscle cramps and fatigue.
While traditional and chemically-flavored sports drinks have long been the preferred beverage in the sports and fitness sector, a recent study suggests that electrolyte drinks may effectively rehydrate athletes while generating less stomach pain and congestion. Electrolyte drinks and powders such as Tailwind’s electrolyte powder have become more popular among athletes to meet hydration needs and boost energy.
Whether you drink bottled or tap water, trace levels of electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, are almost always present. Electrolyte concentrations in drinks, on the other hand, might vary substantially. Some firms add a substantial quantity of minerals and carbohydrates to their water and sell it as a sports drink, while others merely add a little bit for flavor.
What are electrolytes?
Electrolytes are chemicals such as sodium or potassium, when dissolved in water, have a natural positive or negative electrical charge. Because an adult’s body is usually around 60% water, electrolytes will be found in practically every cell or fluid in their body.
Electrolytes assist your body in various ways, including regulating chemicals processes and maintaining the balance of fluids within and outside your cells.
What you eat or drink provides electrolytes and their benefits to your body. Excess electrolytes will be filtered from your body and into your urine by your kidneys. During sweating, you lose electrolytes as well.
Importance of electrolytes in your body
Electrolytes help your cells carry electrical charges, which allows your muscles to contract. Chemical processes benefit from the exact electrical charges, especially regarding hydration and fluid balance within and outside your cells.
Electrolytes work on the concept that some chemical components may carry a positive or negative electrical charge naturally. When specific components are dissolved in a liquid, the liquid becomes electrically conductible.
Saltwater, for example, is a good conductor of electricity. Salt is made up of sodium (which is positively charged) and chlorine (which is negatively charged), and their charges balance out when mixed. Ions are atoms that have an electrical charge (positive ions are called cations, while negative ions are called anions).
The sodium and chlorine atoms separate when you dissolve salt in water, reverting to their original positive and negative charges. Because the sodium and chlorine ions have negative electrical charges, electricity jumps between them rather than between the water molecules.
Electrolytes help your body maintain balance at the simplest chemical level. Ions are used by your body to carry chemical molecules in and out of cells the same way they are used by electricity to move from one point to another.
Signs of electrolyte imbalance in the body
What’s the best way to tell whether your electrolyte levels are out of balance? In most situations, you’ll experience at least a few symptoms. They can range in severity depending on which minerals are impacted. Electrolyte imbalance can cause a variety of symptoms, including:
- Mood changes
- Confusion
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Stomach pain
- Headaches
- Irregular heartbeat
- Numbness
- Frequent urination
- Dry mouth
The benefits of electrolytes in your body
Promotes quality sleep
The first essential health advantage of electrolytes is better to sleep. Calcium, for example, helps in the conversion of tryptophan into the sleep hormone melatonin in the brain. Calcium also increases deep rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Electrolytes may potentially help in reducing insomnia.
Researchers also found that sleep hormones were higher and stress chemicals like cortisol were lower. Better sleep naturally leads to feeling less exhausted during the day, more attention, and more productive days. You perform better when you are well-rested.
Improves performance
Electrolyte drinks usually the water, minerals, and energy are normally lost during physical activity. Did you know that sweating can reduce your strength, speed, and attention by 1-2 percent of your body weight?
Sweat has high salt content, including magnesium, calcium, and potassium. When you sweat a lot, you also lose a lot of electrolytes. Keep an electrolyte beverage on hand, especially during extended exercises in hot conditions.
Boosts immunity
The immune system and electrolytes have a strong interaction. Magnesium, for example, aids in the body’s inflammatory regulation. Electrolytes such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium work together to regulate what enters the cell. They encourage good apoptosis, which is how the body destroys cells before they can mutate.
Improves cognition
Attention and memory can quickly deteriorate when electrolytes in your system are depleted. What’s even more impressive is that you don’t have to be severely dehydrated to experience the side effects.
Researchers also discovered that even the slightest dehydration might hurt brain function. For example, too much sodium may cause the brain to inflate, while too little sodium can cause the brain to shrink, both of which are detrimental to cognition.
Electrolytes such as calcium, phosphate, and magnesium, on the other hand, are similarly vital. Low quantities of such minerals can change your mood and, in some extreme cases, can even cause seizures.
The objective is to keep your electrolyte levels in the safe zone, which should be neither high nor low. Fortunately, the body is quite adept at making adjustments on its own, but it’s up to you to make sure you’re getting adequate electrolytes through diet and supplements.
Maintains Blood Sugar Levels
According to a new study, type 2 diabetes may be related to a lack of potassium. Researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine found a relationship between potassium shortage and high insulin and glucose levels, which are indicators of diabetes.
However, additional study is needed to see if potassium supplements in the diet might help to lower the risk of diabetes. Taking potassium and other electrolytes, avoiding sweets, and getting adequate exercise might be part of a diabetes preventive regimen.
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