Eli5: Why do electrolytes hydrate you but saltwater dehydrates you?
In: 9
TLDR: oceanwater has ~3.5% water, which is way higher than your cells 0.45%. Electrolyte drinks have 0.1 to 0.4% table salt and also a bunch of other stuff.
For a more in-depth explanation:
basic chemistry and biology first:
– Diffusion. If you have two liquids with different salt concentration they will equalize over time, until it is one liquid with evenly distributed salt
– the water inside cells has a salt concentration of ~0.45%
– the membrane of a cell can let some things through and others not. More precisely, it can let water through but not salt
If you drink ocean water – which has 3.5% salt – you‘re raising your bloods salt content. Now you have two liquids, your blood with high salt content and your cells with low salt content. Over time the salt concentration will equalize, but salt can‘t travel through the cells membrane. So instead of the salt moving, the water is moving out of the cell.
Sports drinks are nowhere near as high in salt concentration, so they don‘t have this water-sucking effect. Also, your body has far more salts than just Sodium Chloride (table salt) And so do electrolyte drinks.
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