Ever since I started running, all I know is that I need to drink a sh*t ton of electrolytes. But I would like to understand why on a physiological level.
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The issue is twofold:
Firstly, if you sweat out salty water but only replenish it with plain water, you’ll have a deficiency of electrolytes, the most abundant of which is sodium (table salt). The only way your body can correct a lack of sodium is by expelling more water. So without enough salt, you cannot retain enough water to stay hydrated. Conversely, too much salt leads to retention of water, causing high blood pressure.
Secondly, electrolytes like sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium are neurotransmitters. We use them for a whole bunch of things, from firing electrical signals from our brain down to our muscles through our nerves, to contracting muscles, to relaxing muscles. A deficiency can lead to muscle cramping, or more seriously an inability to control muscles and issues with the nervous system (and most seriously, cardiac arrhythmias because your heart is a muscle).
If your blood has too much water and not enough other stuff in it, the more concentrated solution in your cells will try to diffuse into your blood.
Concentrated solutions always want to diffuse towards a more dilute solution. Moving it in the other direction is like pushing something uphill, and the bigger the difference, the steeper the hill.
Basically your body moves water by diffusion/osmosis. In other words, there’s no water “pumps” in your body. Water just moves to where there’s less water or where there’s a higher concentration of something dissolved in water. There are plenty of “pumps” in your body that move salts, this is what your sweat glands do. They pump salt out of your body and water follows it. When that water evaporates, it cools your skin.
When you drink water, you’re only replacing that part of what you sweated out.
Why you need salts (electrolytes) is more complicated and exquisitely beautiful. Your body uses salt to move other molecules around, conduct electricity, store energy.
Basically your body moves water by diffusion/osmosis. In other words, there’s no water “pumps” in your body. Water just moves to where there’s less water or where there’s a higher concentration of something dissolved in water. There are plenty of “pumps” in your body that move salts, this is what your sweat glands do. They pump salt out of your body and water follows it. When that water evaporates, it cools your skin.
When you drink water, you’re only replacing that part of what you sweated out.
Why you need salts (electrolytes) is more complicated and exquisitely beautiful. Your body uses salt to move other molecules around, conduct electricity, store energy.
BTW, if you leave salty clothing outside their shelter that’s been soaked with sweat like a cap, don’t be surprised if a deer, racoon or squirrel drops by at night and starts chewing up your wardrobe! Yup, they need to replenish their electrolytes, too.
BTW, if you leave salty clothing outside their shelter that’s been soaked with sweat like a cap, don’t be surprised if a deer, racoon or squirrel drops by at night and starts chewing up your wardrobe! Yup, they need to replenish their electrolytes, too.
Because of that element if you want to attenuate hangover after a night out, drink a soup (kind of royco one) before getting to sleep. It will bring you some nutriments but more importantly bring back the slat level at the normal and allow you to conserve the water you will drink during the night.
That’s the easiest trik I got for thirsty people.
Because of that element if you want to attenuate hangover after a night out, drink a soup (kind of royco one) before getting to sleep. It will bring you some nutriments but more importantly bring back the slat level at the normal and allow you to conserve the water you will drink during the night.
That’s the easiest trik I got for thirsty people.
To add on to everyone else’s answers. There are two types of dehydration that lead to thirst.
One is when the fluid inside the cells becomes low and the second is when the fluid around the cells becomes low.
The first one can be satisfied with water alone, the second requires the electrolytes.
You are a big sack of salt water. When you pee, poop, and sweat, you are leaking both salt and water. You need to replace both salt (electrolytes) and water to replace what you lost.
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