Why do our bodies need potassium as an electrolyte if we already have sodium which helps our body absorb water and ensures our muscles work?

Question

Why do our bodies need potassium as an electrolyte if we already have sodium which helps our body absorb water and ensures our muscles work?

In: 16

Answer 1

The sodium-potassium pump has the job of keeping the axon of neurons ready for the next electrical signal in the nervous system. With out this process, the electrical signals of the nervous system would not be able to travel from neuron to neuron. You experience this at a low level when you get muscle cramps.

The gradient between sodium and potassium also helps control the osmotic pressure inside cells, and powers a variety of other pumps that link the flow of sodium ions with the transport of other molecules, such as calcium ions or glucose.

Long story short with out potassium you are dead.