Why does salt water dehydrate you, but saline/sodium chloride/electrolytes hydrate you?
In: Chemistry
Ok so it’s a foundation principle in physiology that water follows salt. So, ingest lots of salt, like salt water, and the water will leave your cells to flow to the high salt area.
Now saline solution is water that has salt added to it to match to normal concentration of salt in your blood. So we are introducing normal fluid to the body that’s dehydrated, which causes water to enter your cells, since the dehydrated cells have a higher salt concentration than the saline fluid.
Electrolytes, like Gatorade, key off a type of cell transporter in your intestines that moves salt and glucose together. They activate this transporter to move the salt and glucose into your body, out of the intestines, and cause water to passively enter the blood, leading to hydration
Hope this helps
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