What are Electrolytes?

Like water, electrolytes help facilitate an array of critical bodily functions and processes. Electrolytes are naturally occurring in water and foods and are often underestimated and overlooked!

Here, we will give a complete overview of how essential electrolytes are and when and how to incorporate them into our daily lives.

So… how do they work?

Electrolytes are positive and negative ions that occur when certain minerals are dissolved in a fluid. They work together to transport nutrients into cells, expel waste, and participate in many other metabolic processes; basically, they are water's, right-hand man.

We all need them to survive; small processes within the body actually rely on a small electric current to carry out what they need to do.

In providing this charge, Electrolytes help see that these processes happen within the cells of our tissues, nerves, and muscles. We use these neurons and muscles every day; electrolytes are necessary for them to function as they move throughout these areas on the cellular level.

If you didn't know already, you are most likely getting most of your electrolytes through your food! Eating fruits and vegetables is a simple way in which we can all make sure we are getting the proper electrolytes we need.

What are the 3 Main Electrolytes?

Although many electrolytes have many vital functions (i.e., calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, etc.), we've got to say that sodium, potassium, and chloride really take center stage.

Sodium is the critical player in maintaining fluid balance in the body and the most essential electrolyte within our extracellular fluid. Through a process called osmosis, water with fewer electrolytes may move through the cell membrane to an area with less water and more electrolytes. This process is vital for our internal electrolyte balance, hydration, nerve function, and muscle function.

Another exciting sodium element is that 85% of it is found in our blood and lymphatic system. Our body is constantly monitoring our blood volume and levels of sodium concentration to achieve perfect balance.

Potassium, as an intracellular electrolyte that is essential for the proper functioning of our cells. Maintaining healthy levels of potassium is imperative for a healthy heartbeat and adequately functioning muscles. 

Chloride is, like sodium, found mostly extracellularly (in the blood and outside of cells). It keeps the amount of fluid inside and outside of our cells balanced. It keeps our pH regulated, checks blood volumes in the body, and helps maintain healthy blood pressure.

Benefits of Electrolytes

Electrolytes have enormous benefits! Here are just some of the miraculous things electrolytes can do in your exercise regime, immune health, brainpower, stress management, and more.

Exercise Performance

Later, we will talk more about why electrolyte intake is so important during exercise. For now, I'll just mention that if you want long-lasting focus, speed, endurance, and strength, sipping an electrolyte drink during your workout is essential. You'd be surprised how far a little bit of magnesium, sodium, potassium, and calcium will get you!

Maintains a Healthy Immune System

If you want to keep your body's first line of defense in tip-top shape, drink electrolytes!

Many immune cells depend on electrolytes to function; they help regulate immune cell signaling to enable our immune system to act. Electrolytes help recycle cells (takes part in the replication and death of cells), anti-inflammatory processes, and more.

Brain Power

Hydration! As stated earlier, even the slightest drop in water levels in the body can contribute to impaired cognition. 

Since our brain's neuron-communicating functions rely on electrolytes to get those messages across, one can only imagine how important it is to pair our H20 with some electrolytes!

This is also where a balance in electrolytes is imperative. Sodium, for instance, has a significant impact on the brain. Too little sodium results in too much water in the brain. Too much sodium does the opposite; not enough water in the brain. Both a deficit and an excess can give us a severe headache and poor brain function (or worse)... No thank you!

Stress Management

Drinking water and electrolytes also play a significant role in keeping us calm, cool, and collected. Studies have shown that magnesium has a beneficial effect on mild to moderate anxiety, playing a pivotal role in regulating the normal stress response.

Ironically, even feeling stressed can cause depletion in your own magnesium levels. If this vicious stress cycle sounds familiar, it might be time to start getting your daily dose of magnesium.

When to Drink Electrolytes

In most cases, anyone eating a healthy diet is getting plenty of electrolytes. Eating day-to-day generic fruits and veggies and drinking plenty of water is what keeps our electrolyte levels balanced.

There are, however, certain times in which our electrolytes become unbalanced. In some cases, our bodies need a little extra help in replenishing them, such as:

• Exercising (sweating)
• Hot temperatures
• Dehydration
• Being under-the-weather
• Taking certain medications

Here, we will highlight a few of them:

Exercise

Sweating is one of our body's most important detoxification pathways. When we exercise, we sweat, losing both water & minerals from the body. This is a good thing! 

To maintain our strength and focus during exercise, however, and to aid in our post-workout recovery, we must replenish during exercise and after (especially in the hotter seasons of the year).

Although the amount of electrolytes lost during a workout differs from person to person, studies show that even a 2% loss in body weight (via sweat) can affect performance levels and electrolyte balance within the body.

Next workout, keep an electrolyte-enhanced drink within arm's reach (oh, and pro-tip, be wary of the sugar content. Most sport's drinks are way too sugared up!).

Stay Safe, Stay Cool

This is a less common situation, but still important all the same!

Electrolytes can also prevent severe effects in hotter temperatures, like heat stroke, heat exhaustion, or heat rash. 

Although we all know that sweating is the go-to way for our bodies to release internal heat, sometimes this isn't enough. To replace the minerals and water loss and help keep your internal temperature cool...you guessed it. Replenish with water and electrolytes.

When traveling to hotter climates, keep the good stuff with you (H20 and electrolytes), and ditch anything dehydrating (i.e., alcohol, coffee, etc.). 

Getting Sick, it Happens.

From time to time, we all have a typical human experience of getting sick, whether vomiting or diarrhea. We usually bounce right back. But when we are down for a longer time, our bodies can lose a lot of water and electrolytes (this happens all too often to children). This throws off the communication between our cells (hint: headaches, muscle cramps, and more) and our body's pH.

Replenishing our electrolytes (especially sodium, chloride, and potassium) is important to get our body's back on track and properly absorb and use the water we drink.

What Happens when your Body is Low on Electrolytes?

There are many symptoms attributed to electrolyte imbalance. On most days, we are more likely to be low on electrolytes than to have too many electrolytes (besides America's love for sodium!).

This is because our bodies are constantly at work to ensure electrolyte levels are balanced (we can thank our kidneys and hormones for that). Still, as we discussed, there are times when we don't have the right amount of electrolytes in our bodies.

The following symptoms vary in severity based on the individual. Some of them are caused by a specific electrolyte whose levels are too high or too low in the body:

• Irregular heartbeat
• Lethargy
• Twitching/muscle spasms
• Changes in blood pressure
• Numbness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Loss of appetite
• Constipation
• Dry mouth
• Mood changes
• Frequent urination

What is the Best Way to Replenish Electrolytes?

If any of the symptoms above sound familiar to you, it might be in your best interest to get some electrolytes in your system.

If you haven't already noticed, there is an overwhelming number of different electrolyte supplements and sports drinks on the market.

To narrow it down, I would recommend avoiding all the sports drinks that are sugar-loaded. They often contain low-quality electrolytes that, alongside the sugar content, aren't going to do your body and mind justice!

One supplement that features the most important electrolytes, without any unnecessary/unhealthy ingredients or fillers, is called EarlyBird Morning Cocktail.

It contains the perfect balance of calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium that your body will thank you for. Whether you are looking for some electrolyte replenishment, a morning boost, or just as a general wellness practice, I highly recommend trying out EarlyBird Morning Cocktail!