Electrolytes – The Fluid of Life

Electrolytes play a fundamental role in human health. These primary mineral salts fuel every metabolic process. Electrolytes manage muscle and nerve function. They are the reason you can wiggle your fingers and toes. They keep your heart beating. An imbalance of electrolytes is likely responsible for those muscle cramps and ‘charley horses’ you experience. Electrolytesare key to hydration – they help keep your skin and lips soft and healthy.They are crucial for fluid balance, that tricky dance that keeps fluids inside and outside of the cells so nutrients are transported and wastes eliminated. Managing your fluid balance could arguably be the foundation for managing your health.

Check the list below to see if YOU need to improve your electrolyte balance:

• Low or high blood pressure

• Cold hands and/or feet

• Muscle cramps

• Fluid retention

• Dry Skin and lips

• Fatigue and/or Mental confusion

• Inability to sweat or excessive sweating

• Chronic infections

What are Electrolytes?

As the name implies, electrolytes are minerals that conduct the electrical energy that drives all metabolic process.

Water + Electrolytes = Hydration

The body depends on water to transport nutrients, flush out toxins and wastes, help with digestion and provide conduction for our senses of smell, taste, sight and hearing. About 60% of body weight is water. Blood contains about 70% water; bones about 20%; heart, brain and muscles each about75% water. Keeping your body hydrated supports all of your body’s organs, bones and metabolic processes.

Water is technically H20 – a chemical equation of one part hydrogen to two parts oxygen. Most water also contains minerals in varying degrees so we’ll refer to water that contains minerals as fluid.

The primary mineral composition of the human body is sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, sulfate and phosphate. These electrolyte salts  are responsible for the normal functioning of all metabolic processes. An imbalance of these salts can cause a wide range of afflictions from high blood pressure to muscle cramps, hormone imbalances to emotional disturbances.

One more important concept – fluids are found in cells (intracellular), around cells (extracellular) and in the blood. Electrolytes are responsible for keeping the proper fluid amounts in each compartment – defined as fluid balance. This ability to ‘hold on’ to fluids properly in each compartment is another aspect of hydration.

An electrolyte is a conducting fluid (a fluid that conducts electricity). Plain water (H2O) is not an electrolyte because it does not contain the minerals necessary to conduct electricity. Body fluids conduct electricity because they contain charged particles (ions) in the form of mineral salts.

These positively and negatively charged minerals together create the electric current that allows muscles to move and nerve transmissions to fire.

The primary ions in the body are divided into two groups:

Positively Charged Ions (cations)

• sodium

• potassium

• calcium

• magnesium

Negatively Charged Ions (anions)

• chloride

• bicarbonate

• phosphate

Since much of our existence depends on electrolytes, understanding their role provides a baseline for understanding your health.