Electrolytes: A Brief Explanation

If you are an athlete, you are told that electrolytes are important. End of discussion. We drink our Gatorade, because it has been so well commercialized to tell you it has electrolytes, and we go on our way. Well, has anyone stopped and actually wondered...what the hell do electrolytes do?

If you look at the Periodic Table of the Elements, you will actually find a couple of the electrolytes up there (Na, Cl, Ca, K, and Mg). There are electrolytes not on there because it is a combination of some different ones, but I'm not here to make things difficult to understand. Basically, electrolytes are salt; and I mean salt including table salt (NaCl) and other salts made of different elements. Stick with me, chemistry class is over now.

So they why, you ask, do we need to ingest a bunch of these little mineral elements? (Yes these are included in the "vitamins and minerals" of a daily diet) It's because our cells in our body hold very specific concentrations of these different elements. Specific actions such as a nerve impulse or sugar being absorbed are controlled by the concentrations changing and electrolytes flowing. Most importantly for us, muscle contractions are controlled by electrolytes flowing in and out of cells. Ever had a muscle cramp? That's why they tell you to drink Gatorade. The electrolytes in it will help restore the balance around the muscle allowing it to contract and relax normally again. Starting to make sense?

There are electrolytes in things other than sports drinks. Milk and fruit juice both have them (and milk is an amazing post-exercise drink) and fruits and vegetables also naturally have these minerals. You can even try making your own sports drink! Mix these together:

• 4 cups water
• Half a lemon's juice
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

You might have to heat it up before chilling it to get it to be fully dissolved. There are some more recipes here but get creative! Try something new and experiment with your own ingredients.