An adult’s body is 60 percent water. This water is full of electrolytes.
Electrolytes help with many of your body’s most important processes. To keep your body feeling and working at its best, you need to avoid electrolyte depletion, especially if you engage in heavy sports or exercise or are overcoming an illness.
If you’re curious about how to replenish lost electrolytes, keep reading this article for a refresher on the symptoms and causes of electrolyte imbalance.
What Are Electrolytes?
Electrolytes are electrically charged essential chemical compounds that your body produces naturally. They help your body with everything from building new tissue to keeping your muscles contracting. This includes maintaining your heartbeat!
Examples of electrolytic substances include potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. This means that you can find electrolytes in a variety of foods and drinks.
Because these chemicals are so important for keeping your body up and running, you need to keep your electrolyte levels balanced.
What Is Electrolyte Imbalance?
Electrolyte imbalance occurs when your body’s electrolyte count is off-balance. This is when you have either too little or too few electrolytes in your body fluids.
The most common cause of electrolyte imbalance is excessive sweating. When you release fluids through sweating or vomiting, you also lose electrolytes. Certain medications and health conditions can also create an electrolyte imbalance.
Symptoms of electrolyte imbalance include irregular heartbeat, nausea, and muscle cramping. You might also notice mood changes, like confusion and irritability.
It’s unlikely that you have too many electrolytes in your body. Electrolyte imbalances commonly involve electrolyte depletion, since it’s hard to absorb too many electrolytic nutrients from food alone.
How to Replenish Depleted Electrolytes
Whether you ran a marathon or just got over a fever, it’s important to replace any depleted electrolytes. You have lots of food and drinks to choose from to make this easier.
Foods like spinach, potatoes, and avocadoes are all rich in electrolytic minerals to help you keep your electrolytes in check. For a sweet tooth, reach for bananas, strawberries, and oranges.
If you’re going to exercise for 60 minutes or less, drink water before and during your workout. For longer periods of exercise, go for an electrolytic sports drink like Gatorade instead. This article offers a helpful ranking of the best flavors to choose from.
Sports drinks are made to help athletes. They can be a great source of post-workout hydration.
Sports drinks are also good to have at your bedside when you’re sick. They can help with fluid loss from fever, vomiting, or diarrhea.
The Basics of Electrolyte Depletion
Electrolytes are essential for keeping your body functioning at its best. If you find yourself sweating often, you need to replace any depleted electrolytes.
It’s important to make sure that you are replenishing any lost fluids with the right nutrients. With a combination of electrolytic food and drinks, you can easily avoid electrolyte depletion.
If you found this article helpful, be sure to look through our blog for more health and fitness tips.