“Replenishing your electrolytes” is an enormously common phase in the athletic industry, but what exactly are electrolytes and how do they work in our bodies? Electrolytes themselves are electrically charged minerals that help carry out metabolic, muscle, and nerve functions in the body as well as creating an environment to maintain homeostasis. Because they carry a positive or negative charge, these electrolytes are also seen occasionally as compounds in the body, but let me break down the different functions of electrolytes to explain this more thoroughly.
Calcium is vital in the strength and creation of new bones. It plays an indispensable role alongside phosphate in skeletal mineralization, forming hydroxyapatite crystals on collagen fibers that mineralize the outside of bones. This mineralization strengths bones and provides bone density.
Playing a role in muscle movement, calcium is important in the chemical reactions leading up to muscle contraction. Released by the sarcoplasmic reticulum, calcium bonds with troponin forming cross bridges with myosin and actin, triggering muscle contraction.
Calcium is responsible for the complete activation of many coagulation, bonding factors, bonding with multiple molecules.
Increases of intracellular calcium releases hormones in the endocrine system.
Calcium activated chloride channels cause the depolarization of the plasma membrane, increasing the voltage dependent calcium channels, influxing calcium and causing contraction. This is associated in vascular smooth muscle in vessels. More specifically, the contraction of vessels such as blood vessels and arteries help blood movement in the body.
Symptoms from Deficiencies
Low absorption of calcium over time may lead to osteopenia, low bone density, and osteoporosis consequently causing weak, brittle bones.
Chloride is crucial in maintaining osmotic pressure of cells through creating electrical neutrality in extracellular and intracellular fluid. Henceforth, chloride can determine hydration levels.
In the GI tract, chloride plays an important role as hydrochloric acid. This compound is secreted by parietal cells in gastric mucosa which additionally secretes pepsinogen. Hydrochloric acid activates pepsinogen which is needed for the absorption of B12. In addition to absorption, hydrochloric acid additionally acts as a bactericide in the GI tract to prevent bacterial overgrowth.
Chloride also plays a major role in maintaining pH levels in the body by acting as the coenzyme amylase. This coenzyme is part of the compound hydrochloric acid and acts as a buffer, maintaining the pH levels.
Symptoms from Deficiencies
Development of acidosis, high acid levels in the blood, may develop from a deficiency of chloride. Acidosis symptoms fatigue, excessive thirst, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, and low mucus levels.
Fluid loss as a result of low chloride levels in the blood that cause an imbalance of osmotic pressure in cells.
**If you are bulimic or use diuretics, this electrolyte is often heavily depleted.
As one of the two main ionic components of hydroxyapatite required for mineralization of the extracellular matrix of the bone, the alkaline enzyme of phosphorus is essential in generating enough minerals and is found at the cell membrane where a catalytic event occurs. This phosphorus comes from beta-glycerol phosphate and the free mineralized phosphorus enters the cell through the catalytic sodium phosphate transport. Once enough is found, the enzyme is decreased, bone metabolism is finished, and the phosphorus is used for bone matrix mineralization.
Phosphorus plays a major role in both DNA and RNA structural framework providing a sugar-phosphate group backbone. In addition to it being a backbone, the sugar-phosphate backbone synthesizes and “glues” together DNA.
Phosphorus is essential to energy, more specifically ATP. Broken down, ATP stands for adenosine triphosphate. This compound is the energy cells use to carry out cell functions.
In blood, calcium and phosphorus maintain an inverse relationship where one is dependent on the level of the other. The parathyroid gland secretes hormones to regulate calcium in the blood.
In order to absorb phosphorus, vitamin D is necessary. This is due to vitamin D stimulating intestinal absorption of phosphorus and calcium.
Trouble in bone growth as well as regrowth and strength of bones.
Potassium is a major electrolyte found in active transport protein pumps. More specifically, the sodium-potassium protein pump. This active transport is essential in nutrient absorption into the blood from the small intestines. In addition, potassium helps regulate sodium levels in the body.
Potassium is imperative in the cardiovascular system by helping nerves fire proper electrical signals through the myocardium.
In addition to the cardiovascular system, potassium helps maintain the pH levels of blood.
As stated earlier, correct potassium levels in the blood help nerves fire properly through keeping the biochemical balance through cell membranes. The proper firing of these nerves is important to the secretion of hormones, muscle contraction, and smooth muscle contractions.
Low amounts of potassium in the body can cause improper electrical signals to be sent through the body. In the cardiovascular system, potassium deficiencies can cause irregular heart rhythms. Outside of the heart, potassium levels may cause cramping or muscle spasms.
Those using diuretics or purging are vulnerable to potassium deficiencies**
Magnesium is one of the most important electrolytes and is necessary for a multitude of functions in an array of organs. Almost all enzymes required to metabolize vitamin D, an important nutrient, require magnesium to metabolize this nutrient.
In addition to vitamin D, magnesium plays a role in nearly six hundred enzyme activations within the body that regulate biochemical reactions such as glycolysis, regulation of blood pressure, and protein synthesis.
Magnesium plays an essential role in the structuring of DNA through its synthesis and pulling of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides, nitrogen bases that connect strands of DNA via hydrogen bonds. Because of this, magnesium is required for synthesis of DNA, transcription of RNA, and its translation into proteins.
All brains contain NMDA receptors, a glutamate receptor and ion channel found in neurons. These nerve cells are important in learning and memory in adults as well as brain development in some cases. Magnesium blocks these nerves from weak impulses.
When calcium enters cardiovascular cells, muscle cells contract. However, magnesium is the counter effect of calcium, relaxing these cells. Paired together, magnesium is essential in the heart’s beating.
In addition to heart cells, magnesium also interacts with regular muscle fibers, binding with troopin C and myosin to help muscle cells relax.
Low magnesium can result in the blockage of NMDA receptors leading to the possible overstimulation of these nerve cells. Such stimulation is found to damage or even kill these cells.
Low magnesium levels result in calcium obtaining more spots in binding of troopin C and myosin leading to muscle cramps and spasms.
If severe, heart rhythm may become irregular.
Sodium is a major extracellular cation that plays a humongous role in nerve transmission throughout the body. The transportation of sodium cations to nerve cells creates an electrical charge difference between the nerve cell and its environment. This charge and the sodium cation results in transmission of nerve impulses and bodily movements.
In the same sense of nerve transmission, sodium cations are used in muscle contractions. The charge the nerve cell communicates across the sodium current releases the neurotransmitter acetylcholine that signals the sodium channels to open. Once open, sodium flushes in and signals a muscle transaction.
Sodium is a largely used water soluble cation that maintains osmotic pressure in cells. Henceforth, sodium levels additionally control hydration or dehydration of the body.
A number of cells across the body have what is called the sodium-potassium pump, a soluble system where three sodium ions bond with the protein pump that receives ATP and changes shape consequently releasing three sodium ions. Facilitated by this pump, nutrients pass through the small intestines to the blood, they encounter this protein pump and through this interaction, the higher portion of sodium ions move extracellularly.
Low sodium levels, if severe enough, are detrimental to one's health. Excess fluid will build up in your blood volume and body, affecting both your kidneys and heart. The kidneys will be unable to remove excess fluid from the blood resulting in a build up of fluid around the heart putting oneself at risk of heart failure. Abusing diuretics can affect the kidney’s ability to remove fluid by itself so if using, be very careful with the span of diuretic abuse.*
As sodium is vital in the absorption of nutrients, a deficiency in sodium may result in malnutrition. Despite food intake, if sodium levels are too low, a person is at stake of malnutrition.
If severe enough, low sodium levels may cause seizures as sodium is unable to transmit messages from neurotransmitters.
Muscle Cramps or twitching
At the end of the day, electrolytes are vital to the proper functioning of the body. While restricting caloric intake, purging, or other forms of disordered eating is going to happen, please be mindful of what you eat when you have a meal or snack by including foods high in minerals or supplement with vitamins. If you dislike pills, or the vitamins need to be taken with food, many gummy vitamins are fine to take on an empty stomach. If you are fasting or have been heavily restricting PLEASE invest in electrolyte chews such as the ones Gatorade has or powders. These can save someone if they are in a dire situation.
* bibliography at request, it is on a separate google document due to the length of it.
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