ELECTROLYTES: Do I really need them?

So welcome to this week's episode and, yes, we are talking about electrolytes because all of a sudden it seems like they are everywhere.

They're in powders, tablets, sachets, drinks.

Social media is definitely making it sound like we're all chronically deficient in them, and one scoop of electrolytes is gonna, you know, answer all our problems.

But the question is, do we actually need them? So that is what we're gonna dive into in this episode.

So let's move straight on to the science bit.

So first of all, what actually are electrolytes? Well, electrolytes are basically minerals that carry an electric charge when they are dissolved in water.

So the main ones that you'll hear about are sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and chloride.

And that electrical charge that I spoke about is important because your body basically runs on electricity.

So every time your heart beats, every time your muscles contract, every time even a nerve sends a signal, that's actually electrical activity in your body, and it's these electrolytes that make them possible.

So for example, sodium and potassium work together in your body to create an electrical gradient that allows your nerves to fire and your muscles to contract, whereas calcium actually helps trigger your heart to contract and pump the blood around your body.

Magnesium, on the other hand, will help your muscles relax after they've contracted, and it also supports hundreds of reactions in the body.

So electrolytes are absolutely essential and, because they're so essential to your life, your body regulates them very, very tightly through a process that is known as homeostasis.

That is homeostasis.