Thursday, September 13, 2007

Ron, I Need Your Help: Part 2 of 2

Here's my other scientific dilemma:

Do electrolytes cause water retention?

They suggest that athletes drink Gatorade (etc) because they are filled with electrolytes...is this because they help fight dehydration?

2 comments:

Ron said...

Definition

Electrolytes are minerals in your blood and other body fluids that carry an electric charge. It is important for the balance of electrolytes in your body to be maintained, because they affect the amount of water in your body, blood pH, muscle action, and other important processes. You lose electrolytes when you sweat, and these must be replenished by drinking lots of fluids.

Electrolytes exist in the blood as acids, bases, and salts (such as sodium, calcium, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, and bicarbonate) and can be measured by laboratory studies of the blood serum.

See also:

ionized calcium
ions
radioactive iodine uptake
serum calcium
serum chloride
serum magnesium
serum phosphorus
serum sodium
sweat electrolytes

Allison Murray said...

wow....he's good.