By Dr James Morehen, a leading Performance Nutritionist to sports stars and product development support at Vidrate.
Electrolytes are salts and minerals in our body that play a crucial role in various bodily functions including nerve and muscle function, hydration and maintaining an appropriate electrolyte balance.
By understanding the different electrolytes and their functions in our body, we can make informed decisions about our diet and ensure we’re getting the necessary minerals and salts for optimal health.
What electrolytes do we need?
The most common electrolytes in our body are sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate.
Sodium helps regulate blood pressure, blood volume, and fluid balance in our body. It is important for muscle contraction so if you are someone who enjoys exercise then take note.
Chloride is an electrolyte that works with sodium to regulate fluid balance and maintain proper pH levels in our body. It is found in table salt, processed foods, and in the fluids that our body produces, such as sweat.
Potassium is another essential electrolyte that helps regulate muscle and heart function, as well as fluid balance in our body. A lack of potassium can lead to muscle weakness, heart issues such as irregular heartbeat, kidney problems and more. Good sources of potassium include fruit such as bananas, pulses, nuts, sweet potatoes, spinach and shellfish.
Most of us are aware that calcium plays a vital role in bone health, and without it your muscles and nerve functions can suffer. From muscle cramps to brittle nails and even dental issues, calcium is necessary throughout all of life’s stages. Eating lots of salty foods can also cause your levels of calcium to deplete, so it’s important to eat a balanced diet. Add daily products, leafy green vegetables, tofu, pluses such as soybeans and fortified foods to your diet.
Magnesium is essential for muscle and nerve function, brain health and protein synthesis. Having low magnesium, which can be more common for type 2 diabetics, older people and those who suffer gastrointestinal diseases, can lead to symptoms such as muscle weakness, nausea, fatigue, heart and eye issues, numbness and tingling and headaches. You can naturally consume magnesium from nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy vegetables, as well as having supplements or electrolyte drinks with added magnesium.
Phosphate is important for bone health, as well as energy production and muscle and nerve function. Most of us get enough of this from eating dairy, meat and plant foods such as grains. If you’re unable to eat dairy and poultry due to dietary preferences, you can use supplements, but it is important to check with a doctor before introducing these to make sure you need them.
What is an electrolyte imbalance?
All these electrolytes are essential for normal bodily functions. Through an internal process called homeostasis, electrolytes can travel throughout the blood in specific concentrations, which affects how healthy each organ is. When there aren’t enough electrolytes in your blood stream, the concentrations can vary, resulting in symptoms of feeling unwell.
Electrolytes help maintain and move water so there is a balanced level of fluids inside and outside the cells, however sometimes this becomes unbalanced as the body creates too much or not enough electrolytes. This happens because of a range of things such as:
- Loss of fluids during exercise (sweat)
- Lack of fluid intake
- Vomiting
- Certain medications such as antibiotics
- Alcohol consumption
- Kidney disease
- Heart failure
- Certain forms of cancer
When you don’t have an adequate amount of water in your system this is when you have electrolyte deficiency. Signs of an imbalance include nausea, lethargy and fluid retention.
You can replenish certain electrolytes with certain foods, which includes seeds, salt, cheese and leafy vegetables, but you can also supplement this with an electrolyte drink, which can be particularly helpful after exercise – but try to opt for a low or zero sugar version like Vidrate for the best benefits.
About the expert
Dr James Morehen is a Performance Nutritionist to sports stars within rugby, football, boxing and motorsport. He previously worked for England Football and also supports Vidrate with product development.
He has been a part of Vidrate since its initial conception, offering his expertise to support the co-founders with formulas, nutritional value and best practice within the market place.
After realising his habitual tendency of a 3pm coffee needed to be broken, he began to think about why he craved the drink and what he could better replace it with. With this in mind, he came up with the concept and ingredients for the Vidrate Boost caffeine sachets.
As a Sport and Exercise Nutrition registered (SENr) performance nutritionist with a PhD in Sports Nutrition, Dr James is keen to educate the public on how to create healthy habits, why hydration is vital for everyone, and how diet can drastically improve your lifestyle.
