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What are electrolytes?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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Sodium is also used for all the electrical activity of our body (such as thinking and moving and living...), and is fundamental in adsorption of nutritions in digestion. Sodium, potassium and calcium are so important that it is difficult to even list all processes they are involved.
Edit. To add context our cells spend between 30 and 70 % of their energy to move around sodium and potassium ions https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium%E2%80%93potassium_pump A good chunk of what we eat is to move them around
bold of you to assume
Yup, they are the basic electron donators for almost everything. In the context of sports drinks tho, hyponatremia is the #2 threat (after hypernayremia, funnily enough), so the rest of it was sort of overcomplicating
They don't donate electrons. When metallic sodium or potassium donate electrons they burn, explosively. It doesn't happen in our bodies. It happens by simple contact with water.
They are already in their ionic form in our body. They cross membranes as ions, creating a potential difference across the membranes. Allowing ions to diffuse along the gradient generates the electric signals of our brains, or triggers the muscle contraction, among other things
Ah, thanks for the clarification