Electrolytes And Energy

What Are Electrolytes?

Electrolytes are minerals that conduct electrical charges in your body. Electrolytes include sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and bicarbonate. Each of the electrolytes have different jobs in the body.

The conduction of electricity allows the transmission of messages between cells. This communication happens in a variety of ways but most commonly through potassium channels.

Potassium channels transport potassium ions and help regulate the beating of the heart and recycle ATP (a co-enzyme which helps transfer energy into cells), amongst other things. Electrolytes are essential for our nervous system.

Electrolytes also help balance fluid levels in the body. Humans are approximately 60% water by weight so disruption in fluids can affect energy levels.

The body is very clever at preventing severe fluid and electrolyte issues but often we can experience mild disturbances.  Usually these result in us feeling weak, fatigued, sometimes confused, cramps, and don’t sleep well.

Drinking too much ‘plain’ water can affect the electrolyte balance as can things like excessive exercise where we sweat lots and lose sodium through the skin.

The lower our sodium levels get, the less energy we have.

Low carb diets can also create low sodium levels due to less salty foods being consumed.

How Do Electrolytes Work?

When we eat our bodies store the calories that come from the food. When we need energy, a process called cellular respiration is responsible for unlocking the stored energy and turning it into usable energy.

In cellular respiration, cells use both oxygen and nutrients like glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids to create usable energy as ATP. One stage of cellular respiration is called the Krebs cycle.

The Krebs cycle is a method of producing energy from the byproducts of glucose and fatty acids in the mitochondria.

The takeaway is that your body is a complex machine for turning stored energy (food) into usable energy (ATP). And the proper functioning of that machine relies, in part, on electrolytes.

Electrolytes don’t contain stored energy. Without electrolytes, however, you couldn’t turn stored energy into usable energy.

That’s because electrolytes like potassium, magnesium, and calcium support the complex reactions that produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate or ‘usable energy’).

Let’s take a closer at look at what different electrolytes do:

• Sodium is the one electrolyte we are usually not deficient in, since the typical Western diet contains a lot of salt. Sodium regulates water in the body, telling our bodies how much to keep and how much to flush out. However, we don’t need too much! High levels can cause high blood pressure.

• Potassium works with sodium to balance water in the body. It’s needed for muscle function, glucose metabolism, and for causing electrical impulses, which our bodies need for nerve signalling. Diets rich in potassium can help the body to counteract the damage done by too much salt, lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of stroke. Low potassium levels can cause high blood pressure and risk of kidney stones.

• Magnesium helps the body in many ways and activates more than 300 enzyme reactions in the body. It regulates muscle and nerve function, keeps blood sugar and blood pressure levels balanced and helps the body to make protein, bone, and DNA. Magnesium is also needed for better sleep and relaxation, regulating our mood, and energy metabolism. Low  magnesium levels can cause muscle cramps, fatigue, PMS and bad moods.

• Chloride helps us to keep a healthy fluid balance in the cells, helping water to travel in and out of cells. It also helps our bodies to maintain a healthy pH balance.

• Calcium helps with muscle repair and muscle contractions (including the heart) and is also important for strong, healthy bones and teeth.

So to summarise, we can see that electrolytes support a wide range of body function including:

• Regulating energy metabolism

• Maintaining fluid balance

• Regulating heartbeat

• Providing energy to the nervous system

• Producing and regulating hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, aldosterone, and antidiuretic hormone

• Regulating blood pressure

• Regulating muscle contraction

• Promoting good  sleep

The nervous system

Electrolytes are important for the health of our nervous system. Sodium and potassium are responsible for conducting electrical messages between cells and imbalances can cause symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and lethargy.

Hormone health

Sodium in particular is responsible for regulating hormones connected to energy and how ‘energetic’ we feel.

A deficiency can cause increased cortisol levels (our stress hormone) which can lead to adrenal fatigue, increased adrenaline levels which impair good sleep and also cause issues with ADH – our antidiuretic hormone which helps us to not need the loo so much at night.

Topping Up Our Electrolytes

The amount of electrolytes our body needs depends on a number of factors including age, activity levels, climate and water consumption.

We can replenish electrolytes in a number of ways:

Supplements 

Supplements are a key way to restore electrolyte levels in the body. I love E-Lyte by BodyBio.

Coconut water is also very hydrating but doesn;t contain sodium so in this case, you could sprinkle with a pinch of Himalayan salt *you can also do this with water).

Foods

Avocado is one of the best sources of potassium (double the amount of bananas!) and are also a good source of healthy fats. Perfect with a light sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon or lime

Watermelon contains potassium, lots of water and natural sugars making it a great choice for a post workout snack.

Greens such as spinach, kale, broccoli and collard greens are good sources of magnesium and calcium

Nuts, seeds, and nut or seed butters are a good source of magnesium, and some, such as cashews, contain moderate amounts of phosphorous

Lentils, kidney beans, and soybeans contain magnesium, potassium, and phosphorous. Tofu can be a source of calcium if the manufacturers use calcium sulfate as a coagulan.

Dairy products contain calcium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorous.

Staying balanced

Here are some tips you can use to keep your electrolytes in balance:

• Eat a balanced, healthy diet which includes foods that contain electrolytes.

• Drink plenty of water but beware of drinking too much as this creates an imbalance in electrolyte levels,  flushing them out of the body

• Avoid strenuous exercise in hot weather.

• Don’t overuse diuretics or take them for a prolonged period of time without your doctor’s approval.

• Don’t overuse salt. Even though sodium is an electrolyte, eating too much can cause other issues such as high blood pressure

• Ensure you are replacing electrolytes after harder workouts or prolonged periods of exercise. Supplements are very useful here.

• Talk to your doctor about the medications you’re taking, and ask if any of them can be replaced if you’re noticing an imbalance.