What are electrolytes? - eviltoast

I know gator-aid and its like advertise that they have lots of them. And I know sometimes I feel bad if I sweat a lot and just drink water. But are they just advertising… salt? Are there different kinds of electrolytes, and if so are they interchangable?

  • Zeth0s@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    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

      • Zeth0s@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        They are positively charged so electrical signals are actually not created by long migrations of electrons, but by short diffusion of positive charges across membranes, that temporarily reverse local polarization. This depolarization triggers nearby regions to do the same, creating depolarization waves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depolarization

        It’s very fascinating, also because controlling the cross membrane diffusion of ions allows for controlling the signals. Which is what neurotransmitters do

        • feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          I know man, I was just being silly. My first degree was in physiology and pharmacology so I’m very familiar with nerve signalling.