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You might think electrolytes are some kind of lab-made superfuel for elite athletes and those who want to be like them.
Electrolytes are indeed powerful, and in some circumstances, your body might benefit from a boost. But like comic book heroes with mild-mannered alter egos, they might already be hanging around in your life by another name. And like a movie franchise with one sequel too many, more is not always better.
“The simplest way to think about electrolytes is that they are essential minerals and that they provide many different things that the body needs,” said Dr. Sara Rosenkranz, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
They’re called electrolytes because they have an electric charge – positive or negative – when dissolved in fluids, such as blood. Those electric charges signal muscles and nerves. Our bodies would not work without electrolytes.
“They have a number of different, really important and critical functions,” Rosenkranz said, including helping to regulate blood pressure, blood glucose, heart rate and rhythm and the body’s water balance.
You might know these minerals by their everyday names – among them, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium.