Electrolytes are substances that have a natural positive or negative electrical charge when dissolved in water. They help your body regulate chemical reactions, maintain the balance between fluids inside and outside your cells. The cells use electrolytes to conduct electrical charges, which includes muscle contraction and beating of the heart. They also transmit nerve signals from the heart, muscle and nerve cells to other cells in the body, help blood clot and build new tissue.
Our body gets electrolytes or their components from what the food we eat and drink. The kidneys filter excess electrolytes out of the body and into the urine. We also lose electrolytes when we sweat. The 6 electrolytes are sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, phosphate and calcium.
FUNCTIONS OF MAGNESIUM:
It is essential in the development of the skeletal structure such as bones, and other proteins.
It is also responsible for the proper functioning of muscles. It helps provide minute electric impulses necessary for the contractions of muscles.
It helps in many enzymatic reactions in the body.
It is also responsible for the metabolism of calcium and potassium.
It also plays a role in sending signals from nerve to nerve or nerve to muscles, through its electrolyte nature, when mixed with water.
Low magnesium (hypomagnesemia) may cause symptoms similar to low potassium or calcium. An extremely low level can be life-threatening. High magnesium (hypermagnesemia) may cause low blood pressure, breathing problems (slow, ineffective breathing) and heart problems (cardiac arrest).
FUNCTIONS OF SODIUM:
It plays a crucial role in controlling and balancing the amount of water present in the body.
It can also be used as a signal, with its movement in and out of cells. This plays a critical role in body function.
Many processes in the body including the proper functioning of the brain and the nervous systems require electrical signals for efficient communication.
The movement of sodium across the body is critical for the generation of these electrical signals.
Low sodium, also called hyponatremia, causes water to move into cells. High sodium, or hypernatremia, causes fluid to move out of the cells. When either of these things happens in brain cells, it can cause personality changes, headache, confusion and lethargy. If the sodium drop is severe, it can result in seizures, coma and death.
FUNCTIONS OF POTASSIUM:
Potassium regulates the water balance and the acid-base balance in the blood and tissues.
It helps in the contractions and relaxations of muscles. It also plays a role in the proper functioning and controlling of involuntary muscles in the body.
It helps the heartbeat stay regular. It plays a critical role in the transmission of electrical impulses in the heart.
It helps in the movement of nutrients into cells and waste products out of cells.
Low potassium (hypokalemia) may not cause symptoms, but it may affect how your body stores glycogen (your muscles’ source of energy) or cause abnormal heart rhythms. It can cause muscle weakness, spasms, cramps, paralysis and respiratory problems. If it continues, kidney problems may occur. High potassium (hyperkalemia) may not cause any symptoms, although you may experience muscle weakness or abnormal heart rhythms. If it is very high, the heart can stop beating.
FUNCTIONS OF CALCIUM:
Calcium helps in the formation of skeletal frame, such as bones and teeth.
It helps in muscle contraction and relaxation.
One of the functions of calcium is in balancing and controlling the functions of many enzymes.
It plays a significant role in blood clotting (especially in the 'clotting cascade' in the presence of inflammation).
It tightly controls the heart rhythm of the body.
Chronically low calcium (hypocalcemia) levels can cause changes in skin, nails and hair; yeast infections; and cataracts. As levels drop, muscle irritability and cramps (particularly in legs and back) may develop also causing changes in your reflexes (hyperreflexia), muscle spasms, spasms of the larynx (voice box) and seizures. As high calcium (hypercalcemia) rises, constipation, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neuromuscular symptoms and bowel obstruction may occur. In severe cases this can cause emotional swings, confusion, delirium kidney failure, heart problems, including rhythm changes and heart attack and death.
FUNCTIONS OF CHLORIDE:
Chloride helps maintain the neutrality in the body, it also helps maintain the body’s homeostasis.
With the aid of other electrolytes, it also helps in the contractions and relaxations of muscles.
Chloride can also be used to create a potential difference required by nerve cells to transmit signals from one part of the body to another.
Like all other electrolytes required by the body, it can play a crucial role in controlling and balancing the hydration levels of the body.
Low chloride (hypochloremia) may be due to excessive vomiting, dehydration, or diuretic medications, often used to treat fluid retention caused by heart or kidney problems or high blood pressure. High chloride (hyperchloremia) often results from diarrhea or kidney disease.
FUNCTIONS OF PHOSPHATE:
Phosphates play an important role in energy production as components of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) and nucleotides.
85% of the body’s phosphate can be found in its skeletal structure such as bones and teeth, and plays a crucial role in their development.
It is also used as a building block for cell membranes and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
They also play a role in sending signals between nerves and can also be helpful in sending small electrical signals to muscles that trigger contractions within them.
Low phosphate (hypophosphatemia) can cause muscle weakness, respiratory failure, heart failure, seizures and coma. It may be caused by very poor nutrition, certain diuretic medications, diabetic ketoacidosis, alcoholism and severe burns. High phosphates (hyperphosphatemia) may not cause symptoms. It may be due to infection, chronic kidney disease, parathyroid gland disorder, or acidosis (blood pH more acidic than normal).
Comments