1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,840
Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff from house stuff works dot com where

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:15,120
Speaker 1: smart happens. Hi am merciall brain with today's question, what

3
00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:18,800
Speaker 1: are electrolytes? For example, when you see a commercial for

4
00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,160
Speaker 1: Gatorade or some of their sports drink like that and

5
00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,000
Speaker 1: they talk about electrolytes, what are they talking about. An

6
00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:31,280
Speaker 1: electrolyte is a medical scientific term for salts, specifically for ions.

7
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:36,479
Speaker 1: The term electrolyte means that this ion is electrically charged.

8
00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:41,680
Speaker 1: For example, your body fluids things like your blood, your plasma,

9
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,960
Speaker 1: the lymph that's flowing through your lymph nodes are very

10
00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,800
Speaker 1: similar to seawater. These fluids contain a lot of salt,

11
00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,600
Speaker 1: also known as sodium chloride. The electrolytes and sodium chloride

12
00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,160
Speaker 1: are the sodium ion and the chloride ion. When you

13
00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,760
Speaker 1: drink salt and it dissolves in why or it splits

14
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:05,080
Speaker 1: into these two charged ions. As for your body, the

15
00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:15,039
Speaker 1: major electrolytes include sodium and chloride, which we just mentioned, potassium, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonate, phosphate,

16
00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:20,039
Speaker 1: and sulfate. These electrolytes are important because they're what your cells,

17
00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:24,160
Speaker 1: especially your nerve, heart and muscle cells, used to carry

18
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:29,160
Speaker 1: electrical impulses through nerve fibers. When you exercise heavily, though,

19
00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:34,040
Speaker 1: you lose electrolytes in your sweat, particularly sodium and potassium.

20
00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 1: These electrolytes have to be replaced to keep the electrolyte

21
00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:42,520
Speaker 1: concentrations of your body fluids constant. So many sports drinks

22
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,680
Speaker 1: have sodium chloride or potassium chloride added to them. They

23
00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,360
Speaker 1: also have sugar and flavorings to make these ions taste better.

24
00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,360
Speaker 1: Another example where electrolyte drinks are important is when an

25
00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:59,080
Speaker 1: infant or a child has a chronic vomiting or diarrhea problems, say,

26
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 1: because of an essenal flu virus. When children vomit or

27
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,080
Speaker 1: have diarrhea, they lose electro lights. Again, these electro lights

28
00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,280
Speaker 1: and the fluids have to be replaced to prevent dehydration

29
00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,760
Speaker 1: and seizures. Therefore, drinks like pedia Light have sodium and

30
00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,520
Speaker 1: potassium in them, just like the sports drinks do. However,

31
00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,560
Speaker 1: pediatricians don't recommend giving sports drinks to a sick kid

32
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,640
Speaker 1: because sports drinks usually have a lot of sugar, and

33
00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,680
Speaker 1: sugar isn't particularly good for a sick kid. Be sure

34
00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,680
Speaker 1: to check out our new video podcast, Stuff from the Future.

35
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 1: Join how stup work staff, as we explore the most

36
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,440
Speaker 1: promising and perplexing possibilities of tomorrow. The house, Stuff Works,

37
00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,080
Speaker 1: I Fine app has a ride. Download it today on

38
00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:45,679
Speaker 1: iTunes