You must have heard about electrolyte drink in sports. Athletes or professional athletes usually subject their physique to thermal stress and suffer possible dehydration due to loss of fluids and electrolytes, due to intense and prolonged exercise.

It is in this fact where the utility of sports or isotonic drinks lies.

What are electrolytes drinks?

Electrolyte drinks are substances whose composition contains free ions which cause them to behave like electrical conductors. In simple terms: they are materials that dissolve, totally or partially, in water and give rise to a solution that conducts electric current.

The primary free ions of electrolytes are the following: sodium (Na +), potassium (K +), calcium (Ca2 +), magnesium (Mg2 +), chloride (Cl-), hydrogen phosphate (HPO42-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-).

Function and importance of electrolytes in your health

Our body requires an adequate balance of electrolytes between the intracellular medium and the extracellular medium, that is, we need to maintain an appropriate osmotic gradient of electrolytes.

This is fundamental because these gradients are responsible for regulating hydration, the pH of the blood, and are essential to carry out the breathing process as well as the functions of the nerves and muscles.

In training sessions more or less "normal", that is, of low intensity and/or duration (less than one hour), there is no significant decrease in body reserves of these minerals, so no contribution is necessary of sodium, potassium and other electrolytes. Water is the most convenient liquid in these conditions.

In more intense and prolonged training or sports competitions such as ultra-marathons, triathlons, etc., it is advisable to resort to a drink with electrolyte content. Otherwise, the athlete would be at risk of overhydration, a disorder due to a blood sodium concentration below normal levels-less than 135 mEq / L. There would be a tendency for water to go from the interstitial space (the one located between the cells) to the intracellular space.

Sources of electrolytes:

We find electrolytes in sports as electrolyte supplement (isotonic or rehydration drinks). However, this type of soft drinks are usually high in sugar and, remember, are only recommended and effective in exercises lasting more than an hour-for shorter time, we insist, water is sufficient.

While there are other options such as coconut water, these are electrolyte powder with hardly any sugars and, therefore, without the nutritional problems derived from the majority of commercial isotonic drinks.

In the case of water kefir, its content in sugar is 2 g per 100 ml, which is the residual sugar not consumed by the kefir culture in the fermentation; a caloric value practically null.