Electrolyte Relationships: Magnesium, calcium, sodium and postassium
SEAWATER HAS THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF MINERALS SUCH AS MAGNESIUM, SODIUM, CALCIUM AND POTASSIUM - KNOWN AS ELECTOLYTES - AND IT’S ALL ABOUT ALKA12’ PURE STRENGTH FORMULAS.
Electrolytes—mainly sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium — are minerals in our bodies that play a critical role in fluid balance, blood pressure, muscle contraction, hydration and hormone regulation. As runners, we always hear about electrolytes, and how important is to keep a good balance between all of them. Electrolyte imbalances primarily happen when you lose body fluids, so when you sweat while running, you are losing not only water but also electrolytes. This is where electrolyte supplements for runners can play a key role in maintaining your body's electrolyte levels.
The amount of sweat and electrolyte loss during exercise is highly individualized and varies depending on physical and environmental factors. In general, if you're running for under 60 minutes, you don't usually need an electrolyte supplement, as long as you are properly recovering with food and water. However, replenishing electrolytes during prolonged endurance training is crucial for optimal performance.
Are Electrolyte Supplements Beneficial for Runners?
While consuming a balanced and varied diet will likely provide you with the electrolytes you need on a daily basis, you lose important electrolytes through sweat. Since these electrolytes are involved in processes such as fluid balance and muscle contraction, an imbalance can greatly impact your running performance.
Many electrolyte supplements for runners also contain carbohydrates, which serve several purposes. These added sugars can help your body hold onto water, which prevents dehydration. They also provide you with energy so you can keep running and recover more quickly. Plus, they make beverages more palatable, encouraging you to drink.
Electrolyte supplements may help you as a runner if you are:
Running for an hour or longer: If you are running for an hour or more, you may benefit from electrolyte supplements that contain carbohydrates and the electrolytes lost in sweat—sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. The carbohydrates will provide you with energy, while the sodium and carbohydrates together help your body retain water as well as stimulate thirst, encouraging you to drink more.
Running in the heat: Electrolyte supplements become particularly important when running in the heat due to increased sweat rates. The higher fluid loss can result in dehydration, which can harm your running performance.5
Running at a new altitude: Altitude shifts can also impact electrolyte balance. In addition to upping your water and carbohydrate consumption, an electrolyte drink might be beneficial.
Experiencing illness-related fluid losses: If you are losing fluids via vomiting or diarrhea due to illness, an electrolyte supplement can help you replace these losses. Be sure to incorporate water as well, and consult a healthcare provider if needed.
”Athletes take note: for example, the magnesium lost in sweat is not replenished by the normal electrolyte replacement drinks. Ensuring your magnesium levels stay sufficient will ultimately help eliminate muscle cramps, lactic-acid buildup, and aches and pains. Topical Magnesium like ALKA12 can be sprayed or rubbed on the body and such method is well absorbed by the skin, helping to increase effectively the amount of magnesium in body tissues.
While Electrolytes are independently important, they also can impact levels of other electrolytes in the body. Once you understand the functions and normal values for electrolytes, it is important to understand how some electrolyte levels are related to others. Often, an imbalance of one electrolyte is related to an imbalance of another electrolyte so understanding these relationships can assist in determining the root cause of, and treatment for, certain electrolyte imbalances. In this series, we will examine some of the how levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium are related to other electrolytes.
The Role of Magnesium
Magnesium is a life essential along with water and oxygen and the fourth most abundant mineral in the human body. A structural element of our blood, bones, muscles, organs and the powerhouse responsible for +300 enzymatic reactions in our body on a daily basis. It play a fundamental role in optimal muscles contraction, energy production, oxygen absorption, electrolyte balance, flexibility and skeletal strength.
In addition to its relationship to potassium, magnesium also has a similar relationship with calcium and an inverse relationship with phosphorus. Calcium and phosphorus have an inverse relationship, so its means that magnesium would have different relationships with each of these electrolytes.
Magnesium and Calcium
The relationship between magnesium and calcium also involves vitamin D. While magnesium and calcium are needed for muscle contraction, magnesium also helps for muscle relaxation, so if you think about your heart beating, which requires contraction and relaxation, both of these electrolytes are incredibly important. Magnesium converts vitamin D from an inactive form to an active form. Vitamin D then increases the body’s ability to absorb calcium. This is similar to the relationship between magnesium and calcium. In fact, if you are low on magnesium, there is extra calcium in the body that can not be used, and this can cause conditions like arthritis and hair lost.
Magnesium frequently acts as natural antagonist of Calcium. The two cations compete in the modulation of muscular contraction, as well as in the regulation of several enzymatic reactions involved in energy metabolism, signal transduction and brain activity .
Calcium and Magnesium works together in many functions, such as regulating heartbeat, muscle tone and contraction, and nerve conduction. At other times, calcium and magnesium seem to compete by binding competitively to the same sites in the body. It is important to look at one's diet to determine calcium and magnesium needs.
Since magnesium works closely with calcium, it is important to have an appropriate ratio of both minerals in order for them to be effective. A good rule of thumb is a 2:1 calcium-to-magnesium ratio. For example, if you take 1000mg of calcium, you should also take 500mg of magnesium.
Magnesium and Phosphorus
As calcium has an inverse relationship to phosphorus, magnesium also has an inverse relationship to phosphorus. The kidneys play an important role in magnesium reabsorption and excretion. As previously discussed, the kidneys also help regulate the phosphorus and calcium levels in the body. Thus, as the kidneys reabsorb more magnesium, they also excrete more phosphorus, which also raises the levels of calcium. This is why you often hear recommendations of magnesium supplementation along with calcium supplements. You should also monitor magnesium levels along with phosphorus levels in patients with renal dysfunction as the kidneys may have difficulty regulating these important electrolytes that all impact each other.
Sodium and Potassium
Sodium is the main cation in the ** body fluid outside the cells, such as blood and interstitial fluid (extracellular), and **potassium is the main cation in the body cells (intracellular). Cell membranes contain sodium-potassium pumps that regulate the balance of sodium and potassium intra- and extra- cellularly. This can help you remember that sodium and potassium have an inverse relationship, meaning when sodium levels rise, potassium levels fall, and vice versa.
The Role of the Kidneys
The kidneys are mainly responsible for maintaining a balance. When the potassium level rises in the body, the kidneys will excrete more sodium, and when the potassium levels fall, the kidneys will excrete less sodium causing the levels to rise. This is why patients with high sodium levels are encouraged to eat foods high in potassium to encourage the kidneys to excrete more potassium.
The Effects of Magnesium
While potassium is the main cation in the cell, magnesium is the second most abundant intracellular cation. Potassium deficiency can be related to, or exacerbated by, magnesium deficiency as these electrolytes have a similar relationship. When magnesium levels fall, potassium levels also fall, and this is referred to as secondary potassium depletion. Of note, potassium levels falling do not cause magnesium levels to fall.
Treatment with Magnesium
Low magnesium levels can cause more potassium to leave the cells and be excreted by the kidneys, decreasing the overall level in the body. For this reason, you should keep an eye on the magnesium levels in patients at risk for hypokalemia, like patients taking diuretics. The administration of magnesium is often appropriate when attempting to correct hypokalemia.
Calcium and Phosphorus
Most people are aware that calcium is important for bone health. It is also a key electrolyte for blood clotting and the muscle contraction of both skeletal muscles and cardiac muscles. This is why consuming foods and drinks with high levels of calcium is often recommended. Phosphorus is also mainly found in the bones and additionally is the main anion inside the body’s cells.
Calcium, Phosphorus, and Vitamin D
Calcium has an inverse relationship to phosphorus. This means that as levels of phosphorus in the blood rise, levels of calcium in the blood fall because phosphorus binds to calcium reducing the available free calcium in the blood. On the other hand, calcium has a similar relationship to vitamin D, which means that when vitamin D rises, calcium also rises. Of note, the levels we are referring to are the levels of free calcium in the blood and not calcium stored in the bones.
Parathyroid Hormone
Calcium is regulated by the parathyroid, which releases parathyroid hormone (PTH), as well as the kidneys. When calcium levels are low, PTH is released to break down bones and allow the calcium stored in the bones to be available in the bloodstream. PTH also activates vitamin D, which encourages additional calcium to be absorbed from the digestive tract and encourages the kidneys to retain more calcium while excreting phosphorus.
Other Considerations
On the other hand, when calcium levels are high, vitamin D supplements should be stopped to discourage increased absorption of calcium. Additionally, when phosphorus levels are high, patients may be encouraged to take an antacid containing calcium, which will bind to the phosphorus and prevent it from being absorbed by the digestive tract. This is why it is important to monitor all three elements—calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D - in patients with confirmed or suspected kidney disorders, parathyroid disorders, or weak bones, as the relationship between these organs and electrolytes are tightly connected.
REFERENCES / SOURCES
Medical News Today : Everything yoyu need to know about electrolytes
National Library of Medicine : Electrolytes
Healthline: Electrolytes: Definition, Functions, Imbalance and Sources
Mysportscience : The power of science to optimise performance
Electrolyte Imbalances - Sodium, Chloride, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphate