Symptoms of Electrolyte Imbalance

Symptoms of Electrolyte Imbalance, Plus How to Solve It

By Jillian Levy, CHHC

Electrolytes are certain nutrients (or chemicals) present in your body that have many important functions — from regulating your heartbeat to allowing your muscles to contract so you can move. The major electrolytes found within the body include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphate and chloride. Because these crucial nutrients help stimulate nerves throughout the body and balance fluid levels, an electrolyte imbalance can cause a variety of serious negative symptoms, including some that are potentially deadly.

You obtain electrolytes through eating different foods and drinking certain fluids, while you lose them partially through exercise, sweating, going to the bathroom and urinating. This is why a poor diet, too little or too much exercise, and being sick are some possible causes for an electrolyte imbalance.

Some of the major roles that electrolytes have within the body include:

Calcium: helping with muscle contractions, nerve signaling, blood clotting, cell division, and forming/maintaining bones and teeth

Potassium: helping keep blood pressure levels stable, regulating heart contractions, helping with muscle functions

Magnesium: needed for muscle contractions, proper heart rhythms, nerve functioning, bone-building and strength, reducing anxiety, digestion, and keeping a stable protein-fluid balance

Sodium: helps maintain fluid balance, needed for muscle contractions and helps with nerve signaling

Chloride: maintains fluid balance

Causes

Electrolytes are found within bodily fluids, including urine, blood and sweat. Electrolytes are given their name because they literally have an “electric charge.” They separate into positively and negatively charged ions when they’re dissolved in water.

The reason this is important is because of how nerve reactions take place. Your nerves signal to one another by a process of chemical exchanges dependent on oppositely charged ions, both outside and inside of your cells. Contact us your Duluth Chiropractors in the Kenwood UMD neighborhood. kenwoodchiro.com