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Why You Need Electrolytes | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
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Jan 30, 2025
Expert nutritionist explains what electrolytes are, why they matter and where we get them from. Ever tasted the saltiness in your sweat? That’s because of electrolytes, which are minerals found in your body fluids, and blood. Electrolytes carry an electric charge and pass signals around the body to instruct the action of muscles and nerves. Especially helping us when we exercise. Jamie Wright is an accredited nutritionist helping people worldwide achieve their goals without fad diets. In this video Jamie is going to talk about all things electrolytes; what they are, why they matter and where you can get them from. Follow Jamie on IG: jamiesdietguide 😎 *** Chapters: 00:00 - Salty sweat 01:14 - Nervous system 02:06 - Muscular contraction 02:59 - Hydration 04:16 - pH balance 04:36 - Diet 06:00 - Any more questions? *********************************
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0:00
and it's totally not weird way have you
0:03
ever accidentally tasted your own sweat
0:06
it's salty right well that's
0:08
electrolytes and find out exactly what
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they are in this video
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hi I'm Jimmy Wright an accredited
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nutritionist and I specialize in helping
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people all across the world achieve
0:22
their goals without any silly fad diets
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that salty sweat that you've been
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accidentally drinking is because of the
0:28
electrolytes within it these are
0:30
minerals found in your body fluids as
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well as your blood and other tissues
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electrolytes carry an electric charge
0:35
and are used to pass signals around the
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body to instruct the action of muscles
0:39
and nerves in this video we're going to
0:42
talk all things electrolytes what they
0:44
are why they matter and where you can
0:46
get them from what are electrolytes
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electrolytes are positively and
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negatively charged minerals that conduct
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signals throughout our body the five
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main electrolytes include sodium
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chloride potassium calcium and magnesium
0:58
electrolyte is actually an umbrella term
1:00
for any particle that carries a positive
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or negative electric charge when the
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minerals dissolve in a fluid they form
1:05
electrolytes which are charged ions used
1:08
in a whole range of bodily processes and
1:10
essentially help to keep the body in a
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state of balance why electrolytes matter
1:14
the nervous system one of the major
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roles of electrolytes is regulating the
1:18
healthy function of our nervous system
1:19
let's take it back to school our brain
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is basically the control center for our
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body the brain controls our body by
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sending electrical signals through the
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nerves to communicate and instruct areas
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all across the body these signals are
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called nervous impulses
1:34
not like when you start to sweat
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uncontrollably when you have to talk in
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public but rather these impulses are
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generated by changes to the electrical
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charge of the nervous cell membrane
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which is caused by movement of the
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electrolyte sodium in and out of the
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cell this then carries over to the next
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cell thanks to the work of
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neurotransmitters these are super
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essential chemical Messengers that are
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released from one cell to pass on the
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message to the next an easy way to
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imagine It Is by picturing a massive
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maximum wave at a sports Stadium the
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signal being the wave and the people
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being the cells passing it along
2:05
muscular contraction likely the most
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well-known function of electrolytes is
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to ensure the normal contraction of
2:10
muscle electrolytes are not only
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responsible for getting the signal from
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the brain to the muscle instructing it
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to do its thing and contract but
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electrolytes also work within the muscle
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itself and allow the individual fibers
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of the muscle to contract and relax when
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needed it's not surprising then that
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electrolytes are so important to our
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muscles that even one electrolyte goes
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out of balance everything goes out of
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bounds two factors which can cause an
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imbalance of electrolytes are heat and
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sweat as these increase so does
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electrolyte loss from the body which can
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ultimately lead to an imbalance
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exercisers and athletes need to be
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mindful that even mild electrolyte
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imbalance can result in per exercise
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performance this doesn't just happen to
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athletes this can happen to anybody and
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more severe imbalances can result in
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cramping spasms confusion headaches and
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even numbness proper hydration
2:59
you and me we are essentially giant
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cucumbers with the brain our body is
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mostly water give or take around 60 and
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it's important that you maintain your
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body water levels as being overly or
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underly hydrated is no bueno for your
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health
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guess what
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electrolytes help with that too sodium
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in particular helps to regulate a
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maintain fluid balance through a process
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called osmosis osmosis ensures that
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cells never have too much or too little
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water this process happens all over the
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body and the body will sand electrolytes
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to where they are needed to ensure that
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fluid levels are maintained
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unsurprisingly your body is pretty smart
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one important point to note is the role
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of the kidneys which help maintain
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electrolyte concentrations by filtering
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electrolytes and water from the blood
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returning some to the blood and then
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they get rid of any excess into your pee
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with this process the kidneys help
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maintain a balance between daily
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consumption and excretion of
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electrolytes in water so that our total
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body water level is regulated this goes
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to anyone that exercises I'm talking to
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you here if you are consuming fluids
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during exercise you need to make sure
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you're having electrolytes in them as
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well drinking a ton of fluid without
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electrolyte can lead to an imbalance as
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over hydration can dilute the amount of
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sodium in the bloodstream and may
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negatively impact training in tanning pH
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balance to avoid being very unwell your
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body needs to keep an eye on and
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regulate its internal pH pH is simply a
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measure of high alkaline or acidic
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something is this is really important
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for us as any changes in PH can have
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fairly catastrophic effects on our
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health having the right balance of
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electrolytes is key to maintaining a
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healthy blood pH level where do you get
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electrolytes from where do electrolytes
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come from
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your diet yep a good old healthy
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balanced diet will land you the
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electrolytes that your body needs having
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plenty of dairy fruit veg seeds nuts
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beans pulses and legumes as well as
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grains will ensure you're getting plenty
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of electrolytes you might even want to
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include a bit of salt here or there
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especially if you're training frequently
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to meet the increased electrolyte intake
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demand because you're likely a bit
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sweatier than someone not training as
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much speaking of sweaty people and I'm
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looking at you if you're doing plenty of
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exercise or you're engaged in sports
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you'll really want to hone in on your
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electrolyte intake as I've mentioned
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most active individuals will Champion
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Water but often forget about
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electrolytes but those are arguably just
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as important for you if you're training
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for an extended period of time and or in
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a warmer climate then you'll probably
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want to consider having an electrolyte
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tab gel shot or even a powder mix which
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you can find on the myprotein website
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and if fluid before exercise or
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competition I'd actually recommend
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having some during exercise or
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competition as well
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especially if it's a multi-hour event or
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you're exercising in a humid environment
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if you're not big into the tabs or
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piders I've also found that coconut
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water is a great alternative as is milk
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but I don't know the idea of choking
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down milk during training or a game just
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doesn't appeal to me whatsoever I don't
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want to be the one trotting around with
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a big milk mustache although I would be
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cramp free to be fair so it's kind of
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like you have to pick the lesser of two
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evils here as always if you have any
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more questions or even advice for other
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viewers just like you let me know in the
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comments below and remember to like And
6:06
subscribe to the my protein YouTube
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channel for more great evidence-based
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nutrition information
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foreign
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