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and it's totally not weird way have you
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ever accidentally tasted your own sweat
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it's salty right well that's
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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
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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
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electrolytes within it these are
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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
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and are used to pass signals around the
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body to instruct the action of muscles
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and nerves in this video we're going to
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talk all things electrolytes what they
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are why they matter and where you can
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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
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electrolyte is actually an umbrella term
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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
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electrolytes which are charged ions used
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in a whole range of bodily processes and
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essentially help to keep the body in a
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state of balance why electrolytes matter
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the nervous system one of the major
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roles of electrolytes is regulating the
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healthy function of our nervous system
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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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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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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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
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subscribe to the my protein YouTube
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channel for more great evidence-based
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nutrition information
