Drinking electrolyte water when you are positive? It helps, but not much

After canned yellow peaches became popular a while ago, electrolyte water has become one of the products that many people rushed to buy during the epidemic. Many people have developed fever, vomiting, diarrhea and other related symptoms after being infected with the new coronavirus. Previously, the "Public Prevention Guidelines for Pneumonia Infected by New Coronavirus: Temporary Guidelines for Dietary Nutrition" issued by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the diagnosis and treatment plan for new coronary pneumonia issued by the National Health Commission both put forward suggestions such as "paying attention to water and electrolyte balance" or "appropriately supplementing drinking water containing a certain amount of electrolytes", which triggered a wave of stockpiling of electrolyte water.

Electrolyte water has become more popular recently

Source: Baidu Index

What are electrolytes? Does electrolyte water have any effect on the improvement of the disease? Is electrolyte water a waste of money? Is it necessary to stock up? I believe many friends have these questions. I will discuss these questions with you one by one.

1

Is it necessary to buy electrolyte water?

To discuss this topic, we need to first understand what electrolytes are. Electrolytes are substances that exist in our body fluids in an ionic state, mainly including various inorganic salts and organic substances such as proteins. The more important electrolytes in the human body include calcium ions, sodium ions, potassium ions, magnesium ions, etc.

Source: Sohu

There have been many discussions on the Internet about electrolyte water. Some people have made it sound miraculous, saying that electrolyte water can relieve dysmenorrhea, treat colds, and prevent gastrointestinal diseases. Others say that it is nothing more than an ordinary drink.

Today, I want to dispel some rumors. Electrolyte water can replenish water and electrolytes. It is different from ordinary beverages and is a kind of functional beverage . But it is not so magical. It cannot cure colds and prevent gastrointestinal diseases. In terms of relieving dysmenorrhea, electrolyte water can play a certain role. An article in "Chinese Maternal and Child Health Care" shows that dysmenorrhea may be related to magnesium deficiency in the human body. If electrolyte water contains magnesium, it is not unreasonable to relieve dysmenorrhea.

Source: A shopping website

If we are infected with the new coronavirus, some people will have fever symptoms. This is because our own immune system is fighting the virus. At this time, the body temperature rises, the amount of sweat will greatly increase, and diarrhea symptoms are likely to occur. Generally, each liter of sweat contains 0.02g of calcium, 0.05g of magnesium, 1.15g of sodium, 0.23g of potassium and 1.48g of chloride. Diarrhea will also cause electrolytes in our body to be excreted with feces, which causes our body to lose a large amount of electrolytes, causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

Source: pexels

If you just drink a lot of water but don't replenish electrolytes in time, the electrolytes will be further diluted and the concentration will be far lower than the normal level of the body. The total amount of water taken in by the body is far greater than the amount of water discharged, which may cause the plasma osmotic pressure to drop and the amount of blood circulating in the body to increase. It is easy to have symptoms of dehydration such as dizziness and fatigue, and dilutional hyponatremia , which is what we often call water intoxication . In severe cases, it may also damage our central nervous system. At this time, drinking electrolyte water can quickly replenish the water and electrolytes lost by the human body, improve the body's water shortage, maintain the stability of the internal environment, and avoid dehydration.

Source: pexels

Therefore, for people infected with the new coronavirus, especially those with fever and sweating, electrolyte water is not a waste of time , but can really come in handy.

However, "useful" does not mean "necessary to buy" . Directly purchasing and drinking electrolyte water products can indeed replenish multiple electrolyte elements at the same time and more conveniently maintain the body's electrolyte balance, but this is not our only option.

Ingredients of an electrolyte drink

Source: A shopping website

Recently, six major organizations including the Drinking Water and Health Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society jointly issued the "Electrolyte Balance and Health Tips", which pointed out that if symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. caused by infection with the new coronavirus occur, causing a rapid loss of electrolytes in the human body, additional electrolyte supplementation is needed. Supplementation methods include but are not limited to drinking electrolyte drinks, homemade electrolyte products, etc.

2

How to replenish electrolytes lost by the body?

In fact, the electrolytes needed by the human body basically come from food rather than drinks. Our daily food, including meat, rice, noodles, eggs, milk, vegetables, etc., are rich in electrolyte components needed by the human body. If the body loses electrolytes seriously, in addition to electrolyte drinks, the simplest way to replenish electrolytes is to drink medical rehydration salts mixed with water. Eating some fruits and drinking some porridge are also effective ways to replenish electrolytes. We can also make some electrolyte-replenishing drinks at home, such as tea, soy milk, juice, and various soups, which are also simple and easy.

Source: unsplash

It is particularly important to note that we also need to grasp the timing of electrolyte replenishment based on actual physical conditions: if the high fever persists, severe vomiting and diarrhea occur, and it is difficult to eat, then electrolytes should be replenished in time; if you can eat normally, there is no need to consume additional electrolyte water.

In short, I think electrolyte water does not need to be hoarded, let alone scrambled for . You can buy it appropriately according to your own wishes, and it is better to drink it when the human body sweats. But for those friends who have already hoarded a lot of electrolyte drinks, I would like to remind you not to drink electrolyte water as water. You should consciously control the intake of electrolytes to avoid electrolyte imbalance in the body and damage to the body.