Although electrolyte water has benefits, don’t drink it as water!

Recently, following canned yellow peaches, electrolyte water has also become popular. Baidu Index shows that the search index for electrolyte water has increased 50 times. Searching for "electrolyte water" in flagship stores of multiple e-commerce platforms shows that most products are "purchasing", "out of stock" or "restocking", with only a small amount still in stock. Electrolyte beverage powders are also "exploding in sales".

What is electrolyte water? Electrolytes refer to inorganic salts, proteins and other substances in body fluids that exist in ion form, mainly including potassium ions, sodium ions, chloride ions, calcium ions, magnesium ions, etc. Water and electrolytes are components of basic substances for maintaining life, and are necessary conditions for maintaining human life and the physiological functions of various organs.

Although electrolyte water has certain benefits for the human body, it is not recommended to drink electrolyte water for a long time in life, and electrolyte water should not be taken as water. Electrolyte water contains a variety of electrolytes. If you drink too much, it may cause the body to take in too much electrolytes, thus causing electrolyte disorder and causing certain damage to the body.

Drinking electrolyte water for a long time will affect the normal secretion of gastric acid in the body, destroy the normal digestive function, and lead to digestive system diseases; some electrolyte waters are rich in potassium ions. Drinking too much may cause hyperkalemia, and in severe cases, symptoms such as arrhythmia and cardiac arrest may occur; some electrolyte waters are rich in calcium ions. Excessive intake of calcium ions will lead to an increase in the calcium ion concentration in the body, increase the burden on the kidneys, and easily induce stones.

In some cases, electrolyte water is indeed necessary, but it is not essential and irreplaceable. Eating fruit, drinking porridge, medical rehydration salts or electrolyte drinks are all ways to replenish electrolytes lost by the human body. Moreover, electrolyte drinks can be prepared at home, such as cooking some mung bean soup, fruit soup, vegetable juice, and tomato soup. Not only can they replenish electrolytes, but they can also replenish vitamin C. They are more cost-effective and more delicious than a bottle of pure electrolyte water. (Jin Kaiyi)