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OTHER
SCIENTFIC FACTS
Electrolytes | Vitamin
C | Vitamin
D Electrolytes
An electrolyte is basically a salt that can carry an electrical
charge.
The cells of your body rely on electrolytes to carry the electrical
impulses responsible
for muscle contractions and nerve impulses to other cells.
Electrolyte minerals such as potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and
magnesium (Mg) are key to muscle function, mental focus, and
body cooling. Electrolytes are easily lost in sweat during physical
activity, so replenishing these minerals is important. Symptoms
such as tiredness, weakness, headache, cramps, nausea, dizziness,
and even fainting can result from a lack of these vital minerals.
Depletion of Potassium (K) and Magnesium (Mg)
When the body is low in potassium or magnesium, muscles can
cramp more easily and fatigue can occur quicker.
Potassium (K) also plays a critical role in the transmission
of electrical impulses in the heart and is also linked to depression.
Magnesium is particularly important to your energy level. This
is because each individual cell uses magnesium to form ATP—the
energy that drives the body. Researchers have found that people
with chronic fatigue syndrome have remarkably low levels of
magnesium.
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C provides a healthy dose of the antioxidant. This is
important because exercise stimulates the production of free
radicals—harmful compounds within the body that are linked
to a multitude
of chronic health problems.
Vitamin C has the ability to combine with toxic or poison substances
within the body and excrete them with itself through the urine.
As a result, vitamin C has been found to greatly minimize exercise-induced
free radical damage.
Another key function of vitamin C is to help form and maintain
collagen (the framework protein for tissues of the body that
found in connective tissue found in cartilage, ligaments, etc).
Cell walls are only a few molecules thick and can be easily
penetrated by harmful substances. Collagen acts as a "glue",
keeping cell walls strong and resistant.
Deficiency also leads to scurry, characterized by fragile capillaries,
poor wound healing, and bone deformity in children.
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Vitamin D
This is a steroid vitamin that promotes absorption and metabolism
of calcium and phosphorus. Under normal conditions of sunlight
exposure, no dietary supplementation is necessary because sunlight
promotes adequate vitamin D synthesis in the skin. Deficiency
can lead to osteomalacia in adults and bone deformity (rickets)
in children.
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