Back to Show
Reactions
What Do Electrolytes Actually Do?
Season 4
Episode 11
Sports drink commercials love talking about them, but what are electrolytes, why do we need them, and what happens if we don’t have enough? Electrolytes are salts that, once in our bodies, help our cells move water around. They also enable the nerve impulses that keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing and our brains learning. But we can also lose them — for example, by sweating.
Support Provided By
4:39
What makes kimchi sour and spicy, yet also surprisingly rich and buttery?
3:53
Flame-retardant chemicals can slow the spread of fire in homes and garments.
4:11
Fish living in the oceans around Antarctica seem like they should freeze to death.
4:30
Throwing rice at weddings won't hurt birds--and we can prove it with chemistry.
4:10
How Much Tea Would it Take to Turn the Boston Harbor into Tea?