ELECTROLYTES IN THE BODY
Date
May 19
Purpose
Demonstrate the effect of exercise and sweating on the levels of electrolytes in the human body.
Discussion
The body loses electolytes like salts through sweat. It is important to replace salts in the body during and after exercise or sweating. The human body needs salts for health and to function normally. Salts are used in the muscles, nerves, and heart.
Method
We will again take blood samples from the expedition members and analyze them using the ISTAT measurement device. We will take measurements at the beginning of the say and after running to show the effects of exercise on electrolyte levels. We will have some expedition members rehydrate with water, and others with a sport drink and show the difference.
School Exercise
Students can weigh themselves before and after 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise (like a soccer game or jumping rope for example). This will show how much body mass is lost with sweat when we exercise.
Experiment Report & Results
The decision to run having been made, the i2P team sets out, moving one foot in front of the other as they cross the great salt flats of Bolivia. Each step requires the coordination of countless muscle fibers. Similar to nerve function, muscle contraction is also a product of the flow of ions across muscle cell membranes.
The body loses electolytes like salts through sweat. It is important to replace electolytes in the body during and after exercise or sweating. The human body needs salts for health and to function normally. Electolytes are used in the muscles, nerves, and heart. Here are the results from our electrolyte testing over the last several days.
Instead of writing up a report, Dr. Ewan Affleck and I discussed the results and you can listen to the discussion here. The discussion relates to each of the 4 graphs that follow.
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Electrolyte Discussion
Sodium
Altered electrolyte concentration and dehydration can cause muscle cramps. We saw lots of those on the first few days of the expedition.
Potassium
Potassium is responsible for conduction of electrical conduction through nerves and muscles.
Calcium
The ion used by muscle cells is calcium. It is interesting that calcium seems to have increased once we ascended to higher elevations.
Glucose
Glucose is used as a fuel for energy metabolism. The increase in glucose concentration that we observed may be a stress response, as the stress hormone cortisol can cause an increase in blood glucose levels.
Once again, thanks for following us, and here is a picture of the volcano that we could see from our camp last night.
-- Greg Wells, PhD.
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