email hidden (marc) in said:I used to use Isostar as a isotonic drink, but Tesco has stopped stocking it and I bought BIO
SYNERGY PURE ENERGY as a replacment. Last week, whilst wild camping in the Beacons, I added Iodine
drops to my drinking bladder and the contents went almost black. Schoolboy chemistry
The only really essential electrolyte in an isotonic solution (over the short term) is sodium, which
is most easily provided as sodium chloride. To be in balance with your body fluid you need aprox
130-140mmol/l NaCl (which is equal to approx 9g NaCl in 1000ml of water).
A solution such as this will be absorbed into your body relatively slowly since it relies on
diffusion only.
If you want more rapid hydration then you need to introduce some kind of system whereby the sodium
is absorbed into the body in a kind of mechanical way. This is where the glucose comes in. Glucose
can actally carry sodium into the body (like giving it a piggy back) and the result is more rapid
hydration. This is called (I think) facilitated transport.
The world health organisation used to advocate an oral rehydration treatment consisting of a pint of
water, 6 spoons of sugar and 1 spoon of table salt, which is an approximately isotonic solution,
with the added benefit of energy and rapid hydartion.
Some standard fluids used in medicine are:
.9% NaCl (9g NaCl in 1000ml water) .45% NaCl + 5% glucose (4.5g Nacl + 50g glucose in 1000ml water)
.18% NaCl + 4% glucose (1.8g Nacl + 40g glucose in 1000ml water)
They are not all isotonic but they allow rapid hydration of cells.
For absorbtion from your stomach, fluids containing higher concentrations of glucose will
work better.
Love and molecules from Rich x
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If ingnorance is bliss then I am the erm er luckiest thingy in the whatchamacallit. To mail me,
change the obvious bit to richard
