How Many Electrolytes Should You Be Taking, and Can You Have Too Many?
How Many Electrolytes Should You Be Taking, and Can You Have Too Many?
你应该摄入多少电解质？摄入过量会有问题吗？
Electrolyte powders, dissolvable tablets, and trendy ready-to-drink waters have graduated from the pockets of athletes to one of wellness’s buzziest categories. 电解质粉、泡腾片以及各种时髦的即饮补水饮料，已经从运动员的装备包中“毕业”，成为了健康领域最热门的品类之一。
And it’s a crowded market, worth an estimated $39 billion globally in 2025 and forecast to double within the next decade. Much of the growth has been fueled by wellness trends and influencer-fronted hype cycles, like Prime Hydration, created by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI, which the company claimed pushed past $1 billion in sales in a single year. In other internet corners, dozens of celebrity and podcaster-adjacent brands are all promising a means of optimizing your way to hydration. 这是一个拥挤的市场，预计 2025 年全球市场价值将达到 390 亿美元，并有望在未来十年内翻一番。这种增长很大程度上是由健康趋势和网红营销推动的，例如由 YouTuber Logan Paul 和 KSI 创立的 Prime Hydration，该公司声称其单年销售额就突破了 10 亿美元。在互联网的其他角落，数十个与名人和播客相关的品牌都在承诺能为你提供“优化补水”的方案。
These products are marketed as daily essentials for everyone—from office workers to gym regulars—promising to combat brain fog, improve skin, banish fatigue, and aid recovery. Here’s everything you need to know about the electrolyte obsession, and when these products are actually worth buying. 这些产品被营销为每个人的日常必需品——从上班族到健身常客——并承诺能对抗脑雾、改善皮肤、消除疲劳并帮助身体恢复。以下是你需要了解的关于“电解质狂热”的一切，以及这些产品在何时才真正值得购买。
What Are Electrolytes?
什么是电解质？
Electrolytes are essential minerals, among them sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and chloride, that carry an electrical charge once dissolved in fluid. That charge is what lets the body do much of its basic work, such as helping muscles and nerves work correctly. They work to ensure fluid stays balanced inside and outside every cell, as a serious imbalance can cause headaches, muscle cramps, dizziness, fatigue, and weakness. In more serious cases, severe electrolyte imbalances can interfere with heart function and require medical treatment. 电解质是人体必需的矿物质，包括钠、钾、钙、镁和氯等。当它们溶解在体液中时会带有电荷。正是这种电荷让身体能够完成许多基本工作，例如帮助肌肉和神经正常运作。它们确保细胞内外的液体保持平衡，因为严重的失衡会导致头痛、肌肉痉挛、头晕、疲劳和虚弱。在更严重的情况下，严重的电解质失衡会干扰心脏功能，需要医疗干预。
Who Needs Electrolytes?
谁需要补充电解质？
For most healthy adults, the body has been regulating electrolyte levels perfectly well long before trendy, flavored hydration sticks landed on supermarket shelves. In fact, if you eat a reasonably balanced diet and drink water when you’re thirsty, there’s a good chance you’re already getting everything you need. 对于大多数健康的成年人来说，早在那些时髦的调味补水棒出现在超市货架之前，身体就已经能很好地调节电解质水平了。事实上，如果你饮食均衡，并且在口渴时喝水，那么你很可能已经摄入了所需的一切。
The sachet earns its place in roughly three situations. Studies from the American College of Sports Medicine suggest that water alone is sufficient for exercise lasting less than an hour, but electrolytes become increasingly useful during longer sessions of prolonged, sweat-heavy exercise, particularly in high temperatures or humidity. They’re also useful for illness involving heavy fluid loss, which is why oral rehydration salts are a recognized medical treatment rather than a wellness trend. And you should also consider them during long stretches of fasting, when the food that usually supplies these minerals is absent. 电解质补充剂大约在三种情况下有用武之地。美国运动医学会的各项研究表明，对于持续时间少于一小时的运动，仅喝水就足够了；但在长时间、大量出汗的运动中，尤其是在高温或高湿环境下，电解质的作用会愈发明显。它们也适用于涉及大量体液流失的疾病，这就是为什么口服补液盐是一种公认的医疗手段，而非仅仅是健康潮流。此外，在长时间禁食期间，当通常提供这些矿物质的食物来源缺失时，你也应该考虑补充电解质。
Are There Natural Electrolytes?
有天然的电解质来源吗？
There are many sources of electrolytes in everyday foods. If you’re eating a reasonably varied diet (fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, nuts, seeds), your electrolyte stores are continually being topped up without the need for specialist drinks or powders. 日常食物中有很多电解质来源。如果你饮食多样（包含水果、蔬菜、瘦肉蛋白、全谷物、坚果和种子），你的电解质储备会不断得到补充，无需依赖专门的饮料或粉末。
Research by the Beverage Hydration Index shows that milk-based drinks can maintain hydration for longer than plain water. The combination of protein, natural electrolytes and small amounts of fat slows the rate at which fluid leaves the stomach, helping the body retain hydration for longer. Coconut water too can replenish potassium. 饮料补水指数（Beverage Hydration Index）的研究表明，乳制品饮料比纯水能更长时间地维持水分。蛋白质、天然电解质和少量脂肪的组合减缓了液体离开胃部的速度，帮助身体更持久地保持水分。椰子水也可以补充钾。
The Nutrition Source from Harvard’s School of Public Health notes that, essentially, “any beverage containing electrolyte minerals may be labeled an electrolyte drink. Some are very costly yet only contain a small amount of these nutrients, while others may contain a high amount of only one nutrient such as potassium or sodium.” 哈佛大学公共卫生学院的营养源（The Nutrition Source）指出，本质上，“任何含有电解质矿物质的饮料都可以被称为电解质饮料。有些饮料价格昂贵，但只含有少量营养素；而另一些饮料可能只含有高剂量的单一营养素，如钾或钠。”
Can You Have Too Many Electrolytes?
电解质摄入会过量吗？
For healthy adults, an occasional electrolyte drink is unlikely to cause harm. Daily consumption, however, can sometimes be counterproductive. 对于健康的成年人来说，偶尔喝一瓶电解质饮料不太可能造成伤害。然而，每日饮用有时可能会适得其反。
Many electrolyte products contain significant amounts of sodium, despite the fact that most populations already consume considerably more salt than recommended. The World Health Organization estimates the global average of sodium intake a day is more than double its recommended limit and roughly 1.89 million deaths a year can be linked to excess intake. Regularly adding extra sodium may not be ideal for anyone managing high blood pressure or cardiovascular risk. Some formulations also contain substantial amounts of added sugar, making them nutritionally closer to soft drinks than health products. 许多电解质产品含有大量的钠，尽管大多数人群的盐摄入量已经远超建议水平。世界卫生组织估计，全球平均每日钠摄入量是建议限值的两倍多，每年约有 189 万人的死亡与钠摄入过量有关。对于正在控制高血压或有心血管风险的人来说，定期额外补充钠可能并不理想。一些配方还含有大量的添加糖，这使得它们在营养成分上更接近软饮料，而非健康产品。
Anyone recovering from illness or sweating through an August shift outdoors has a fair case for supplementing. For everyone else, the best approach to hydration remains an unremarkable one. Electrolytes themselves are nonnegotiable. Electrolyte products are mostly just a lifestyle purchase. 任何从疾病中恢复的人，或者在八月的户外工作中大汗淋漓的人，都有充分的理由进行补充。对于其他人来说，最好的补水方式依然是平平无奇的喝水。电解质本身是人体不可或缺的，但电解质产品大多只是一种生活方式消费。
This story originally appeared on WIRED Middle East. 本文最初发表于《连线》中东版。