INTRACELLULAR FLUID ELECTROLYTE REPLACEMENT

The human body's performance depends on maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte balance. Approximately 60 % of an average adult's body weight is water, about 75 % of this water is found within the individual cells as intracellular fluid. This intracellular fluid provides the media for every complex chemical reaction that the body must carry out in order to maintain a natural and healthy status. An integral part of the intracellular fluid is the electrolytes contained within its matrix. Electrolytes are positively and negatively charged ions that function to:

1) Control distributions of water between body compartments;
2) Carry electrical current allowing production of action potential in muscle and nerve activity;
3) Assist in transport of nutrient across cell membranes; and
4) Maintain optimum acids-base balance for metabolism.

The electrolytes found in the body work together with amazing precision. Slight alterations in the intracellular electrolyte balance may cause physical symptoms as simple as muscle cramps or as grave as cardiac arrhythmias. Regardless of the severity, rehydration must occur and vital electrolytes must be replaced. Essentia Water meets the majority of the body's requirements per liter for essential intracellular electrolytes (See Table 1).

TABLE 1. Physiological functions of essential electrolytes /L

Essentia Water has been specifically formulated to rapidly restore intracellular fluids to their optimum state by taking advantage of the process the body naturally uses, the phenomenon of osmosis. Essentia Water has been designed to simulate intracellular fluid electrolyte concentrations. Solutions that have identical osmotic pressures are said to be isotonic solutions. For optimal and rapid replenishment of intracellular fluids and electrolytes, the replenishing fluid must be isotonic with intracellular fluids (See Figure 3)

For example, if cells are bathed in a hypertonic solution, which is solution having an osmotic pressure higher than that of intracellular fluids, the cell will shrivel because of a net transfer of water out of the cell, this phenomenon is called crenation. The opposite situation occurs when cells are bathed in a solution with an osmotic pressure lower than that of the intracellular fluids. In this case the cells rupture because of the net flow of water into the cell, a process known as lysis.

The extracellular fluid is in constant motion throughout the body. It is rapidly transported in the circulating blood, then mixed between blood and the tissue fluids by diffusion through capillary walls. The extracellular fluid contains "ions" (See Definitions) and nutrients required by cells for maintenance of cellular life. All cells thrive essentially in the same environment, the extracellular fluid. This is the reason it is called the internal environment of the body, or the milieu interieur, a term coined by the 19th century French physiologist, Claude Bernard. As humans age, there is a definite predisposition to a shifting of body water composition from intracellular to extracellular. The ratio of intracellular to extracellular water content changes from approximately 1.1 to almost 0.8 between the ages of 20 and 70. The realization is that as we age, we become chronically dehydrated with a decreased ability to rehydrate. The body loses its reserve capacity of protein and enzyme function. This function is only optimally active with proper hydration.

The major determinants of intracellular and extracellular fluid volume homeostasis are separate. Sodium balance regulates extracellular fluid volume while sufficient hydration regulates intracellular fluid volume. This suggests that the loss of intracellular water accompanying the aging process may be minimized or totally negated by an individual's conscious decision to maintain proper hydration before thirst is perceived. Thirst, the primary regulator of the intake of water, is defined as the conscious desire for water.

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY & ELECTROLYTES

Virtually, every action that takes place in the body requires communication of chemical messages from one cell to another, and is conducted by the passage of electrons through the extracellular fluids. An optimal level of conductivity in these fluids is essential to life and cellular activity. Conductivity is the ability of an electrical current to pass through a medium. The factor that dictates whether or not a solution is electrically conductive is dependent upon the relative concentration of ions. An established concentration of ions, (e.g., "electrolytes"), is essential to aid the body and allow it to carry out complex and diverse biochemical reactions. Sodium is lost through perspiration (aka, "sweat"). Losses of sufficient sweat to decrease body weight by 3% significantly diminish a person's performance. Rapid perspiration losses of 5 to 10% body weight are considered very serious and often result in muscle cramps, nausea, and dizziness. Potassium losses result partly from increased aldosterone during acclimatization to heat, which increases the loss of potassium in to urine as well as sweat.

Essentia Water is formulated with a bioavailable proprietary formulation of electrolytes which simulate the electrolytes of the human cell, the conductivity of Essentia Water is a direct result of the electrolyte fortification. Other bottled waters may have conductivity as a result of trace metals, mineral salts, and other arbitrary constituents