Sodium and potassium ions are important to your health.
As part of a healthy diet, it is important that one ingests sodium and potassium. As two of the most important cations sodium and potassium maintain the heart rate by keeping their concentration ratio at 5:3 (potassium: sodium). It is equally important that there is not excess of the ions because this can result in high blood pressure because the kidneys require high pressure in order to push out the excess ions from the blood. The average American however, doesn’t have to worry much about deficiencies in either of these ions; it is over ingesting them that is the issue. Interestingly the ions have specific sites within and outside of the cells where the bind in order to be transported between membranes. This is similar to the way that many antibiotics work. Potassium can be found abundantly in bananas, apples, citrus fruits, broccoli, beans, peas, bran cereals, meat and fish. Similarly sodium can be found in processed meats, and canned soups and vegetables, it is also often added to products to add flavor and acts as a preservative. [1]
Since most of my research has been on hazardous materials in products I thought it would be interesting to read up about chemicals that are good for you. I personally eat a lot of salt on my food and so it is good to know that too much can cause high blood pressure. And high blood pressure is one of the world’s leading causes of death.
[1] Baird, Colin. “sodium and potassium ions are important for your health” Chemistry in Your Life. W.H. Freeman and company. New York 2006. P. 111-112
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
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