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Hyponatremia means ‘low concentration of sodium in the blood’. Sodium is an important electrolyte (an element with an electrical charge - in this case Sodium is positive and represented as Na+) which plays a role in water balance and muscle contraction. Sodium is required to draw water through permeable membranes in the body and thereby distribute fluid throughout the body. When you sweat, you lose water and salt, and salt is made up of sodium and chloride and is represented as NaCl, so lots of sweating means you are depleting your sodium stores in the body. If your sodium levels in the blood get too low (hyponatremia) you will no longer be able to move water across permeable membranes and you will become dehydrated - even if you are drinking enough water. You can drink all the water you want, but if you don’t have the sodium present to move it from the gut to the bloodstream, you don’t stand a chance.
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Sorry, I was going on what my GP told me when I asked. I guess he didn't think I was threatened by this...
Solid