I know that Isotonic drinks contain similar concentrations of salt and sugar as in the human body, which makes the drink feel refreshing. Osmosis and so on. Isotonic drinks are not limited to what is branded as sport drinks - a mix of juice and sparkling water can also be isotonic.

Thus I was wondering, if there could be solid isotonic foods. It should be possible for a type of food to contain similar concentrations of salt and sugar as in the human body right? Does that exist? If so, does it feel as refreshing to eat as it feels to drink isotonic drink? If it doesn’t, why not?

Inb4: frozen isotonic drinks are not the answer I am looking for.

  • NotaCat
    4•1 year ago

    I was going to say that I don’t think being isotonic had any relation to how refreshing a drink is except in terms of taste. But then after thinking about it, salt does affect the rate of water excretion into the urine and water retention in blood. And because of this phenomenon they always recommend low salt diets for people with high blood pressure. So I guess in a way, a low salt diet would be considered more “isotonic.” But solid food will inherently not be isotonic due to containing more carbs and amino acids than water.

    • @laurelinaeOP
      1•1 year ago

      I don’t think being isotonic had any relation to how refreshing a drink is

      Having the same proportions of electrolytes and water as the human body means that no electrolytes are passing through the cell barriers to establish such an equilibrium. Isotonic drinks tasting refreshing is probably just an evolutionary development to make us choose drinks that are easier on the body.

      So I guess in a way, a low salt diet would be considered more “isotonic.” But solid food will inherently not be isotonic due to containing more carbs and amino acids than water.

      Thank you! This is a good answer.