Question

Gatorade or other sports drinks contain Na+, glucose, and water. Which statement best explains how Gatorade helps the "rehydration" of your cells? [Note: intestine epithelial cells do have aquaporins on their apical plasma membrane]

A. The Na+/Glucose symporter transports both Na+ and glucose into intestine epithelial cells, creating osmosis pressure to allow water molecules to flow into cells through aquaporins.
B. The glucose is used as energy source to generate ATP, whose hydrolysis is coupled with water transport through aquaporins.
C. Hydrated shells will form around Na+ by water molecules to neutralize the charge and facilitate diffusion of both Na+ and water molecules into cells.

Answer 1

Gatorade helps cell rehydration through a Na+/Glucose symporter that leads to an increase in intracellular solute concentration, which in turn draws water into cells via osmosis through aquaporins.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that best explains how Gatorade helps the "rehydration" of your cells is: The Na+/Glucose symporter transports both Na+ and glucose into intestine epithelial cells, creating osmotic pressure to allow water molecules to flow into cells through aquaporins.

Gatorade contains a mix of sodium (Na+), glucose, and water, which are key components for rehydration. When you drink Gatorade, the sodium and glucose in the solution are absorbed by cells in the small intestine through a process known as active transport. Specifically, a Na+/Glucose symporter allows Na+ ions and glucose molecules to bind to it and then carries them both into the cell. This increase in the concentration of solutes inside the cells draws water in via osmosis through specialized channel proteins called aquaporins, rehydrating the cells.

Meanwhile, Na+ ions are actively pumped out of the epithelial cells to maintain low intracellular Na+ concentrations, a process that requires energy in the form of ATP and is performed by a Na+/K+ ATPase pump.