For example potasium works (from inside the cell wall) with sodium (outside the cell wall) to maintain correct cellular water pressure. Upset this balance and the cell is either gorged with water or dried out. Neither good for us.

An intake of too much sodium in relation to your potassium levels is also not good.

For normal everyday activites, our body does quite well to manage all these levels.

But if you are planning a long ride in the hot sun, your normal balance is thrown out of whack. This is a stressor. It will sap energy from you. It will make you less effective. If your goal is to be on a multi-day ride, this is a serious consideration.

Athletes think about these things when looking for peak performance. I know I certainlly did when competing. If you want to perform optimally too, you might consider this.