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Sadly all the Hammer electrolyte drinks have xylitol and stevia in them?!?! Since hammer gel does not I am debating on just diluting the gel in my water bottle for spinning. Anyone do this? If any of you know of a good electrolyte that doesn't have and 'tols' in it let me know. Apparently I'm allergic to xylitol, sorbitol and malitol.
I'm not allergic to them, but they make me really "tooty," since they don't digest properly (which is how they are non-caloric). Stick with Endurolytes capsules or S! Caps if you want something with electrolytes and no calories. Otherwise regular full-calorie sports drinks should be fine.
Skratch Labs might be promising.
Skratch Labs is probably the most widely available. If you prefer a tablet, Zenergize Hydrate is sweetened with stevia only, no sugar alcohols - but outside of one race expo where I first found Zenergize, I've only ever seen it for sale online.
Diluting the Hammer Gel won't do you any good, since it's very light on electrolytes even when it's full strength - it's meant to be used as a calorie replacement along with their electrolyte supplement. Hammer's electrolyte supplement is called Endurolytes and it comes in powder and pill form. The powder has a bitter metallic taste since it's completely unflavored and unsweetened, but on those long hot runs I totally need a magnesium/calcium replacement to prevent cramping, and it's not so easy for me to swallow capsules while running (though I've done it in marathons). For cycling I did used to carry the pills, use HEED for on-bike calorie replacement and get sodium from salty foods at rest stops ... but honestly, having to use so many different products is one of the things I really don't like about Hammer's line.
Skratch has two versions: one with a calorie replacement and one with just a tiny bit of cane sugar and dextrose for flavor.
Salt Lick is another good electrolyte capsule. I've been told that it has a better electrolyte profile than Endurolyte but I don't know enough about it to say either way.
I think the main difference is that Salt Lick (as its name suggests) is meant to replace sodium too (same as Zenergize Hydrate and Skratch Labs), while Endurolytes has very little sodium and is meant to be used with Hammer's other products.
Any suggestions on flavored from Skratch Labs for their exercise mix?
Never tried it, but I usually start with the lemon-lime flavor (or the closest to it) since I generally like it and it's hard to screw up.
I've used all the flavors of Skratch, and like them all. Even the orange was good, and I usually don't like orange flavored stuff. They definitely use real fruit flavoring...I had the raspberry in my bottles and had a raspberry seed stuck in my teeth!
Go with whichever flavor you usually like. My personal favorite from Skratch is the pineapple.