Sports Drinks alternative?

[bikerHen]

Is there a sports drink alternative out there that isn't all sugar? I drank Gatorade this weekend instead of water and got a real gut-ache from all the sugar. Can you get a mix that's just electrolytes and other good stuff?

[SadieKate]

I find that I digest Cytomax better than Gatorade. I've always diluted it a bit and added Crystal Lite to make it taste better. Several of the TE ladies recommended E-caps (capsules) from Hammer Gel for pure electrolyte replacement without the calories. This combo seems to be working very well for me and hubby. I've recommended the E-caps to others who seem to be having equal success.

[mikki]

I've recently tried Vitamin Water by Glaceau. Not overly sweet, plus vitamins/minerals. Different formulas. I like Revive (B complex, E, C, and minerals, plus ginseng and gotu), fruit punch flavor.

[JesTutripup]

Careful, cause the same happened to me this weekend. The sweetest biker called me from behind to make sure I was ok. The pain had me walking half a mile. The heat can play a factor in the cramp as well.

You may need to put something solid in your tummy. I had a nice green apple. Also I carry Perrier with ice in waterbottle and Accelerade in my hydration pack.

Mineral water and an apple sets me straight. Sugar and doses of caffiene can probably throw you over heeving or in pain.

[bikerHen]

Thanks for your input! There is so much to learn! Heat was NOT an issue on this ride. The first half was in a cold rain, the second half was drying and thawing out in the weak but warm sunshine. I'm sure it was the Gatorade. This was the first time I've really drank the stuff. I tried to go 50/50 with water but it was still to much. I ate some, mostly protien bars, but we were so long on the ride I do think my empty stomach was part of the problem too. SadieKate, where do I find the E-caps? They sound like they are worth a try.

[CorsairMac]

Electro-Mix by Alacercorp, the same people that make Emer-Gen-C. It has nothing in it but what you need. It can be added to anything and I do mean just about Anything coz it's a very light lemon-lime flavour. It does not have sodium in it tho so on very hot days or very long rides you might need to add a dash of salt.

oops - my bad: shes' right it's Electro-Lyte (it's a mental thing.....that name just never sounds right to me! :-D)

[MomOnBike]

I'll add my vote for Electro-Mix/-Lite/Whatever it's called. Small packets, easy and light to carry, not much taste, can be mixed with every liquid I've tried it with so far. Pretty close to perfect. So far the best combo is one packet in a really big glass of iced tea and, um, an amount of dumb old table sugar.

One recovery beverage that hasn't been mentioned here that I really like is a smallish glass of diluted orange juice mixed with a heaping teaspoon of brewer's yeast. (OK, I'm just an old hippy. It's cool.) I've use that for years to put some bounce back in my step. It's kind of a mess, though, so I just drink it at home.

[SimpleCycle]

I think E-caps is the name of all their supplement products. I know people who use the Endurolytes capsules for electrolyte replacement. They also sell it in powder form you can mix into your drink. You can order it directly from their website:

http://www.e-caps.com/

And click on "Buy Hammer Now"

Some bike stores carry their products too, I think. I haven't found the Endurolytes anywhere though.

[bikerINco]

try Elete. You add it to water, and it still takes like water. comes in a bottle and only a few drops are necessary. it totally helps with cramping and doesn't contain any sugar.

[DallasChic]

I have been drinking unflavored Pedialyte..... Children's hydration electrolyte drink.
It is expensive but you can also purchase the generic brand.
I learned of this from an interview I saw on TV with a Dallas Stars Hockey player.
This is what the players drink during the games to stay hydrated.
There is no flavor and it sits well on the stomach!
Check it out!!!

http://www.pedialyte.com/

[Grog]

I love the taste of yellow Gatorade but it'd way too sweet, way above the recommended carbs % anyway (which is 6%). I dilute it to half-strength and add a pinch of salt for the sodium. I chew on bars that contain more sodium with potassium and other minerals along the way or on rest stops.

I'm not a big fan of orangy-stuff but many of my riding friends have diluted (again, about to half) orange juice.

[Technotart]

I'll second the pedialyte - it is the only thing that is widely available that is physiologically correct in terms of what it pushes and pulls osmotically. The generic versions are the same, and you can buy it at any grocery, drug or discount store.

There are some things like elete that can be mixed with water to achieve the same thing, but I find that those are sometimes hard to come by. My LBS doesn't always have it. AND if they arent mixed with the right amount of fluid then you don't get the osmotic results you want.

Your rehydration solution needs to osmotically PUSH fluid into your body - not pull it out. Gatorade and other sweet drinks pull it out and actually dehydrate you. Pedialyte does exactly what it is supposed to do.

[Trekhawk]

How does the taste of Pedialyte rate? I bought it for my boys when they were sick and they told me it tasted pretty bad.

Not long after this I read an article by a Doctor which included a recipe for some home made mix as he said he had found it near impossible to get kids to drink Pedialyte.

I know kids taste buds are fresh not like our old ones so maybe for adults the taste is ok?????

[Technotart]

You can buy flavored versions. Frankly - when I'm out in the heat I don't care what I am drinking taste wise, as long as it does the trick. It isn't that bad.
I figure if I can eat GU, Clif shots and other ick...Pedialyte's NUTHIN!

[wabisabi]

My chiropractor, who cycles, made an observation that I thought I would pass along. I try to be careful about hydration because of a kind of colitis that I have that can be really aggravated by the wrong kinds of food/additives that cause things to, ahem, pass through me quickly and a consequent electrolyte imbalance. I usually deal with it and don't have problems. Recently I have been getting leg and foot cramps again. She mentioned that when someone approaches being an "athlete", which she said, at 100 miles a week I might be (I'm 55), that the body adjusts to make the best use of water. This means that sometimes the stuff in the sports drink additives can throw the body off--too many minerals, which is sometimes the problem that people encounter when they travel and "drink the water". I recalled that I had gone to adding the full amount of cytomax to my bottles--not sure why, it never gets above the low 60's here on the coast in the summer. Anyway, she suggested only adding half as much of the powder as recommended.