"Sports drinks"

[danvolker]

One of the real issues with most low end ( but mass marketed and popular) electrolyte/sports drinks, is they use massive amounts of sodium, and no where near enough potassium....the ratio is supposed to be twice as much potassium as sodium...so if you had 150 mg of sodium, there would need to be 300 mg of Potassium. Gatorade and many of the others, are really just blasting you with sodium, which is not healthy...and the mix is hypertonic as another poster mentioned....and with so much sugar that even Lance Armstrong on steroids, in a 140 mile leg of a Tour de France bike race, could not have used this amount of sugar...in fact--it would have shut him down metabolically, so massive would the insulin spike have been with a pint of pure gatorade.
Water it down 10 to one....it no longer tastes good....it is not quite as bad for you, but it still has the wrong and bad sugar in it , and the percentage of sodium to potassium will still make it bad for you.

Coconut water is kind of sugary, but the sugar is more metabolically useful, and the ratio of potassium to sodium is far healthier and more effective.

Best product ever for this was Hydra Fuel by Twin Lab....but was discontinued as it could not compete with the cheap sugar drinks like Gatorade and Powerade--the masses are the market...not the 2% of real athletes that actually need a great electrolyte drink!!!

 

[Steve Risley]

FYI - Propel just came out with a new electrolyte water. It contains the same amount of electrolytes as Gatorade, but minus the flavor & sugar

 

[danvolker]

FYI - Propel just came out with a new electrolyte water. It contains the same amount of electrolytes as Gatorade, but minus the flavor & sugar

Garbage product....more than 3 times the sodium to the potassium.....it needs to be twice the potassium to sodium.

Alacer, maker of EmergenC vitamin C drinks...also makes Electro Mix....Currently the best formula for an electrolyte drink...and it has zero sodium added.... Atheletes that try it are amazed at how much better it is than all other electrolytes....The down side though.....the huge pharmaceutical company Phizer bought Alacer in February....and all the vitamin stores have been out of stock for Electromix for the last 2 months....My assumption is that Phizer will be producing this Electro mix now...if they decide to continue it....and then we will have to see if they mess with the original formula that works so well.
see Amazon.com: EMERGEN-C ELECTRO MIX Lemon-Lime, 30 ct, 4.2 oz: Health & Personal Care and some of the images at top left will show ingredients.....Again, I hope they stay the same. I don't trust Phizer any more than I trust Monsanto ....

 

[Sandie7]

Thin lemonade or diluted soft drinks are just as useful as those sports drinks. And since quite few of us excercise long and hard enough to really need those carbs to fill up depleted glycogen stores, we would be better off by cutting out the sugar as well and drink plain, old-fashioned water.

BTW, a big glass of plain chocolate milk is a great "restitution" drink after excercise and a lot cheaper than those powder formulas. It's got water, carbs and high-quality protein in pretty nice proprtions...

I like the idea of the chocolate, with or without milk ... I will think about this, because "milk chocolat" is a cause for migraines ... however "dark chocolat" in small quantities is ok (for me anyway). Maybe I can make my own chocolat drink. Wow, I wish I had it in those winter mornings when I came out of the water

---------- Post added May 16th, 2015 at 10:12 PM ----------

Alacer, maker of EmergenC vitamin C drinks...also makes Electo Mix....Currently the best formula for an electrolyte drink...and it has zero sodium added.... Atheletes that try it are amazed at how much better it is than all other electrolytes....The down side though.....the huge pharmaceutical company Phizer bought Alacer in February....and all the vitamin stores have been out of stock for Electromix for the last 2 months....My assumption is that Phizer will be producing this Electro mix now...if they decide to continue it....and then we will have to see if they mess with the original formula that works so well.
see Amazon.com: EMERGEN-C ELECTRO MIX Lemon-Lime, 30 ct, 4.2 oz: Health & Personal Care and some of the images at top left will show ingredients.....Again, I hope they stay the same. I don't trust Phizer any more than I trust Monsanto ....

Interesting stuff, but it is not being sold in Portugal ... thanks for the information though !

 

[uncfnp]

True. Chocolate milk is a near perfect post aerobic workout drink. But for most of us post dive, water is more than adequate for hydration alone. Alternative and to add a few carbs and electrolytes, dilute favorite sports drink 1:1.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Are they ok to drink before and after diving ?

Yes.

Are they better than water ?

Not unless you need the sugar and/or are about to run a significant number of miles and need the electrolytes.

 

[dmoore19]

If I had a choice between a diluted sports drink and water, I would choose water. Diluted that stuff is nasty.

 

[uncfnp]

If I had a choice between a diluted sports drink and water, I would choose water. Diluted that stuff is nasty.

No argument there. And have you ever tried to get a kid to drink Pedialyte?!

 

[dmoore19]

No argument there. And have you ever tried to get a kid to drink Pedialyte?!

HAHA, yes I have and try is the key word. Never had any luck doing it.

 

[boulderjohn]

https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-...d-soft-drinks/articles/sports-drinks-vs-water