alij2018

Hi,

Can we prepare an electrolyte drink with just water, sugar and salt?

If yes, how much quantity of sugar and salt I need for a 600ml and a 1.5L water bottle?

Germany_chris

I've always just used about 30% apple juice and a tiny pinch of salt.

KraneXL

And therein lies the challenge. Its not just a matter or including all the ingredient, but getting them in the right proportions. Gatorade came up with it first, but it took, time and trials and testing to get the formula right. Good luck.

Machka 

We've used half-salt (sodium and potassium) and maltodextrin.

Some sources say: "30 to 40 g of maltodextrin in 1 liter of water" and salt to taste.

Maltodextrin has little to no flavour, so then you might want to add something for flavour.

Metieval

2L water
1tsp Potassium chloride powder
1/2 tsp sodium chloride (Himalayan pink sea salt)
1tsp sodium bicarbonate
1/2 tsp magnesium sulfate

downhillmaster

I prefer to sew my own jerseys and I also break every weld on all my new bikes so that I can re-weld them myself just because that works best for me

CycleryNorth81

Now if you can make your own electrolyte drink I would be impress.

Sy Reene

Thought about doing my own recipe, but really gatorade powder is fairly cheap. That said, my hack is (for one standard ~22oz bike water bottle):
1/2 strength gatorade powder (about 1/4 scoop for 1 water bottle)
1/2 of a Nuun tab
1.5 scoops of maltodextrin

If you wanna go homemade, the below link (Recipe1) might be up your alley:
Homemade Sports Drink

HerrKaLeun

You are missing the point. The OP isn't intending to buy Gatorade , separate the ingredients and re-combining them.

OP can spend 1ct on ingredients to create the same thing Gatorade charges a $.

If you read ingredients, Gatorade is just some sodium, little potassium and lots of sugar plus color. I'd use Mortens light salt (potassium and sodium) and maybe add some magnesium.

Reminds me of the movie "idiocracy".

livedarklions

I eat food. Electrolytes abide sufficiently there.

HerrKaLeun

+1

Animals and ancient humans eating whole foods didn't have a problem performing well.

Sy Reene

Gatorade also has some flavoring. A canister of Gatorade powder btw equates to about a cost of $.20/bike bottle.. nowhere near $1. Some of the recipes above (eg #5 ) sound like they would taste horrible.

KraneXL

As long as you don't mind a life expectancy of 25? Fortunately for modern man, we know a lot more about health and nutrition these days.

skidder

+1

There's a drink on the market called Vitalyte that you can try. Its original name was Gookinaid after the biochemist professor who developed it. He developed it with the help of distance runners, but didn't have the marketing budget that Gatoraid did. I used to use it back in my running days, but these days just stick with water and a balanced diet.

FWIW: Gatoraid makes me nauseous, even when heavily diluted.

noglider 

When I'm heading out on a long ride, I put a half teaspoon of salt in one of my water bottles. I must say, it makes it taste bad, but I think it helps. Sometimes I add one or two tablespoons of maple syrup which adds a few calories and amps up the flavor.

Miele Man

You're really luck that works for you. The trouble with using just salt is that the body needs potassium in order to use the salt properly. If I'm using a DIY energy drink I mix up the dry ingredients and put them into small zip-lock type bags. that way I'm carrying water if I need just water and I can add the mix if/when ineed it.

I stopped buying Gatorade powder when it became a bit of sodium and potassium with a LOT of sugar.

Cheers

noglider 

@Miele Man, where do I get potassium?

KraneXL

You're not the only one with that concern, which is why the developed low sugar and no sugar versions. Of course, that just means you have to choose sucralose instead, but there is no perfect manufactured drink that's widely accepted, and companies do have to make money

rumrunn6

fwiw, I use the pill form of these
potassium
magnesium
calcium
& sprinkle a very little little table salt (sodium) into my water bottles w/ a squeeze of lemon juice for flavor
all very small doses, & usually just for the all day rides or if it will be super hot out, to the point where I am drinking 3+ bottles of water. for the biggest rides I'll have these supplements the night before, the morning of & bring more for mid ride

MoAlpha

Actually, sodium and potassium are absorbed into the body by independent mechanisms, which don't affect each other. You may be referring to the Na/K ATPase, which maintains the charge and concentration gradients for Na+ and K+ across cell membranes, but you would die in ventricular fibrillation long before your potassium could get that low enough to affect that.

Both, Na and K, however, are made significantly more efficient in the presence of glucose. This is one reason there is sugar in electrolyte drinks. The other is that potassium salts taste horrible. There probably is an excess of sugar in most of the commercial stuff.

CycleryNorth81

You can buy Mortin Lite Salt. It is compose of 50% sodium chloride and 50% potassium chloride at your grocery store or Walmart. 100% potassium chloride is more expensive and used as a substitute for sodium chloride with people who have high blood pressure.


Morton Lite Salt (50% sodium chloride, 50% potassium chloride)






No Salt (from Walmart, potassium chloride)

Miele Man

I buy Half 'n' Half at the grocery store. It's 50% sodium and 50% potassium.

Cheers

CycleryNorth81

For people who are diabetic it is better to make there own electrolyte drink. The person can control the glycemic index/ glycemic load by varying the amount of sugar added.

noglider 

Great, thanks!

livedarklions

Are you seriously claiming that people who don't supplement electrolytes die at 25?

Actually, the evidence is that electrolytes are much better utilized by the body if they're derived from food, and supplementation may actually be harmful.