Homebrew sports drinks (Read 133 times)

I had an idea for a homebrew electrolyte-packed sports drink, and would like feedback and constructive criticism.

As we know, the major electrolytes that the body needs is sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium (also phosphate, bicarbonate, and sulfate).  Most DIY sports drinks are basically salt, sugar, and water.  I wanted to see if I could buy some potassium, magnesium, and calcium dietary supplements, grind them up and mix it into my own sports drinks and have the same effect as Gatorade, which IMO is superior to a homebrew sugared saline solution.

Gatorade has (per 8 ounces) -  110mg sodium  90mg chloride, 30mg potassium, 14g of carbohydrates

Gatorade Endurance has - 200mg sodium 90mg chloride, 90mg potassium, 6mg calcium, 3mg magnesium, and 14g of carbs.

Except for the chloride as its part of table salt, that should be easy enough to measure out.  I could then further adjust the amounts to suit me better.  I could also experiment with different forms of sugar.  Maybe do like 70% fast digesting sugar like glucose or fructose powder and 30% slower like honey or table sugar.

Let me know what you think

Occasionally, if it's really hot for a few days in a row in summer, I'll buy NUUN tablets and drop them in a glass of water once or twice a day. But otherwise I get plenty of electrolytes in the food I eat.

After long runs I usually make a smoothie containing ~ 8 oz. orange juice, 8 oz. vanilla yogurt, 8 oz. frozen berries, a frozen banana and a few shakes of salt.

My favorite "Homebrew Sports Drink" is a nice hoppy IPA.

+10

will be homebrewing some IPA  in very near future.  actually will be an amber ale. working on recipe this week (very much a beginner homebrewer).  This gets me thinking about if its possible of combining the two (sports drink,  IPA) into an alcoholic sports drink ?  Gatorade (or similar) with a bitter/hoppy taste.

a margarita.

I don't think the sugar in Gatorade does anything for water absorption during exercise--it is just energy. And for the most part you don't need it in workouts of normal duration. In very long runs (say longer than 3 hours) it might make sense but I find it's easier to take a Gu or two and just drink water.

Electrolytes ARE important to your body's ability to absorb water, but the concentration of electrolytes in Gatorade doesn't really do much.

Science of Sport did a great series on fluid intake, dehydration and exercise if you are interested in the subject. Here's the first post in the 5-part series.

The upshot was that sports drinks are mostly pointless and we should just drink to thirst.

Thanks Mike and Jeff, this is the kind of constructive criticism I was looking for.

Jeff, good luck on Hartford next weekend, I'll be there!

I did some research on Skratch Labs and seems like people like them.  That egg video had me slightly confused.  Is a fragile, vinegared egg really representative of the small intestine?  Also, why didn't they use water as a control?

Skratch labs "Exercise Hydration" mix has  (per 8 oz):

180mg sodium, 20mg potassium, 30mg calcium, 20mg magnesium, 20mg Vitamin C, and 10g of carbohydrates

That's a bit different from Gatorade.  About the same sodium, almost a quarter of the potassium, 5 times the calcium and magnesium, a little bit less carbs, and a lot of vitamin C (17% of DV)

It looks like I may have to do some more research and trail and error.  I already know I feel considerably less thirsty if I drink a sports drink and water during a long run than just straight water.  So for me, at least, sports drinks DO have an effect, I just want to maximize that effect without having to support Corporate America.

Testing would have to start after the marathon as I wouldn't want to introduce anything new a week and a half out!

Yeah, I was never sold on the coconut water.  It's expensive and tastes disgusting.  I'll just eat a banana for the potassium.

Thanks for posting that chart!  That was exactly what I thought about on my run this evening  "when I get home, I should see how much electrolytes you actually sweat, and a good drink balance should be slightly lower."

Since that chart is based on 16oz of Skratch/Sweat, The real challenge would be how much I sweat in an hour for long runs at a moderate pace.  I know I could weigh myself before and after, but as the article Mike pointed out, you also burn an amount of carbohydrates, whether it be glycogen or fat.  That should be more or less static though, say 10% of weight loss?

From what I understand, when you sweat out sodium/salt, your blood keeps relatively the same concentration of water to salt ratio.  If you replenish with just water, you dilute that ratio.  In turn, your kidney responds that it stops absorbing water and will just have to pee.  The opposite is also true, too much salt, your body tells you you need more water.

i just have a banana........  green smoothies (home made) are my go-to 'sports drink'.  i don't think i could improve on what the earth has already given us, so i just go with greens and fruits shoved in a blender.