How to Make Your Own Sports Drinks

By definition, sports drinks are designed to re-hydrate the body, replace minerals lost through sweat, and provide energy. And the body has to process it quickly for rapid availability. The thirst quenching properties are the salt. This keeps you drinking, more than you would if you simply drinking water, or a sweeter drink like apple juice. By increasing fluid volume, you stave off dehydration.

The optimal carbohydrate count is about 14 grams per 8 ounce of drink, approximately a 6% carbohydrate solution. Other contents include vary somewhat, brand to brand, but are roughly 110 mg sodium, and 30 mg potassium. The salt content both replaces the minerals lost and also stimulates you to keep drinking.

The key is getting the balance right. You need enough minerals (salt) to replace but you need the drink sweet enough to provide the energy and to keep the drink palatable. If you don't like the taste, you're not going to drink it.

The carbohydrate content is the easiest to account for, and the best tasting. You can simply mix sugar with water and a flavoring drink mix, or use any natural fruit juice.

The sodium & potassium content is added with salt. Simple sea salt with give you the minerals, but the concentration of potassium will be high compared to commercial sports drinks. Using Morton brand lite salt will lower the potassium levels while still providing adequate sodium.

Start with a drink whose taste you like and slowly add salt. Keep track of how much you add. A little less sodium is better than a drink you won't use.

For specific recipes to try and then modify to taste, Dr. Lorraine Williams offers two at Sports Girls Play. Another recipe using orange juice is quoted on the Consumerist website from Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook.

Another source for specific recipes BRT Insights. Here you'll find recipes and even a breakdown of which natural drinks (including the V8 varieties) work well and which require additional tweaking to make palatable. There is no shortage of additional links to more information and tested recipes at this site.

Write it down. Whichever recipe you use as a starting point, be sure to keep track of what you add, how much, and whether you like it. Keeping a journal will prevent you from making the same mistakes twice or not knowing what you put into that version that came out great!

Sources:
http://gssiweb.com/Article_Detail.aspx?articleid=435&level=6&topic=2http://sportsgirlsplay.com/recipes-for-homemade-sports-drinks/

http://consumerist.com/2009/08/make-your-own-sports-drink.html

http://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/10/hydration-fruit-ade-natural-sports.htmlhttp://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/09/hydration-fruit-ade-natural-fruit.html