Home made sports drink powder?

[tafi]

I can't stand some of the awful flavours that sports drinks are made these days. (Who the hell ever heard of "mountain blast" fruit growing on trees - why not just call it "sugary blue ****" and be done with it)

I'm sure everyone has experienced the fact that most sports drinks are also far too sweet for consumption whilst riding.

So I'd like to know if anyone has experienced the same and has develped a recipie for their own disolvable powder/syrup which works well and actually tastes pleasant while on the bike.

Better still is there a form of disolvable carbohydsrate which doesn't taste too sweet?

Cheers

 

[washboardmiles]

I hear ya.

I too am in search of a more home-made approach. I dont mind the sweetness (heck I water it down too much to notice); I just would like to put together a sports drink and/or some goo that does not end up costing several bucks a ride, but having similar properties to those that do. I currently use Cytomax &/or Powebar gel.

 

[pwkomanecky]

Better still is there a form of disolvable carbohydsrate which doesn't taste too sweet?

Cheers [/B]

I hear ya... The only drinks I can handle are the HIGH5 mixes. It's what CSC has been using for the past two years. Check it out, here's a link....

http://activefuel.com/product_info.php/products_id/75

Activefuel.com is the only place you'll be able to get it in the US.

Good luck.

 

[Ted B]

Originally posted by tafi
I can't stand some of the awful flavours that sports drinks are made these days. (Who the hell ever heard of "mountain blast" fruit growing on trees - why not just call it "sugary blue ****" and be done with it)

I'm fed up with it as well, and I'm sick and tired of all these poorly formulated products. If I pay for something, it should consist of that which follows the literature, and not make compromises (e.g. cheaper/lesser ingredients) intended to boost profit. Being a scientist, I can see right through the marketing propaganda. Even if I got them free, I wouldn't use most of the products on the market today, for reasons which are justifiable given the available scientific studies.

I've done something about it, and will be going to testing soon.

To be continued...

 

[Routier]

Making your own sportsdrinks is quite easy.
I've read this in a book. There are two kinds of drinks
- Isotone (4 - 8 gr glucose per 100ml)
- Hypotone (2 - 4 gr glucose per 100ml)

Isotone is the best used in normal weather conditions. The colder it gets, the more glucose you should add (from 4gr - 8gr). With this you should also add salt (YES salt!) 1 - 1,5 gr per liter. With this you can give your drink some flavour with fruitjuice. (I've got a good experience with lemons, you could also use oranges. If you use lemons, don't use too much because that would be bad for your digestion.)

It's the same recipe for Hypotone except you use less glucose.
Hypotone is a drink best used if your activity is only for one hour or less. If your activity will last one hour or more I suggest using Isotone drinks.

In this article I'm reffering to GLUCOSE. These are sugars like dextrose or maltodextrose. You can get this with your local pharmacist. It's really cheap. It only costs 1.50$ per 250gr.
I've also heard of something better than maltodextrose and dextrose and it's called glucose polymeren, but I couldn't find it.

Now you know what I know. If you had would any hints or tips please tell me so. I'm also eager to learn more.

 

[big_h]

Try this link, very informative although I have never tried any of the recipies.

http://www.cptips.com/toc.htm#nuttips

Big H

 

[dhk]

I've mixed Karo brand corn syrup in water, and it's not sickly- sweet like the fruitose drinks. The label says it contains "light corn syrup with high-fruitose corn syrup". One tablespoon contains 15 gms of CHO. So, mixing 3 tbsp in a 750 ml water bottle will give you a 6% solution.

Not sure where this stuff falls on the glycemic index, but it seems to work fine and not upset my stomach. Plus, it's cheap, and comes in your choice of two exotic flavors/colors...."light" and "dark".

 

[tafi]

From what i have read corn syrup or maltodextrin's gycemic index is the same or perhaps higher than that of glucose. So it's very readily absorbed.

What about the addition of magnesium. i know that Staminade and a few other less well known (but much more expensive) drink powders contain magnesium. Does anyone know for sure if it will do it's job or are concentrations usually too low to tell if there's any benefit to be derived from Magnesium compared to just Potassium and Sodium?