Electrolytes / Pro drinks

K

ky280

New User
I know this has been covered to some degree...

This morning I was playing with a new hitting partner...to make a long story short, he was smoking me. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I was gasping for air (I knew I wasn't in perfect shape, but I play 3-4 times per week so I thought I'd do OK) and I felt totally lightheaded. I ran to the pro shop for a gatorade but could barely drink it down it was so sweet.

My question is...does anyone know of a good sports drink that is either unflavored or just not so 'intense' tasting, maybe something I could mix myself? I think I remember drinking something in the hospital after being sick that got me going pretty quick and didn't taste like dessert.

Thanks!
 
O

OrangeOne

Legend
ky280 said:
I know this has been covered to some degree...

This morning I was playing with a new hitting partner...to make a long story short, he was smoking me. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I was gasping for air (I knew I wasn't in perfect shape, but I play 3-4 times per week so I thought I'd do OK) and I felt totally lightheaded. I ran to the pro shop for a gatorade but could barely drink it down it was so sweet.

My question is...does anyone know of a good sports drink that is either unflavored or just not so 'intense' tasting, maybe something I could mix myself? I think I remember drinking something in the hospital after being sick that got me going pretty quick and didn't taste like dessert.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Gatorade (etc) are about twice as strong as they need to be for non-extreme performance.

The easiest option is to go to your supermarket and buy them in powder form (both gatorade and powerade are available here in tubs of powder) and mix them at 1/3 to 1/2 strength.

That said, you shouldn't need them to that degree within 15mins of starting - if lightheaded was from more than just breathing hard, you need to fuel yourself more prior to the hit, both water and energy.

Ultimately, no drink will help gasping for air - some aerobic training will though! Also, remember a slow warmup will get your body working at the right pace, starting too hard will indeed leave you feeling breathless as your aerobic system gets going.
 
Baselineg

Baselineg

Banned
Try powerade zero, its what i use no calories no sugar just sodium,potassium,magnesium everything you need.

This is what i use because like orange one said. gatorade is overkill for most people unless playing at a high level for a long period of time. powerade zero has all the electrolytes and none of the sweetness.
 
Last edited:
I

InsideOutBackhand

New User
As others have mentioned, you can get powdered forms of sports drinks or select drinks from their low calorie line ups (zero, g2, etc).

As for the sweet taste, it was too intense for you because, as you probably figured out already, your body didn't need the sugars. Had your body been calorie depleted, you probably would have found the sweetness more palatable.

I am a little curious on how you envisioned your story relating to your question at the end of your post. I get that regular gatorade was too sweet for you, but didn't see the point to the rest of the story. Is there another concern here? Are you looking for something safer for a diabetic? Just wondering.
 
K

ky280

New User
thanks everyone for the tips!

orange--ill try those mixing ratios out...part of the reason i felt so funky was like you said...i didn't really fuel up properly. i ate a fairly heavy meal but way too close to playing time. i felt like i was going to hurl it up.

insideout--thanks for the info. i guess i just never noticed how sweet gatorade was and it makes sense now what you said about my body not being calorie depleted.
 
10ACE

10ACE

Professional
ky280 said:
I know this has been covered to some degree...

This morning I was playing with a new hitting partner...to make a long story short, he was smoking me. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I was gasping for air (I knew I wasn't in perfect shape, but I play 3-4 times per week so I thought I'd do OK) and I felt totally lightheaded. I ran to the pro shop for a gatorade but could barely drink it down it was so sweet.

My question is...does anyone know of a good sports drink that is either unflavored or just not so 'intense' tasting, maybe something I could mix myself? I think I remember drinking something in the hospital after being sick that got me going pretty quick and didn't taste like dessert.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Coconut water- great source of electrolytes- I like Zico the best, need be you could add a little salt to it- I add a little orangina, or apple juice, for a little sugar.

Also- Pedialyte- yes the infant source for electrolytes- not too sweet, and great source for electrolytes, the CVS brand is cheap too
 
Jim A

Jim A

Professional
+1 on Brawno!

haha..
Cytomax is known to have a less sugary taste if you can find it in their ready to drink bottles..tastes better in the bottle than the powder formula imo, but what doesn't...

nuun is great if you don't need calories and are just looking for e-lytes...
 
tennisnj

tennisnj

Professional
Nuun is terrific for me b/c it doesn't upset my stomach & comes in cola flavor, lemon-lime & others. A guy who owns a bike store got me onto it b/c the touring cyclists use it for their long 'tours'.
 
O

OrangeOne

Legend
Jim A said:
+1 on Brawno!

haha..
Cytomax is known to have a less sugary taste if you can find it in their ready to drink bottles..tastes better in the bottle than the powder formula imo, but what doesn't...

nuun is great if you don't need calories and are just looking for e-lytes...
Click to expand...

Just mix it weaker?

I far prefer stuff I can mix myself and thus control the taste - and moreso - the amount of calories and salts I'm taking in.
 
C

cmb

Semi-Pro
u need some NO Xplode! Take a scoop about 40 minutes before u start to play...then u see who is smoking who. Trust me this stuff works, and its pretty cheap!
 
tennytive

tennytive

Hall of Fame
Mix the Gatorade with water 1 to 1. I usually take an empty Gatorade bottle, fill it halfway from a new one, then add water to both til full.

Cuts the sweetness, does the job, and lasts twice as long.

I've been doing that for about 9 months and it seems to work for me.

Will check out the Powerade Zero, though, that sounds good too.
 
C

charliefedererer

Legend
Frank BD said:
sugar in these drinks isn't just there to make them taste better. glucose allows enhances the small intestine's absorption of salts.

http://www.supply.unicef.dk/catalogue/bulletin9.htm
Click to expand...

You bring up a very interesting point that is worth emphasizing:

Because of the way glucose is absorbed, two sodium molecules are absorbed along with every glucose molecule. So adding glucose to sports drinks really does increase the absorbtion of the much needed sodium:

"Absorption of glucose entails transport from the intestinal lumen, across the epithelium and into blood. The transporter that carries glucose and galactose into the enterocyte is the sodium-dependent hexose transporter, known more formally as SGLUT-1. As the name indicates, this molecule transports both glucose and sodium ion into the cell and in fact, will not transport either alone.

The essence of transport by the sodium-dependent hexose transporter involves a series of conformational changes induced by binding and release of sodium and glucose, and can be summarized as follows:

1.the transporter is initially oriented facing into the lumen - at this point it is capable of binding sodium, but not glucose
2.sodium binds, inducing a conformational change that opens the glucose-binding pocket
3.glucose binds and the transporter reorients in the membrane such that the pockets holding sodium and glucose are moved inside the cell
4.sodium dissociates into the cytoplasm, causing glucose binding to destabilize
5.glucose dissociates into the cytoplasm and the unloaded transporter reorients back to its original, outward-facing position"
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_sugars.html

Fig12_36GlcNaSymport.GIF
http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc462/462a/NOTES/LIPIDS/Fig12_36GlcNaSymport.GIF

Actually this diagram also makes two other interesting points:

1. The sodium in sports drinks helps the absorbtion of the glucose needed for energy. (Talk about a win-win sutuation, you get the sodium and the sugar you need and their mutual absorbtion is dependent on having both.)

2. A potential contributory mechanism for cramping is depicted. As sodium is exchanged at the intestinal cell/blood interface, potassium is exchanged for the sodium. Thus, athletes losing large amounts of sodium and subsequently absorbing large amounts of sodium are potentially risking lowering their serum potassium levels, as potassium moves from the serum to intestinal cells, and thus causing a potential for electolyte imbalance across the muscular/serum interface. However this potential problem is minimized by the inclusion of potassium in sports drinks.
 
C

charliefedererer

Legend
Another point worthy of emphasis, is that water is actively absorbed by the intestinal cells because of the presence of sodium in the sports drinks.

"Another way of saying this is that absorption of water is absolutely dependent on absorption of solutes, particularly sodium:

•Sodium is absorbed into the cell by several mechanisms, but chief among them is by cotransport with glucose and amino acids - this means that efficient sodium absorption is dependent on absorption of these organic solutes.
•Absorbed sodium is rapidly exported from the cell via sodium pumps - when a lot of sodium is entering the cell, a lot of sodium is pumped out of the cell, which establishes a high osmolarity in the small intercellular spaces between adjacent enterocytes.
•Water diffuses in response to the osmotic gradient established by sodium - in this case into the intercellular space. It seems that the bulk of the water absorption is transcellular, but some also diffuses through the tight junctions.
•Water, as well as sodium, then diffuses into capillary blood within the villus"
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_water.html

Putting the information from my two posts together, you have the scientific explanation of why sports drinks result in greater water absorbtion than drinking water alone. This is an important reason why sugar and electrolytes are part of the sports drinks, and are not just there to provide energy (sugar) or prevent cramping (electrolytes) [although these would be good reasons all by themselves].
 
E

EKnee08

Professional
ky280 said:
I know this has been covered to some degree...

This morning I was playing with a new hitting partner...to make a long story short, he was smoking me. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I was gasping for air (I knew I wasn't in perfect shape, but I play 3-4 times per week so I thought I'd do OK) and I felt totally lightheaded. I ran to the pro shop for a gatorade but could barely drink it down it was so sweet.

My question is...does anyone know of a good sports drink that is either unflavored or just not so 'intense' tasting, maybe something I could mix myself? I think I remember drinking something in the hospital after being sick that got me going pretty quick and didn't taste like dessert.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

It could be a bronchial issue apart from a sports drink. Years ago in an early morning recreational match in high heat and humidity, I just ahd no energy, gasping, etc. Fast forward a year or so and I was diagnosed with asthma. I now takea pill every day and an inhaler as needed . In fact, I use the inhaler before every match and it is recommended for the pros as well and it has made a tremendous difference.
 
I

I Love Tennis

New User
Coconut water- great source of electrolytes- I like Zico the best, need be you could add a little salt to it- I add a little orangina, or apple juice, for a little sugar.

Also- Pedialyte- yes the infant source for electrolytes- not too sweet, and great source for electrolytes, the CVS brand is cheap too[/QUOTE]

Yes I AGREE....Coconut Water...I like vita coconut..you can get it plain or with pineapple already added in. Low in calories and has a ton of potassium..its just like drinking water with a little flavor and a great source.


I like to mix Pedialyte with lime lime gatorade...half and half, a few days before a big tournament. Start on Monday and drink one everyday til I play!
 
oiler90

oiler90

Rookie
the most effective for energy and long lasting endurance for me has been Accelerade. Comes in different flavors. I buy it at GNC Store, but have seen bottles of it at 7-11 stores too.
 
rk_sports

rk_sports

Hall of Fame
charliefedererer said:
Another point worthy of emphasis, is that water is actively absorbed by the intestinal cells because of the presence of sodium in the sports drinks.

"Another way of saying this is that absorption of water is absolutely dependent on absorption of solutes, particularly sodium:

•Sodium is absorbed into the cell by several mechanisms, but chief among them is by cotransport with glucose and amino acids - this means that efficient sodium absorption is dependent on absorption of these organic solutes.
•Absorbed sodium is rapidly exported from the cell via sodium pumps - when a lot of sodium is entering the cell, a lot of sodium is pumped out of the cell, which establishes a high osmolarity in the small intercellular spaces between adjacent enterocytes.
•Water diffuses in response to the osmotic gradient established by sodium - in this case into the intercellular space. It seems that the bulk of the water absorption is transcellular, but some also diffuses through the tight junctions.
•Water, as well as sodium, then diffuses into capillary blood within the villus"
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/smallgut/absorb_water.html

Putting the information from my two posts together, you have the scientific explanation of why sports drinks result in greater water absorbtion than drinking water alone. This is an important reason why sugar and electrolytes are part of the sports drinks, and are not just there to provide energy (sugar) or prevent cramping (electrolytes) [although these would be good reasons all by themselves].
Click to expand...

Interesting.. thanks mate
 
Power Player

Power Player

Bionic Poster
Pedialyte is the best way. The packs are $1 each. Pour 1 into a large jug of water and it's all you need. I cramp real easily, and the pedialyte has helped more than anything.
 
Power Player

Power Player

Bionic Poster
EKnee08 said:
It could be a bronchial issue apart from a sports drink. Years ago in an early morning recreational match in high heat and humidity, I just ahd no energy, gasping, etc. Fast forward a year or so and I was diagnosed with asthma. I now takea pill every day and an inhaler as needed . In fact, I use the inhaler before every match and it is recommended for the pros as well and it has made a tremendous difference.
Click to expand...

I have seriously considered this. I was diagnosed with asthma when I was in my 20s. I thought it was from smoking and I quit. But I still have issues in humidity. I get winded easily and sweat like crazy. I can get tired out sometimes way too fast...its something I am considering getting checked out because I am in really good shape besides this issue.
 
OldButGame

OldButGame

Hall of Fame
Great post Charlie!!!...another question,...I thought i had heard once that 'temperature of the drink' also affects speed of absorbtion,..and that cold drinks are absorbed more slowly than warmer or air temp drinks?:-?
 
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