Electrolytes? Yes. Gatorade? No Thanks + DIY Electrolytes

Me and my princesses at Mt Princeton, the roaring river as our background

If you were to remove the sugar from Gatorate and try to drink it - it would be record-book gag-worthy. To combat it's vomit-factor, Pepsi dumped in sugar and chemicals to create a disgusting concoction of an electrolyte excuse. Electrolytes, yes. Cancer causing chemicals and diabetes on the way after you consume Gatorade? Check & check.

So just what are electrolytes? 

So first let's look at our bestie, water. Just plain water is not just plain water. Surprise! Water has minerals in it. Some water has more than others. Like in Colorado, we have hard water which is full of minerals (such as salt, calcium, sodium bicarbonate, or iron) all natural and from the earth. Different places have different amounts and different minerals. This is why people travel for hundreds of miles to sit in the hot springs and bath in the minerals of the earth.

Hot Springs in Colorado: Mount Princeton Hot Springs where I was this last weekend, has several pools that people sit in, one even has a long water slide. There's also Glenwood Springs, that has a gigantic pool of springs. Then there's Steamboat Springs where you can do hot and cold mineral water plunges based on which spring you sit in.

Steamboat Springs Strawberry Springs Hot Springs. Ah, yes!

So, that's water. Water with electrolytes has a higher concentration of minerals that your body needs to complete cell processes. Here are the electrolytes we are talking about:

Sodium

Potassium

Calcium

Chloride

Bicarbonate

Magnesium

These guys are so vital to every process in your body that you body will leech them from your bones to bring them into the blood. So many processes, such as nerve impulses and oxygenation of red blood cells are impossible without a proper electrolyte balance. If you supply electrolytes internally then you are doing your body a huge favor and making your sweet little cells very happy indeed.

Especially when you are an athlete, electrolytes are important to replenish since you are asking your muscles to fire rapidly.l And when you sweat water, you are also sweating these sweet minerals out with it.  Don't ask your body to work out without the proper fuel, in this case the fuel is electrolytes.

Electrolytes in ways you didn't think of yet, so you can give Gatorade the snuff:

1. Coconut water - try Coconut in the raw if you can find it. It's in the refridgerated section. If it's not raw, that's OK, the other stuff is pasteurized so it's heated and thus not as good for you but still high on the list and safer in the handling process.
   
2. Water infused with banana and lemon juice- just mash banana & add both to your water
   
3. Leafy greens
   
4. Smart Water
   
5. Use this DIY Electrolyte water recipe. Just learned this from my biochemistry teacher!
   
   1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
   1/2 Cup orange Juice - fresh squeezed is best -or else no sugar added
     2  Cups water
   1/8 Teas. Sea salt or Himalyan salt
     2  TBSP Honey 

Gatorade, oh hell no. Don't punish your body.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 12 fl oz (355 mL)

Servings Per Container About 2.5

Amount Per Serving

Calories 80

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 0g0%

Sodium 160mg7%

Potassium 45mg1%

Total Carbohydrate 21g7%

Sugars 21g

Protein 0g

Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

WATER, SUGAR, DEXTROSE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, SODIUM CITRATE, MONOPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, GUM ARABIC, SUCROSE ACETATE ISOBUTYRATE, GLYCEROL ESTER OF ROSIN, YELLOW 6