UKC

Hi All,

I recently noticed most the key ingredients for sports drinks (Fructose, Dextrose, and Maltodextrin) are cheaply available online and often for significantly less than buying premixed sports drinks.

Has anyone tried making their own sports drinks? If so, was it a success?

Thanks,
Ian

In reply to IanF: Never thought of the idea, but it does sound good!

In reply to IanF: Have you tried drinking water and eating jelly babies? Works for me, though I won't pretend it's a balanced diet or even isotonic rehydration.

In reply to IanF:

Yes, have been making my own concoction for the last 2 years or so. Saved a small fortune.

In reply to riddle:

I imagine you have saved lots of money, these sports drinks companies are making a killing given most the ingredients to be picked up for less than five pound per kilo.

What carbohydrates (or carbohydrate mix) are you using? Do you add sodium from loss of salts?
Thanks

In reply to IanF: Orange juice, water and a dab of salt. If you get the mix right its drinkable and fits most of the requirements.

Top tip though - don't leave it under your car seat for a fortnight then try and drink it....

In reply to IanF:

I sometimes make my own lemonade from lemon juice, sugar and water (not fizzy). If you get the proportions right it tastes pretty good. Maybe I could add a pinch of salt and call it a sports drink.

In reply to IanF:
Maybe not quite what you had in mind, but I used to buy powdered gatorade for desert hiking. It was very cheap, avoided carrying lots of excess weight and made some rather dodgy water taste much better (after filtration of course).

In reply to IanF: I typically dilute 1 part OJ with 1 part water and add 1/2 teaspoon of table salt. Cheap, cheerful, and works perfectly fine.

In reply to IanF:

I'm severly tempted to start making my own alcoholic-isotonic drink: youtube.com/watch?v=r4c-rSmBjEw&

In reply to IanF:

What sport/hobby are you planning on making your own drink for? Have you considered adding some protein?

In reply to IanF:

As recommended by a previous Olympic coach.

500mls fresh orange juice, 500mls water, half teaspoon or less table salt.

In reply to riddle: Just for climbing and cycling. I'm not sure protein should be in a pre work out drink/meal? Obviously it has its place post workout. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

In reply to The Lemming: Thanks for the recommendation. A few people have mentioned this recipe. Was this for a specific sport and just any activity?

I like this suggestion, but orange juice only has about 2/3 of the calories lucozade does. I would have to drink a good litre of it before a climbing session...

In reply to IanF:

No but I'm fairly confident that I could make a sh*t-tasting drink hat would be similar1

In reply to IanF:

for cycling there are a few extras which could be good such as caffeine,alcar,BCAA

In reply to IanF: Orange juice, green tea, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of honey. Bring the mix to boil and put it in a thermos. I have used this combo for the last couple of seasons winter climbing. It is cheap, tastes fine and I think it works at least as well as the branded sports drinks.

In reply to IanF:

I know why I take protein before, during and after a workout, however cannot provide you with sound science based advice.

As I understand it the muscles need protein when forced to contract if this is not freely available then the body turns to the next source, the muscle fibers.

Personally I take leucine, isoleucine and valine along with a few other funky products as a pre-work drink (30mins prior). During a work out I take more protein usually essential amino acids and post exercise a mix of EAA's with extra L-Glutamine.

This article might help...

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/maximize_protein_sy...

In reply to IanF:

I bought a large quantity of Dextrose.

I use it periodically if I feel I need a boost to my training session or a competition.

In reply to riddle:

Wow, lots there. thanks, I'll have a read..

In reply to IanF:

This recipe is quite popular in some circles, but I have not tried it myself:

http://www.runsturun.com/2010/02/rocket-man.html

In reply to IanF:

Sometimes I just wonder if I am making really expensive pee. However the post and pre-workout drink do allow me to train 5 or 6 days a week. Or 4 days of training and a weekend of spending time climbing or biking.

In reply to IanF:

Always got an eye on the pennies hey Fidd. You need to get you picture in a few more guide books to pay for all that Lucozade.

I bought this from H&B once, tastes pretty good mixed with squash and works out around 5p per 500ml.

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=550

In reply to IanF:

Haven't read the other posts but a sports nutritionist once told me ordinary diluting juice with a small pinch of salt would pretty much do the same job and isn't far away from the real deal.

In reply to Tru:

Thanks for tip Rob, not sure on your maths. At 10 servings per tub its 58.8p per serving.

I do love to save a few pennies, but also quite like the idea of not carrying heavy liquid around now I'm commuting on the old push bike.

Cheers

In reply to IanF:

Rocktalk? Really?

In reply to jonny2vests:

Oh no, the wrong forum?! Call the emergency services post haste!

In reply to IanF:

Sod that, lets just carpet bomb to be sure.

In reply to IanF:

Yep. The ones i made you just needed to add yeast and water and store in a warm place....amazing stuff!!

In reply to IanF:
For cycling/running I prefer Ribena with a pinch of salt.
For recovery I opt for a pint of skimmed milk (it's got everything - water, protein, minerals, carbs and a splash of fat)

In reply to IanF:

Some good stuff on recipes here:http://www.jibbering.com/sports/drinks.html

In reply to Matt - BodyPoint:

Amazing website! Thanks very much.

In reply to IanF: Personally I think that all the rehyration/sports drinks are a rip off - as well as popular rehydration salts from chemist - for a slightly more scientific receipe go to

http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm

Its aimed at making rehydration drinks from common kitchen ingredients ie salt and sugar and water and is from the W.H.O. - I use it with pts all the time and post beer/wine too - you can add some flavour if you want with the sugar free fruits squashs available.
The sugar is only there (and in the correct proportions) to allow the gut to absorb the salt otherwise the salt passes through.

In reply to Matt - BodyPoint:

Liking that website... I use infinit nutrution as they let you create custom formulas for specific sports, but it's not exactly cheap - never really thought of trying to make it up myself. Might have to go look up a little organic chemistry refresher and see if I can work out how to adjust the calorific value and osmolality of those recipes to my liking.

In reply to Matt - BodyPoint:

Personally I would swap the Soy Protein for Whey Isolate or Hydrolysate. Or if you have a cast iron stomach Pea or Hemp protein