Natural Sport Drink

*Thank you to Katie of  Wellness Mama for another great post!  Remember you can also find Katie here at her own amazing blog.  Now read and enjoy!

 

For a Paleo athlete (or any athlete) drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, etc are not a good option. Sure, they restore glycogen, but most are high carb or filled with questionable chemicals, or both!

Most of the time, plain water is all we need for good hydration, but those who compete in endurance sports or high intensity competitions (or have labors as long as mine!) occasionally need an electrolyte boost.

 

Even at these times, there are better options than conventional sports drinks. Gatorade, for instance, contains: Water, sucrose syrup, glucose-fructose syrup, citric acid, natural grape flavor with other natural flavors, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, red 40, Blue 1. (This is from a picture of the grape flavored Gatorade label.

If you ever compete in high intensity or endurance activities that sometimes require an some additional electrolytes, but want to avoid things like “sucrose syrup,” a homemade sports drink is easier, cheaper, and much, much, healthier.

This is also a good alternative to give your kids occasionally, as it has a lot of natural vitamins and minerals.

 

 Natural Sports Drink Ingredients:

• One Quart (32 ounces) of  liquid: herbal tea, coconut water or plain water. (I use nutrient dense Red Raspberry Leaf Tea brewed with Stevia for the natural vitamin boost)
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt (regular salt will work, but doesn’t have the added trace minerals)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp calcium magnesium powder or crushed tablets
• 1/4 cup of juice (lemon, lime, grape, apple, etc)- optional - I used apple, It is what I had.
• 1 tsp sweetener (honey, stevia, etc) – optional – If you are Whole30, then you would want to leave out the sweetener.