Let’s face it – Gatorade (and Powerade, etc…) is one of the worst things you could possibly put in your body. It’s made up of mostly chemically treated & refined sugar (as much as a typical soda), artificial colors, and other ingredients that are dreadful for your body.
One of the worst ingredients is Brominated Vegetable Oil which is added to some flavors to keep the drink from getting cloudy and the artificial flavor suspended in the drink. This controversial substance is linked to serious health consequences like skin rashes, severe acne and thyroid disease and is banned in Europe and Japan!
The new natural version of Gatorade still has chemically processed refined sugars and questionable natural flavor to cover up the fact there is absolutely no fruit juice in this drink to make their fruity flavors. To think athletes and exercise enthusiasts have started drinking this makes me sad.
Even more upsetting, my parents (sorry Mom and Dad!), not knowing any better at the time used to serve me Gatorade to make sure I was hydrated anytime I was under the weather. It was the remedy of choice for hydration in my household growing up…I remember orange was my favorite flavor and is the worst one for you.
Gatorade does do one thing. It replaces electrolytes. But what is the big secret behind the ingredients that do this? To replace electrolytes you don’t need some tricky formula, man made chemicals, refined sugars or colors. All you need is simple real food sources that provide a few key minerals like sodium, chloride, potassium and magnesium.
Here are 4 ways to replenish your electrolytes naturally and give your body some serious nutrition at the same time. Remember to choose organic ingredients whenever possible.
- Juice Celery + Apple + Lemon - This juice combination works wonders for replacement of electrolytes. The celery has a natural source of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphorus. Apple provides additional potassium and natural sweetness. Lemon is the highest electrolyte containing citrus fruit.
- Stir Sea Salt + Baking Soda + Lemon Juice + Maple Syrup into 8 ounces of Water – This is a great natural remedy for serious endurance athletes – You might think drinking baking soda is a little weird, but it’s been used for centuries to treat various aliments. In this case, it’s added to the mix because it makes the body less acidic and provides an additional source of sodium bicarbonate.
- Shake Raw Coconut Water + Chia Seeds - Raw coconut water has a ton of electrolytes and potassium that will not only help you stay hydrated but also keep your body from getting any cramps. It is completely natural and very low in sugar. Combine this with a packet of chia seeds and you have a 1-2 punch! Chia seeds are an incredible energy food – full of omega 3 fatty acids, protein, fiber. These seeds have the ability to keep you from getting dehydrated because of they can hold 9 times their weight in water! There are travel packs available that don’t need refrigeration either – perfect for just throwing in your gym bag or purse.
- Blend Frozen Banana + Almond Milk + Kale – This smoothie is extremely hydrating. The banana provides a good source of potassium and magnesium which help regulate your fluid stores. Almonds are extremely rich in magnesium and potassium. When you make your almond milk, make sure you add sea salt (store bought almond milk already has salt added to it). Kale is a superfood and another excellent source of magnesium and calcium.
Now go outside and sweat, so you can enjoy one of these yummy combinations!
Food Babe
P.S. After I wrote this article, 2 news agencies reported about sports drinks – The Atlantic and NPR. These are must reads, check them out.
Specifically, The Atlantic reported that scientists 40 years ago were paid by these sport drink companies to tell us we would not be able to sufficiently hydrate ourselves with just water, that our children didn’t drink enough at meals, and that we would lose performance during sporting events if we didn’t drink this artificially flavored and colored salt water. These companies even developed school outreach programs to get to even more children to buy into the thought of drinking sports drinks at an early age. Are you shocked? I certainly am.
Thanks Food Babe for some much needed information! I referenced this article in a post I just wrote about Gatorade. I found it during research and I was like, duh! of course you have already researched this topic! I hadn’t even considered that we, as consumers, could make our own sports drinks. Can’t wait to try your recipes
Thanks for these suggestions, I’m a Daniel Fast, which restricts my ability to drink and eat certain foods. When I was younger, my cardiologist suggested drinking it because of needing to increase my sodium intake. Which would be the best for this?
Thanks!
Thanks Food Babe! I’ve been talking about this on our XFIT page, and will share your post to our conversation.
As my whole family of 7 is going through the stomach bug and wanting to rehydrate everyone, I found myself in the grocery store aisle looking at the ingredients of gatorade and other options on the shelf (as I’m becoming more aware of doing this) and I ended up buying it anyway. We will definitely try the options you suggested and I thank you for continually opening my eyes to this garbage we have been putting in our bodies. Don’t cringe, but I actually gave my 3 year old some orange gatorade several hours after she was done throwing up, and it made her throw up again. I guess her little body knows that that stuff is toxic!
Hi Foodbabe. I left this on your facebook post about electrolytes. I’m not sure if you want to use this or not, but… here it is if so.
Hi Foodbabe. I love what you’re doing and all the great information you post. I recently read your post about alternatives for electrolyte replacement (to Gatorade) and thought I’d share these 2 recipes I found online (and tweaked). These are geared more for the “gym-goer” or “athlete” who needs a liquid.
Homemade Liquid Electrolyte Recipes:
Option 1:
2 quarts of water
5 tablespoons of (raw) sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt substitute (potassium salt)
(spritz of Organic apple or orange juice for taste and color… and so you can tell the difference in your fridge from the water)
Option 2:
1 quart of water
8.5 oz Organic orange juice (citrus = natural source of potassium ions)
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
¾ teaspoon of salt
Thank you so much for the great information. I’m training for a sprint triathlon and really wanted to make my own, natural “sports drink.”
I never thought that a green smoothie with nuts would act as an electrolyte replenisher! Great to know – thanks!
Hi Food Babe,
My company has also studied the negative effects of some of the sports drinks. Its amazing what we will put into our bodies simply because of advertising. We have developed Hydra-Blast hydration spray with 11 naturally sourced, polarized trace minerals that facilitate hydration on the cellular level. Rapid absorption. Rehydrates in seconds. There are plenty of healthy alternatives. Thanks!
Wow. They paid off scientists? I am shocked too. I knew Gatorade wasn’t good for you and there was natural ways to replenish electrolytes but I didn’t realize how bad it was for you. I tend to not like really sugary things so I’ve never been a big fan of gatorade. Lemon water on the other hand is one of my favorite workout drinks.
No, scientists weren’t so much “paid off” as all that. More like they had some vague, complicated data, leading to some basic principles which were then applied in a very “common sense” way. Mix that into a need to make something super-sweet and otherwise appealing to a consumer — the basis of adding sugar-loaded fruit juice into drinks, incidentally — and there you go, you have a sports drink.
Gatorade et al work, but they’re not needed. I like the analogy between sports drinks and over-the-counter cold medicine — it has what you need but also a lot of other junk you don’t.
Just, plain, Thank YOU!