Anybody got any simple ingredients that you can make up in your water bottle from everyday kitchen cupboard ingredients that either give you energy and or keep the balance right when out cycling?

you can buy powdered glucose really cheap from health shops – ive often wondered if it does the same as the expensive isotonic stuff.

I used to buy the powdered glucose, found it fine. Putting salt into OJ [only small amount] helps release fructose or flat coke

not on its own, no.

Isotonic refers to the fluid you mix as having the same salts content as blood, which helps delivery, as there is no osmotic boundary, or some such science…

So, unless you get jiggy with the chemicals you will need to replace during hard effort, then the answer is no.

Or you could put some salt in the glucose mix and see how that goes?

Easy to do. apple juice 1/3 to 2/3 water. Add a generous pinch / half a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon or two of sugar if you want per litre.

That is roughly isotonic erring on the side of hypotonic. it contains a mix of sugars and sodium. potassium and magnesium in relevant quantities.

Its perhaps not quite as good as bought stuff but its cheap and easy as well as palatable and for the weekend warrier it will be fine.

A salt and glucose mix will work as well – the correct proportions are easy to find on the net. 1.8 g per litre salt and 40 g per litre sugar is an isotonic mix

sometimes I uses 50% apple juice / 50% water and a bit of salt

although my kids call it Dad's sweat – little angels…..

but is it though

nasty image sweeping across my mind…

no!……get out!…….. 😳

Thanks for the 'recipes', some seem very simple, wil give them a try

orange squash with a spoon of salt – have to warm it to get it to stir in.

I've made a detailed comparison of the 'apple-juice recipe' and most of the commercial powders, there's very little difference in chemical composition.

If you're at the level of performance that these things matter you'll have access to a team sports scientist, doctor and dietician anyway.

As TJ says, for mere mortals DIY will be fine, you may not get the placebo effect that comes with £20 tub of powdered jungle juice but that's about it……

andy – if you think "daddys sweat" is bad my mix looks a bit like urine and is known as TJs piss