I use Elete(TM) water when riding because I sweat a lot, and if I don’t drink electrolytes I get horrendous headaches, and cramps for days afterwards.

Today I wondered if I would be better off buying individual bulk bags of Magnesium Chloride and Potatassium Chloride etc., and mixing up my own to save money.

Anyone else ever tried it? Elete is just sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium chlorides in solution, so it can’t be that hard to do.

A drink and a bag salted peanuts.

…and a banana

orange squash with a bit of salt.

A drink and a bag salted peanuts.

That’s a lovely idea, but as I have poor digestion, I find I have to get my salts in solution so they’re absorbed in the stomach. Hence relying heavily on electrolyte drinks instead of food.

apple juice / water 50 / 50 plus 1/2 tsp salt per litre

Do you chew when you eat?

Probably cheaper to buy electrolyte powder from My Protein.
https://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/100-essential-electrolyte-powder/10529892.html

Hydrate properly and frequently and you won’t lose salts.

Do you chew when you eat?

Entirely missing the point there. Chewing does not release cations into solution.

Probably cheaper to buy electrolyte powder from My Protein.
https://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/100-essential-electrolyte-powder/10529892.html

Sadly since the magnesium there is in oxide form it won’t get absorbed until it hits the large intestine.

Chloride and maybe sulphate are probably the best bets.

Hydrate properly and frequently and you won’t lose salts.

That’s what I do – hence currently using elete. But water alone doesn’t replace salts, and it doesn’t prevent you losing salts to sweat.

Interesting
I suffer crohns/colitis so never use water as it doesn’t hydrate me or put electrolytes back
I use Dioralyte to rehydrate sometimes which works well
Think a solution called st marks solution is meant to be good for hydrating

16stonepic

….That’s what I do – hence currently using elete. But water alone doesn’t replace salts, and it doesn’t prevent you losing salts to sweat.

The point is that if you keep your water levels up, you don’t lose salts, ie you only need plain water.

Your body automatically maintains your salt levels (isotonic), and it’s only if your internal water level drops that it will excrete salt which has thus become excess, ie trying to maintain the isotonic level.

The point is that if you keep your water levels up, you don’t lose salts, ie you only need plain water.

This isn’t exactly accurate, although there is some truth to it.

Unless you have certain medical conditions, sweat will always contain some amount of sodium and other salts, along with a bunch of other chemicals. Studies have shown that intensity of exercise – independent of sweat volume – also has an impact on the amount of salts in your sweat.

To OP’s question – I’ve often wondered same, but find that Nuun tablets aren’t too expensive, and the slight expense overcomes my laziness at trying a DIY solution.

Pint of lager.

I’d be concerned about getting chemicals from a source that isn’t food-grade. Could easily be contaminated with impurities you don’t want.

I’d suggest reading a bit more about the constituents of sweat, and about electrolytes and the way your body has a few million years of evolution which enable it to deal with a bit of exercise with swallowing special drinks…

Entirely missing the point there. Chewing does not release cations into solution.

Don’t think so Matey boy. Pretty sure increasing the surface area increases the speed stuff dissolves, not to mention the action of saliva

Interesting radio show with an acknowledged (perhaps even on here) expert on salt. Doesn’t get into exercise but states that you don’t need anything like as much salt as most say.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n2ltq

During my degree we did a comparison between branded isotonic drinks and a homemade recipe using mass spectrometry. There was effectively no difference.

The recipe was:

100ml squash (preferably not no-added sugar)

400ml water

1/8 teaspoon salt

Nice, easy and cheap.

@malv173 – did you use sea salt or table salt? I had read that you needed to use sea salt as it isn’t ‘pure’ like table salt and naturally contains the other minerals, but was always a bit dubious, so I’d be really interested to hear what proper analysis showed up.

crikey

I’d suggest reading a bit more about the constituents of sweat, and about electrolytes and the way your body has a few million years of evolution which enable it to deal with a bit of exercise with swallowing special drinks…

Yup, it’s amazing how all those folk who live in tropical areas get by without electrolyte drinks.

It’s almost as if humans evolved in the absence of all those advertorial promoted special waters… 🙂

The recipe was:

100ml squash (preferably not no-added sugar)

400ml water

1/8 teaspoon salt

Nice, easy and cheap.

@malv173

Want to give that a try.

What is the above diluted to mate? 1 Litre?

Also, I’m not doing carbs these days so will use no added sugar juice. Won’t get the energy rush but should still dehydrate ok?

Thanks for info!

What is the above diluted to mate? 1 Litre?

500ml 😉 and yes you’ll dehydrate just fine without sugars.

@poopscoop what Drac said.  I tend to make 2l, so use 400ml squash,  1.6l water and half a teaspoon salt.

@superjohn71 I just use table salt.  That’s what we used in the experiment. Seems to work ok for me.

Thanks guys.

Emailing that “recipe” to myself to try out.

Oh, is “low salt” ok, or should I get some full fat salt? Lol

A drink and a bag salted peanuts.

…and a banana

orange squash with a bit of salt.

apple juice / water 50 / 50 plus 1/2 tsp salt per litre

Pint of lager.

All of the above, preferably with an icecream too. And maybe a bacon sandwich.

should I get some full fat salt?

Fried salt is best. Preferably served on potatoes.

Or try what works in 35ºC+ for an all day uphill climb.

Plain water with a dash of lemon juice to make it palatable when warm.

It’s ages since I read I to it, but isn’t the salt level (as per the DIY version) about absorption rather than replacement of salt in the body?

Absorbtion of water may be affected by the presence of electrolytes, but not to a significant amount, although Elete water may well claim differently…

The fundamental lesson is that sweat removes far more water than electrolytes, so sweating makes your body fluids ‘saltier’. The best way of correcting that is to drink water, and only to drink to thirst, not some made up regime.

As referred to above, homeostasis is a feature of human physiology; your body is way better than you at making sure it’s in tip-top shape, and has had millions of years to get it right.

Further reading: https://sportsscientists.com/sports-science/fluid-heat-thermoregulation/page/3/?doing_wp_cron=1572681151.8110799789428710937500

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/you-ve-been-sold-a-myth-about-sports-drinks-and-it-could-be-slowing-you-down-a7402121.html

You Don’t Need Sports Drinks To Stay Hydrated

The key message; https://sportsscientists.com/sports-science/fluid-heat-thermoregulation/page/3/?doing_wp_cron=1572681151.8110799789428710937500

IIRC Crikey has it but it’s over 20 odd years since I did it and yes Paton is right too just water is enough especially with a snack.

Cynic al – there are several issues that get muddled when folk talk about Isotonic drinks. Yes the osmolarity of it affects the way it is absorbed. Yes you need a little bit of salt to replace losses but nothing like as much as you need to make fluid isotonic. . 9 grammes of salt in a litre of water to make it isotonic. IIRC – far too much salt to be good for your health! This is why most sports drinks are stuffed full of sugar to make them isotonic without using all that salt. 40 grammes of sugar and 2 of salt in a litre is isotonic ( again iirc)

Your body is incredibly good at regulating fluid and salt levels without help.

Crikey – good to see you back on these threads 😉 I have missed your contributions 🙂 ( IIRC this is your area of expertise? )

Your body is incredibly good at regulating fluid and salt levels without help.

My body? The OP’s body? Everyone’s? I’d have thought someone with your level of medical expertise TJ would apprecaite that not everyone’s body is the same and some people’s bodies don’t even work perfectly.

I don’t drink electrolytes normally, but there’s a point after long hot rides where I find I cannot slake my thirst no matter how much water I drink (and even if I pee a lot) so I have something with a little extra salt in it. This seems to help.

Arguing over theory is all well and good but we are all individuals and if the OP has experimented on himself and found certain not unreasonable effects then who are we to argue?

Hi TJ!
It’s not my special area of interest, but I have spent time looking into it (and many, many hours writing blood gas results down…)
Molgrips, we are talking about basic human physiology; yes, people are different, but not at a cellular level.

There are a number of misconceptions surrounding the issue, not helped by a lucrative global industry aimed at selling stuff. An open minded read of the links above is well worth half an hour or so.

Goodness me, there are a lot of experts on my particular physiology, aren’t there?