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General of Darkness
9th July 2012, 08:10 AM
Thought I'd share this because dehydration is deadly.

Homemade Electrolyte Replenisher June 1, 2011 7 Comments (http://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2011/06/01/homemade-electrolyte-replenisher/#comments)


Two years ago, thanks to The Cardamom’s Pod (http://thecardamomspod.com/2009/05/homemade-laborade/), I discovered the concept of Laborade, a beverage similar to a sports drink that’s easy to make at home from inexpensive ingredients. I now drink a tall glass of Laborade whenever I’m very hot and sweaty and draggy-feeling, or I’ve had a digestive upset but now I can keep down liquids again, or I feel thirsty even though I already drank some water, or I’m inexplicably dizzy (I’m prone to low blood pressure (http://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2012/02/29/are-you-pregnant-and-dizzy/)). It makes me feel amazingly better very quickly!


But don’t drink it as a regular beverage. The simple rule is, if it tastes really good, you need it; if it tastes weird, you don’t.

Cardamom’s recipe makes a gallon (http://thecardamomspod.com/2009/05/homemade-laborade/), but since I have a much smaller family and we’re not farmers, we don’t drink it quickly enough to justify making it by the gallon. We make it by the glass.


Here’s my recipe for one serving of Laborade:



Put 5 ice cubes in a tall glass.
Sprinkle 2 tsp. sugar, 1/8 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. baking soda over the ice.
Fill glass with cold water up to about 1 inch from the rim.
Mix thoroughly. If you don’t have a long-handled “iced tea spoon”, a chopstick works well.
Add 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh or bottled–I just keep a bottle of lemon juice in the refrigerator door at all times) and 1 Tbsp. of a sweeter juice: orange, apple, grape, extra juice from your leftover canned fruit, whatever you have handy. (Cardamom recommends lime juice, but my family prefers a sweeter flavor.)
Mix again. Taste it, and adjust it if it doesn’t seem right. I usually think it needs more salt (that may be low blood pressure talking), and my six-year-old son thinks it needs more sugar!

The reason I mix the dry ingredients into the water before adding the juice is that mixing full-strength lemon juice with baking soda creates a dramatic fizz which, while exciting, does not taste very good.

DMac
9th July 2012, 08:20 AM
That's a lot of salt in that recipe General. I make my own 'sport drink' at home, posted in another thread, only a tiny dusting of salt (also, white sugar is bad for you, go with Agave):




Isn't Gatorade full of HFCS? There's gotta be an alternative.

Make your own.

DMac's Hangover Elixir (don't tell the FDA please)

Tall glass of Berkey water with a splash of Pellegrino or other sparkling water
Some lemon juice
2 teaspoons of Blue Agave (http://www.wholesomesweeteners.com/brands/Wholesome_Sweeteners/Organic_Raw_Blue_Agave.html)
Tiny, tiny pinch of salt

Stuff works wonders.

General of Darkness
9th July 2012, 08:33 AM
DMac, I noticed Saturday when driving home from dog training in 100 degree heat that my hair on the sides were crusty from the salt I was sweating so would I need to replenish that, or is my system just flushing out crap I don't need?

DMac
9th July 2012, 08:52 AM
DMac, I noticed Saturday when driving home from dog training in 100 degree heat that my hair on the sides were crusty from the salt I was sweating so would I need to replenish that, or is my system just flushing out crap I don't need?

Little bit of both going on there. You definitely need to add a little salt to the drink to replenish your electrolytes. Remember sweating does 2 things, first is cool the body second is flush toxins. So if you are crusting salt on your arm my thought is you are already consuming too much salt.

I found using up to a pinch of salt (~1/8 tsp or so) left me more thirsty than I started with. Since I eat 90%+ of my food prepared by myself I am on top of how much salt goes into my body, and perhaps it differs for each of us. Personally though, I found just a tiny bit in the drink goes a long way. You can always have more than 1 to help refill the lost fluid.

Using the recipe you posted, if you drank 2 of those - not out of the question since the glass is full of ice, you're taking in 1/4 tsp salt. 4 in a day for a half teaspoon of salt - that is a lot of salt from just drinks!

palani
9th July 2012, 08:54 AM
Man's digestive tract is similar to that of a pig. Salt in water will kill a pig faster than you can believe. I would stay away from salty water.

Bigjon
9th July 2012, 11:07 AM
Man's digestive tract is similar to that of a pig. Salt in water will kill a pig faster than you can believe. I would stay away from salty water.

Pigs don't sweat, end of similarity.

Awoke
9th July 2012, 11:59 AM
I was going to comment on the amount of sugar in the recipe, until I remembered that I drink about 1 to 3 double double coffees daily...

JohnQPublic
9th July 2012, 12:59 PM
I was going to comment on the amount of sugar in the recipe, until I remembered that I drink about 1 to 3 double double coffees daily...

2 tsp is not a lot of sugar, especially when you consider that a Coke/Pepsi/etc. has about 14 tsp. (which is a lot).

Awoke
9th July 2012, 01:46 PM
LOL, you are talking to a man that hasn't drank pop in 4 years or so.

I just know I have heard alot of bad stuff about refined sugar. But I still use it in my coffee.

Serpo
9th July 2012, 02:49 PM
Best is coconut water

gunDriller
9th July 2012, 03:29 PM
LOL, you are talking to a man that hasn't drank pop in 4 years or so.

I just know I have heard alot of bad stuff about refined sugar. But I still use it in my coffee.

that would mean you stopped drinking it in 2008.

same as me !


in my case it was because of teeth problems. i had a dentist appointment with 8 cavities, stopped drinking soda the next day.

used to love Sierra Mist & Mug Root Beer. also chamomile tea with honey. cut them all out. the sugar was killing my teeth.

BrewTech
9th July 2012, 05:16 PM
Pigs don't sweat, end of similarity.

Shit! I just bought a whole bottle of "pig sweat" from a guy on Craigslist for like seventeen bucks! Supposed to drive the ladies crazy!

What the hell have I been spraying on my junk?

Glass
9th July 2012, 07:22 PM
you do need to watch the salt level in these and only drink it when you really need it. I got into the habit of drinking a shop bought powdered variety. Some ye olde name to it I can't remember. Mix it in water and it does the whole fizzy thing. Drinking a tall glass a 3 or 4 times a week became a blood pressure problem over time. Sure for the times when you have really done the hard yards it's a great balanacer and pick me up. Too often and blood pressure could become a problem.

I like the idea of making some myself. thanks for the recipe.

Awoke
10th July 2012, 02:06 PM
that would mean you stopped drinking it in 2008.

same as me !


Yup. January 2008, pretty much as soon as I joined GIM. That was one of the first things (of many) that I learned on that board: Pop is toxic.