Necessity is the mother of inventions, and I finally found an oral hydration electrolyte drink recipe that keeps me hydrated! If you’re tired of spending money on low sugar gatorade, and don’t want to drink the chemicals, then try making an electrolyte drink yourself, using simple ingredients that you already have in your house.
I made a type of lemonade recipe (with regular salt). I mixed in my favorite juice on top of the water (grapefruit juice). I’m happy to report that with the added juice, I can handle the salt, even at this tiny amount. I wondered if this is a viable option for me, given that I need an extreme amount of sodium to keep my blood pressure up due to a genetic condition, POTS, and I cannot have sugar.
Would the potassium alone be enough? 1/8 of a teaspoon was only giving me about 287 mg of sodium, and I require about 1600 mg a day just to be awake and functional. Or perhaps, it’s the potassium. So I experimented to see if it’s not all about the salt! I also know I needed the honey, as a low glycemic sugar to keep my blood glucose stable due to reactive hypglycemia.
My naturopath recommended these Good State Liquid Ionic Potassium and Trace Minerals Concentrace Drops for making my own electrolyte drink. I tried to measure the equivalents to a low sugar Gatorade and mixed with half water, half juice (like I usually drink). One sip and I got horrendous cramps that only calmed after brewing caraway-seed “tea” to calm my tummy. I learned from others that these products must be used in tiny proportions, and to build up a tolerance to them. Not worth the effort, I continued researching.
My next logical step was to calculate that 1 cup of lemon juice has 303mg Potassium and 14.6mg Magnesium, which brings it closer to the ratio recommended (2300 mg sodium, 4700 mg potassium). The potassium and magnesium products made my stomach churn. So I replaced it with lemon juice, and it’s been a delicious success.
Final Oral Hydration Solution, Homemade Recipe:
A 12 0z low sugar Gatorade bottle contains:
- 160 mg sodium
- 45 mg potassium
- 7 g sugar
- 0 protein
- 0 magnesium
My recipe for a 32-ounce Gatorade bottle:
- 2 cups water
- 1/4-1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Add your favorite juice if it’s too salty for your tastebuds. I like to add grapefruit juice. Quadruple this recipe for lots of tasty electrolytes. I try to get three or four of these bottles in daily.
Facts: 1 cup of lemon juice has 303mg Potassium and 14.6mg Magnesium. You want your daily sodium / potassium ratio to be 2300 mg sodium, 4700 mg potassium.
