This DIY Sports Drink Cuts Down on Calories and Cost
Give homemade hydration a try! Make your own sports drinks and you control how much sugar and salt and other stuff goes into them -- and you save money, too!
All you need are honey, pure salt, the juice of fresh oranges, lemons, and limes...plus a pinch of cayenne pepper. A little calcium magnesium powder is an optional ingredient.
Watch Chef John whip up a quick batch. "All the ingredients in this are easy to find," says Chef John. "And the whole procedure only takes minutes." Tweak it until you find your perfect formula.
Get the recipe for Homemade Sports Drink (aka Greaterade)
Of course, if your exercise routine isn't of the way-vigorous variety, you might be better off with just plain water.
Writing in Harvard Health, Patrick Skerrett sums up research by the British Medical Journal on commercial sports drinks: The "truth is this: drink when you are thirsty and don't waste your money or calories on sports drinks -- choose water instead."
There is also some concern about kids drinking sweetened sports drinks in social (rather than athletic) settings. The BBC reports on research from Cardiff University in Wales: "High numbers of younger teenagers are risking tooth decay and obesity by regularly having high-sugar sport drinks."
Still, if you're engaging in vigorous, high energy- and sweat-expending athletic feats of glory this summer, and you're looking for replenishment, you'll be better off making your own sports drink than buying them in the store.