I need some help please.Any thing with artificial sweeteners make me sick.I don't know if this is an allergy or just a sensitivity,and I don't care.I just know that they leave a bad taist in my mouth(literally)and my stomach doing flip-flops.You would be surprised at how many kinds of fake sweeteners there are.Even Splenda which is derived from sugar bothers me.I had some good old TANG the other day and I get sick.I checked the ingredients and I found it has sucralose(generic name for Splenda i think)in it.
So my question is what sport drinks and mixes are artificial sweetener free? I am also trying to find energy bars that are also free of that stuff.Sucralose,maltitol,aspartame,sacarine are starting to be in any thing.I have even found it in "natural" products.
So please help in my search? I am lucky to have found a tooth paist(Toms of Maine)that is natural.I thank you in advance.
BOATMAN
John

Depending on whom you ask, most artificial sweeteners leave some sort of discernible aftertaste. Splenda seems to have the least aftertaste, in my own experience. However, I stopped using it since I have read research that shows that it is harmful to the natural bacteria that live in our guts. Depending on what you mean by your stomach doing "flip-flops," it's possible that the Splenda is throwing off the balance of bacteria in your gut and that is causing problems for you.

As for a sports/rehydration drink, I have long recommended Vitalyte (formerly called Hydralyte and formerly-formerly called Gookinaid). You'll probably have to order it online from their website, although I have seen it sold at REI. You might be able to find another merchant that carries it on their website. It's an excellent sports drink with no artificial sweeteners. I'm reading the label right now--glucose and fructose (glucose is not sweet, which is the reason for the fructose). It does have an allergy warning that the glucose is derived from corn, which may or may not apply to you.

I also drink this when I am sick. Sometimes your body's natural ability to absorb water can be compromised. Have you ever noticed having diarrhea for some reason, like maybe a stomach virus or eating spoiled food, and if you drink a lot of plain water, it just seems to "run through" you? A rehydration drink helps your body absorb the water in cases like that. It can make a noticeable difference in how you feel when you're sick, from my own experience.

Although you didn't mention it specifically, fat substitutes do a real number on me. I'm specifically thinking of Olestra. I tried some Pringles potato chips made with Olestra--actually, I think it was this small, free can of Pringles that came in the mail or something a number of years ago. Anyway, I'm never going to touch anything with Olestra again.

The original sports drink, "Gatorade" has no artificial sweeteners, unless you count high fructose corn syrup.

Very easy to find, it's even easy to make a good substitute for it out of Koolaid, salt, and baking soda.

Sports Drinks _ Are They Safe?
http://www.karinya.com/sportsdrinks.htm

Europe doesn't use the gross amount of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in their soft drinks like America does, they use real sugar. You can taste the difference in European Coke as opposed to American Coke. Maybe you can track down a sports drink made in Europe that doesn't use artificial sweeteners OR HFCS.

I avoid artifical sweeteners. I haven´t had any medical problems caused by them but I just don´t trust them that they are 100% OK.

Fortunately I can find quite a lot of products with real sugar here where I live.

This is quite interesting documentary about artificial sweetener aspartam: Sweet misery: A poisoned world

Lager Shandy or a Banana and some water.

Thank you for the replies.I do not have any problem with HFCS. I do agree that carbonated soft drinks taist better made with sugar.Here in Michigan I buy the Mexican sodas and they taist great.I couldn't remember about Gatorade as I didn't have any on hand.Sugar in the Raw is good.I use it when I want to sweeten a hot tea(not often)and never in my coffee.So again i thank you fine people.But I am still trying to find an energy bar that is artificial sweetener free.I appreciate the help.

BOATMAN
John

There are multiple online recipes for making your own energy bars with honey or sugar.
Sweetened drinks are largely ignored in the survivalist literature because of very painfull experiences never mentioned.
One of the early paramilitary gurus grew weary of licking oil tainted water from black helicopter skid marks and bought a military surplus Katyden.It wasn't the same, so he located a beehive, shimmied up the tree and cut it free with his 5 lb, fossil ivory handled and proprietory mystery steel Tactical Survival Knife. He doesn't talk much about what happened next, but friends say his AR 15 rig came home with all 2,500 rounds from his daypack expended and none of the brass saved for reloading. Afterwards he became an early advocate of the .17 rimfire.
It was on the other coast that a buckskin clad member of the primative movement accepted a class challenge to gather honey like his Chippewa spirit guide.After making fire with a bowdrill he 'smoked' the hive with what turned out to be posion ivy. His insect field I.D. book failed to show africanised bees from natives. His whispering of the 'bee collecting thankyou prayer' was niether understood or appreciated by the bees.
Of course, Bear just orders up his favourite at the hotels.
Rumours of ETS are just that: Expect no Ritter rattlenake Raspberry soon.
Drinks are like any other kit the industry can't seem to make to our individual satisfaction.Sometimes you have to make your own ;o)

Water, lemon, honey, and some cayenne pepper extract. Makes a nice drink with a kick.

Who needs sports drinks or sodas or energy bars? Humans have done a lot of really remarkable things without them. How about drinking water, perhaps a lick of salt or a dash of apple cider vinegar if your sweating a huge amount, and eating real food. Skip the energy bars and have some raisins and nuts.

Frontiersmen often got along with a diet of parched corn, jerky, and pemmican. 90% of the claims about increased performance with sports drinks and energy bars are pure BS. Most of the situations where they might make some small amount of difference are inapplicable to normal people.