On the first page of this thread is a basic ORS recipe which combined with a couple of kool aid packs is sufficient for 99% of us. Also the ingredients in Gatorade powder is not all that much different then the product you are interested in...

When I first really got involved with the outdoors and hiking and mountain climbing, there was an older Austrian man who would occasionally join our outings. When we would stop for lunch and meal breaks, us younger lads would pull out, at the time, the high tech drinks, meal bars etc and scarve them down while the older...and much wiser man would quietly chow down on some heavy bread, a hunk of sausage, some cheese, an orange or banana or 2 and wash it all down with water. We thought he was so "old "school" but little did we know at the time, his choice of food and diet negated his need for supplementary energy drinks and meal bars...and at a much cheaper cost to him.

There is much to be learned from the old.

IMHO, the challenge in using oral rehydration solutions is less the recipe than it is getting it into the patient, who is lethargic, nauseated, not thirsty or all of the above. My chronically ill child could be kept out of the hospital if she was kept hydrated at home. Grandma solved the problem by setting her up in front of the tv with a shot glass full of lemonade and 5 minute timer. each time the timer went off, the kid drank 30 cc: 150 cc/ hr was plenty to maintain her fluid balance... and it seemed more like a game than therapy. YMMV.

As another RN I agree with what Mike said,electrolyte replacement really is a matter for hospitals,not sport drinks.

Stick with water IMO,FWIW.

Most hardcore, really in to it, endurance athletes i know (and that is 100's) will only reach for a Gatorade, et al, out of convenience during a training session or race. Post race re-hydration though most people generally agree, myself included, that Pedialyte delivers a better result than marketed sport drinks at getting electrolytes back into the system.

Just yesterday I was sent a link to a new book by Dr. Tim Noakes, the foremost authority on running in the world. His book is

Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports
at 429-pages and his level of research it is not light reading but you will find it will set the tone for thinking for the next few years.

A friend of mine who did Ironman New Zealand recently said that they were very concerned with over hydration and advised against it for the individual as well has providing less water stations on the course. End result was they had less cases or hyponatermia (an electrolyte imbalance in the body usually from too much water being put in it)

I received the electrolyte tablets mentioned in my earlier post in this thread. I have taken them for the last two days and have not had the leg cramps at night that I often get. It is too soon to draw a definitive conclusion, but they seem to be working for me.

These are much cheaper than sports drinks at $9.95 for 125 doses (two tablets per packet). And you can drink plain water for hydration. As a diabetic I can't drink all the sugar laden sports drinks, so this is another plus for me.

Also, they do not contain any sodium. For those of us on low sodium diets this is another advantage.

Since they are just small packets they can easily be placed in first aid kits, survival kits, and pockets.

These tablets contain:

Calcium (from calcium carbonate) 10.64 mg
Potassium (from potassium chloride) 40 mg
Magnesium (from magnesium oxide) 12 mg

The self-life is somewhat over a year. Mine expire 8/13 but I have no way of knowing how long ago these were made. I would expect these chemicals to be quite stable, so I am not sure why the shelf-life is so short. Even if you end up tossing half the box because it reached the expiration, it is still way cheaper than sports drinks.

See the Amazon link in my previous message.

The packets say Medi-Lyte on them. The box says First Aid Only on it.

I am not affiliated with the company that sells this product.

But the tablets don't provide hydration ; ). To me, buying any tablet is a massive waste of money since you can just add a bit of morton's lite salt to your drink of choice. It's not rocket science and you won't die because it's not commercially labeled electrolyte replacement.

Thank for the position paper. There is a lot in it to digest. I have generally tried to remain hydrated, rather than recover from dehydration. I usually prefer diluted Gatorade, supplemented with water. I prefer to have both available, along with salty snacks.

I didn't mean to imply that it provided hydration, but it does allow you to drink anything you want for hydration. I believe I did mention that you can just drink water.

Morton's Lite Salt may be cheaper, but it still contains sodium and the tablets do not, so the tablets are better for those requiring low sodium. Also, the tablets are only about 8 cents per serving, and Gatoraid (in case quantities) is about $1 per serving, so they are still way cheaper than a sports drink.



I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you are trying to say. Could you rephrase this?

Electrolyte physiology is complex. Water and glucose are transported across the cell membrane quickly, courtesy of insulin. Potassium and sodium take longer to soak in. Sodium, potassium, and calcium depletion can cause muscle cramps in early stages, and subsequently, seizures, cardiac dysrhythmias, and death. Individual metabolic differences make it difficult to generalize, so doctors do not do so: electrolyte levels are assayed by frequent blood tests, and replacement is done slowly and carefully. Dehydration and elevated lytes levels are equally hazardous. Excessive exertion or injury can flood the body with muscle cell breakdown metabolites, causing kidney failure-I took care of an aging jock who overdid a spinning class and was in the icu for a week with myoglobinuria.

Be careful out there.

If you are buying the Gatorade by the bottle it is expensive, however in the powder form it is a lot cheaper. I use G2 which is basically the same as original Gatorade but half the sugar. With original formula, I always diluted with water because I couldn't stand the sweetness.

For use during golfing as an example: I drink one .5 litre bottle of water with one packet of mix before going out. Then drink about another 1 litre of either water or G2 during the 4.5 hour round. (I use that example because it has a typical time window and known amount of exertion for me. Other activities can range from hiking to kayaking to.... and each activity would have different lengths of time, exertion levels and greater variation which means you cannot faithfully predict how much I will need to consume via this forum.)

I don't think you NEED to drink a lot of water during an activity but by taking in a normal amount you might be slightly dehydrated at the end. So what? Your body will stabilize itself by cutting urine output or your natural thirst will tell you to drink more. Either way your not going to be at either extreme.