Who do we like for hydration drinks/powders?

[UncleGabby]

I use Pedialyte and Liquid IV. At work (I’m a firefighter) I use them daily in the summer. I limit myself to one or at most two servings, spread throughout the day.

I have heard stories of people getting messed up from drinking too much of this stuff. Last year, a Captain from a neighboring department told me one of her firefighters developed a messed up heart rhythm after drinking nothing but Pedialyte for 24 hours. Seemed like a dumb idea to drink nothing but Pedialyte anyway.

Fast forward to a few months ago I was talking to a Doctor who works with one of the regional Urban Search and Rescue teams, and he said one of his guys got messed up in Miami at the apartment building collapse from drinking nothing but Liquid IV. I asked him about the intelligence of drinking nothing but electrolyte replacement drinks, he said it was so hot that guys were drinking a gallon and a half of fluids a day and still only urinating once every 24 hours. He said they switched to DripDrop and cut the dose in half, and nobody else had ill effects but thought any of those drinks would probably have negative effects if that’s all you drank.

[TGS]

DripDrop ORS, hands down.

[peterb]

I use Pedialyte and Liquid IV. At work (I’m a firefighter) I use them daily in the summer. I limit myself to one or at most two servings, spread throughout the day.

I have heard stories of people getting messed up from drinking too much of this stuff. Last year, a Captain from a neighboring department told me one of her firefighters developed a messed up heart rhythm after drinking nothing but Pedialyte for 24 hours. Seemed like a dumb idea to drink nothing but Pedialyte anyway.

Fast forward to a few months ago I was talking to a Doctor who works with one of the regional Urban Search and Rescue teams, and he said one of his guys got messed up in Miami at the apartment building collapse from drinking nothing but Liquid IV. I asked him about the intelligence of drinking nothing but electrolyte replacement drinks, he said it was so hot that guys were drinking a gallon and a half of fluids a day and still only urinating once every 24 hours. He said they switched to DripDrop and cut the dose in half, and nobody else had ill effects but thought any of those drinks would probably have negative effects if that’s all you drank.

The point is to replace what you loose, not to unbalance yourself. It requires some self-awareness of fluid input/output, sweat volume & salinity, etc. I can taste that the sweat dripping down my face gets saltier if I have several bottles of Skratch at full concentration, so I mix it slightly diluted or alternate with plain water. I’m not surprised that someone could have cardiac symptoms if they badly screwed up their sodium & potassium levels.

Sweat composition and the need for electrolyte replacement varies widely by individual. One source gives the normal range as 400-1200mg of sodium/liter. It’s common now for pro cycling teams to do sweat analysis for each rider so they can tailor their bottles for optimal replacement.

FWIW, it looks like Skratch and DripDrop have the roughly the same sodium content per serving, but DripDrop has half the sugar. Nuun is convenient and sugar-free but I don’t like the taste of stevia. If I’m doing a big ride the calories from the sugar are not a concern.

For convenience and cost, I buy the big multi-serving bags and make my own single-serving packages using 2x3” ziplock bags.

There are also electrolyte tablets and capsules such as s!caps. https://www.succeedscaps.com/succeed...ctrolyte-caps/
I got some to try but don’t have enough experience to offer an opinion.

[nycnoob]

about five years ago, I took a rifle class in Ohio and there was a brain surgeon in the class,
He recommended VitaLyte https://vitalyte.com/collections/shop-vitalyte

its available at REI and by mail. I have been using it since.

"Recommended by brain surgeons (well at least one)"

[peterb]

One more thought: Salt you eat counts towards your electrolyte balance. If you’re eating high-sodium foods — most fast foods, instant noodles, etc. — you may not need much or any in what you drink.

It makes sense that folks on-scene eating burgers and fries and pizza and slamming sports drinks could get screwed up.

[octagon]

I used to do the off the shelf pre made drinks like Gatoraid and the like. Tried Pedialite but after finding LMNT recommended from a Keto no sugar and balanced electrolyte standpoint I haven't looked back. They are nice too for small packets individual size that are easy to poor and take anywhere without repackaging or taking up space. I prefer the fruit flavors or plain. The chocolate and Hot pepper versions are not my taste.

[TGS]

One more thought: Salt you eat counts towards your electrolyte balance. If you’re eating high-sodium foods — most fast foods, instant noodles, etc. — you may not need much or any in what you drink.

It makes sense that folks on-scene eating burgers and fries and pizza and slamming sports drinks could get screwed up.

Yes.

A lot of people use oral rehydration supplements way too liberally. Unless you're in extreme conditions for prolonged periods of time, they're usually unnecessary if you're eating 3 meals a day, and even still are not meant to serve as your primary source of hydration.

ETA: That, and misuse of the supplement, like diluting it down and drinking it slowly throughout the day. That doesn't engage the same physiological response of how they're meant to be used, at a specific ratio, consumed within a limited window of time.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Eric Lamberson (shoots in the San Antonio area) and runs a great short range match - wrote about how he was taking down at home with cramps from dehydration. Knocked him down. I've had bouts of those after too much TX heat. So what is the best thing to do when they hit you?

Once that happened, I paid lots of attention to hydration at TX matches in the heat and at classes.

[revchuck38]

I don't use electrolyte stuff during daily life since there's enough salt in your food. I just drink water. (And coffee...)

On the bike, I typically use Infinit Go Far. I usually go through a 26-oz. bottle/hour. I'm good up to about 6-7 hours with that. Longer than that, I need to switch to salty/savory stuff due to getting burned out on sugar.

On longer (2+ hours) runs, I drink straight water and modulate my electrolyte intake based on my sweat rate. I get enough from gels and chews during cooler weather, but during the Louisiana summer, I go through a shitload of extra-salty pretzels.

During hot weather but low-effort activity like, say, a shooting class, I might have a bottle of Gatorade in the morning and the afternoon, or not. I just make sure I go through at least a half-liter bottle of water each hour and bring lots extra.

[UNM1136]

I likely drank the Kool-aid, but post hard workout I like pickle brine. Just a couple of ounces. I don't use the expensive prepackaged supplement. I like pickles on my sandwiches, so I just do a shooter of the brine. When I buy pickles I add a couple of crushed cloves of garlic, some black peppercorns, and a couple of dried red chiles and let them pick up the flavors and make yummy sandwiches. I do it with dills and sweet pickles. Sometimes homemade pickles. When the jar is out of pickles I add a bit of potassium chloride as I finish the brine.

I drink a good bit of water preworkout. Usually a litre, followed by my beet based preworkout drink. The latter was recommended by my doc as I am trying to use exercise and diet to control my BP before trying meds. Seems to be working.

I also like extra dirty martinis with extra olives on the rocks.

I have also believed that electrolite replenishment for the most part is way overblown in a first world country. When I was running marathons I alternated water and 'aid at each station, and on half marathons I alternated nothing, water, and 'aide. Diluting sports drinks with water has been the recommendations for heat casualties since I was running EMS almost 30 years ago.

pat