A Healthy Sports Drink Alternative

Everywhere we turn, we’re told that it’s important to consume sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade to rehydrate and replenish sodium and potassium lost when we sweat during vigorous exercise. In fact, at just about every kids’ soccer or basketball game, track meet, or game day these brightly colored drinks are served up. Sometimes more than one! And now that Summer is here, kids are headed off to day camps armed with their sweetened sports drinks.

We’ve been told, in marketing messages, that we won’t perform as well if we don’t consume these drinks. And yet sports drinks are generally filled with high levels of artificial flavors and food dyes, synthetic additives, high fructose corn syrup, and in some cases Sucralose (Splenda). I don’t know about you, but I want to stay away from all of those and I really don’t want to fill my kids up with them.

And yet, it’s true. We DO lose sodium and potassium when we sweat profusely. But I’d like to provide you with some more healthful alternatives to consider. No, you can’t twist off the cap on that oh-so-convenient bottle of sports drink, and you do have to plan ahead just a bit. But I’d rather place my health bets on the ‘real food’ way to hydrate my body.

For most of us who exercise casually, these alternatives work great to make sure we get what we need after a workout. Long distance endurance athletes should work with a sports nutritionist to determine if they have specialized needs.

The Real Food Way to Replenish Electrolytes

There are fruits and veggies that are natural sources of the good stuff we need to rehydrate during or after a workout. If you have a blender or juicer, you can blend up a natural sports drink in no time.

Fruits and Vegetables that are High in Electrolytes:

• Banana
• Apples
• Lemons
• Avocado
• Oranges
• Kiwi
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Celery
• Dark leafy greens: like spinach, kale, and chard

Other high-electrolyte additions to your blender drink include raw coconut water, almonds or almond milk and pumpkin seeds.

Make Ahead Healthy Sports Drink

When you won’t be home to blend up a replenishing smoothie, this make-ahead drink can go right into a sports bottle and come along with you. The recipe was adapted from one I found over at Wellness Mama. You can double or triple the recipe to make a big family-sized batch. When our kids were younger, this is what I sent along with them to Summer day camp outdoors.

Using a fruit-flavored, organic herbal tea as the base and/or adding a little apple, lemon, lime or pineapple juice gives it a fruity flavor that may be more appealing to kids (and you!).

If you’re really pressed for time, just grab a bottle of raw coconut water instead of the traditional sports drink. It is packed with electrolytes and has many health benefits. Find out Dr. Josh Axe’s thoughts on coconut water here.