Make your own sports drinks ... without all that added sugar
Nike recently launched a Gatorade-coloured collection of Air Jordan sneakers in honour of the sports drink’s famous 1991 “Be Like Mike” advertisement, which encouraged Americans to consume brightly hued sugar water if they wanted to emulate basketball star Michael Jordan. Plenty did.
Gatorade is still paying big bucks to professional athletes, though it says it does not target advertising to children under 12. In 2004, it agreed to pay a reported $384 million for an eight-year advertising deal with the NFL. It also has been an official paid sponsor of the NBA, MLB, NHL and NASCAR.
But, recently, some professional athletes have begun to snub commercial sports drinks, favouring more nutritious vehicles for the hydration and replenishment of electrolytes — minerals such as potassium, magnesium and sodium that help water flow into cells — that they require. And parents can do the same for their kids by making healthful drinks at home.
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady drinks a chefconcocted electrolyte drink (the recipe is classified). The Golden State Warriors have experimented with water mixed with Himalayan sea salt. In his biography, tennis pro Andre Agassi says for years he drank an electrolyte drink made by his trainer Gil Reyes. Other players swear by alkaline water, which has a higher pH than regular water and potential hydrating abilities, although many claims about it have not been proved through widespread studies. NBA player Jason Terry, one alkaline water fan, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that, “There’s no supplement for water. People always say Gatorade, but it just doesn’t work . ... I don’t really need Gatorade or any kind of sugar.”
He’s right about the sugar. He doesn’t need it, and neither do our kids. (A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade, for example, contains 34 grams of processed sugar, 270 milligrams of sodium, synthetic food dyes and other chemicals. A Gatorade spokesperson points out that the company offers lower-sugar or sugar-free products, but some of those contain dyes or sucralose.) Commercial sports drinks were designed for college athletes in Florida who were training so relentlessly in high temperatures that they sufficiently depleted their bodies of fluids and minerals. No matter how athletic your children may appear to you, they are most likely not training to the degree of one of these athletes. Back when Gatorade asked us if we all wanted to be like Mike, it didn’t suggest that we actually train like Mike.
My teenage boys coach baseball camp in the scorching summer heat, yet despite their claims that they are “dying from a lack of electrolytes,” they do not need a sports drink with high-fructose corn syrup and food dyes. They could benefit from water and fruit, which will deliver the electrolytes they need. A 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 75 mg of potassium while a clementine has 131 mg and a banana has 422 mg; both fruits also deliver vitamins, and magnesium to help prevent cramping. (But let’s be realistic, kids hankering for sports drinks don’t always get excited about water and fruit, which is why these fruit-based, homemade drink might be more likely to win them over.)
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees. It states that “routine ingestion of carbohydrate-containing sports drinks by children and adolescents should be avoided or restricted.... Water, not sports drinks, should be the principal source of hydration for children and adolescents.”
Although it has as much sugar as traditional sports drinks, I find the new BodyArmor ad campaign featuring NBA player James Harden dressed in Colonial-era clothes quite funny — and a bit ironic. The narrator proclaims, “James Harden wouldn’t go to the game wearing outdated fashion, so why would he choose an outdated sports drink?” The tag line: “Thanks Gatorade. We’ll take it from here.”
Actually, it’s parents who should take it from here. In general, commercial sports drinks have had their day. Let’s instead choose drinks that wholesomely hydrate and provide serious electrolytes, along with cancerfighting antioxidants and natural carbohydrates and sugars.
The sports drinks of the future are the ones you can make yourself. They’re the ones that, without damaging our bodies, can help us be like Mike. Or Tom. Or Andre. Or Serena. Or as hip as James Harden. Or, more realistically, even if we can never really be like Mike, we can at least drink beverages that don’t make our blood sugar spike. That’s a healthy future.
Coconut Orange Energizer Four 1-cup servings
Coconut water is high in natural electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium and calcium, with a little sodium, making it nature’s sports drink. The natural sugar in the coconut water provides energy, yet coconut water is lower in sugar and carbohydrates than many commercial sports drinks. The citrus provides vitamins. The drink can be refrigerated for up to three days.
3 cups coconut water
¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or a few drops of stevia
1⁄8 to ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Combine the coconut water, orange and lemon juices, honey (to taste) and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt in a blender. Seal and blend until smooth and well incorporated. Taste and add the remaining salt, as needed.
Serve chilled, or over ice in a glass.
Strawberry Breeze Four 1-cup servings
This drink is full of vitamin C and antioxidants from the strawberries and the citrus. It also contains minerals such as potassium, manganese, and folate, and to a lesser degree magnesium, iron, and copper. This cooler will stay fresh in the refrigerator for two days.
3 cups water
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup strawberries
2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or a few drops of stevia
1⁄8 to 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
Combine the water, orange and lemon juices, strawberries, honey (to taste) and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt in a blender. Seal and blend until smooth and well incorporated. Taste and add the remaining salt, as needed.
Serve chilled, or over ice in a glass.
Lemon-Lime Boost About 3 1-cup servings
Most similar in flavour to a lemon-lime sports drink, this beverage provides vitamin C and potassium, and a little bit of magnesium and calcium. It is a refreshing way to rehydrate without consuming too much sugar or any artificial flavours and colours. Store in refrigerator for up to three days. 1⁄4 cup lemon juice 1⁄4 cup lime juice
2.5 cups water
2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or a few drops of stevia
1⁄8 to 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
Combine the lemon and lime juices, water, honey (to taste) and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt in a blender. Seal and blend until smooth and well incorporated. Taste and add the remaining salt, as needed.
Serve chilled, or over ice in a glass.
Raspberry Calm Makes 3 cups
This cold tea provides vitamin C, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Red raspberry leaves are high in iron, B vitamins and alkaloids — all shown to help reduce cramping and nausea and increase energy. The drink can be refrigerated for up to three days.
The Calm brand calcium-magnesium powder works to promote magnesium levels and balance calcium intake, both important after a big workout. It is available online via Amazon.ca, Whole Foods and GNC stores.
3 cups brewed, cooled herbal red raspberry tea
1 teaspoon calcium-magnesium powder, such as Calm brand (see headnote)
1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
2 to 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or a few drops of stevia
1⁄8 to 1⁄4 teaspoon sea salt
Ice
Combine the tea, the calciummagnesium powder, lemon juice, honey (to taste) and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt in a blender. Seal and blend until smooth and well incorporated. Taste and add the remaining salt, as needed.
Serve chilled, or over ice in a glass.
Watermelon Refresher About 4 cups
Watermelon is perfect for July since it is so cooling to the body. The fruit is 92 per cent water, so this drink is incredibly hydrating.
The natural sugar in watermelon provides energy, and the fibre keeps that energy from hitting the blood system too quickly.
This sports drink provides magnesium, potassium, calcium, lots of antioxidants, and vitamins C and A. This refresher can be refrigerated for up to two days. 2 cups seedless or seeded, cubed watermelon (no rind) 2 cups water
1 small lime, peeled and cut into chunks
1⁄8 teaspoon sea salt
1 large mint leaf (optional)
Ice
Combine the watermelon, water, lime, salt and mint, if using, in a blender. Seal and blend until smooth and well incorporated.
Serve chilled, or over ice in a glass.