How to prepare a homemade isotonic drink?

Every day we tend to sweat for different reasons, whether we exercise or not, so we lose body fluids such as water and electrolytes. Hence, it is necessary to hydrate to compensate for their loss. But, consuming only water is sometimes not enough, and it is convenient to complement it with isotonic drinks.

For those who spend considerable time practicing sports, it is essential to know what an isotonic drink is, since it favors water recovery by replenishing the electrolytes lost in the body after an intense exercise routine. And it is that, in the face of significant losses of water and mineral salts, it is necessary to replace a sufficient amount of them, with carbohydrates and minerals for the proper functioning of the body.

However, despite the fact that different products of this type are commercially available, it is advisable to go for homemade isotonic drinks since they are economically more affordable and healthier. These can be an excellent alternative, regardless of prolonged sports training of medium or high intensity, and even outdoors in unfavorable weather, such as cycling.

In this context, if you are a lover of racing bicycles and you practice this sport strongly, it is very likely that at some point you may suffer from isotonic dehydration. That is, a considerable loss of electrolytes and water product of the sweat generated by training.

Electrolytes lost in sweat

Sodium is the mineral that is lost in greater quantity when performing any physical activity. However, there are also losses of calcium, potassium and magnesium, although in smaller proportions. In addition, the more you sweat, the higher the level of sodium lost and its deficit can trigger some effects such as muscle cramps in the lower limbs, as often happens to cyclists. Hence, the intake of isotonic drinks or drinks with electrolytes that contain mineral salts especially for cycling is necessary in order to recover body hydration.

In this sense, we can say that the best isotonic drink is the one that provides the body with these mineral salts and other compounds lost with daily exercise. And although its composition usually consists of water, fast-absorbing carbohydrates and electrolytes (mineral salts), a large number of brands with different ingredients are available on the market, according to each sporting discipline. But, many of them are not that affordable.

Benefits of homemade isotonic drinks

In addition to the above, some of the commercial isotonic drinks contain elements that are unhealthy for the body, such as calories and sugars. Hence, it could be a good alternative to learn how to prepare a homemade aquarius or homemade energy drink, designed according to our own physical and economic requirements and without additives that negatively affect our health.

When analyzing the multiple recipes left online, we can see that electrolytes and water are the main ingredients to make this isotonic serum, since the latter, in some cases, by itself is not enough to rehydrate us and improve sports performance. However, it is the element that will allow all the components to be mixed, so it is used in greater proportion.

Similarly, baking soda, salt, fruit juice and sugar (optional) are often added to this drink. Sodium bicarbonate is an important mineral for raising the body’s pH levels and restoring energy. For its part, domestic salt improves the distribution of other minerals or electrolytes in the blood and the body, while sugar provides the glucose necessary to revitalize the energy in the cells. However, it is preferable to use glucose that comes directly from fruits.

How to make an isotonic drink at home?

If we go to the gym frequently, walk, run or practice some power sport on a daily basis, it is necessary to know how to make some simple and economical homemade preparation, such as the one that we present to you below, with which we can gain energy and avoid the appearance of possible dizziness, which is a frequent consequence of dehydration.

There are those who recommend boiling the water to make the homemade smoothie. However, mineral water is enough, because the idea is that at the end of the activity or exercise routine we do not have to invest extra time in its preparation, just have on hand:

•  1 liter of water.
•  1 teaspoon of baking soda (1 oz).
•  1 teaspoon of salt (1 oz).
•  2 tablespoons of sugar, although it can be ignored, and thus obtain an isotonic drink without sugar, or substitute 100 g of carrot, beet, banana or the fruit of your choice.
•  1 lemon or orange.
•  Some ice cubes, for hot days.

Now, as for its preparation, if we do not have a blender at hand, we can place a liter of water in a bottle together with bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugar and lemon juice or other fruits such as orange, tangerine, etc. others and stir until the ingredients are completely integrated. In the case of having a blender or juicer, we can add carrot, beet, papaya or banana to the previous mixture.

As we can see, this recipe, in addition to being practical, is healthy, economical and nutritious. The important thing is to vary the fruit to consume in order to alternate the intake of fructose. On the other hand, we can also play with the proportions and prepare this drink in greater quantity and dispose of it at our convenience.

Finally, it is important to mention that you should avoid completely substituting daily water consumption for these drinks, since although they are beneficial during dehydration processes, their excess could modify the balance of body fluids and, therefore, alter normal functioning. of certain organs such as the kidneys and the heart. In addition, both isotonic drinks and water allow you to recover lost fluids, we just have to guess the right time to use one or the other depending on the intensity of the activity.