Electrolyte mixes
Does anyone add these to their water throughout their hike?
Yea - both Mio Energy and Power aid zero When I want something very different Lipton Peach Tea.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
I have not done the AT, but I love Cytomax for both hiking and biking. It was a great boost to hike up and out of the Grand Canyon. It would be heavy for a thru hike but worth it on a high elevation per mile stint.
Electroytes are good
Blue Gatoraide powder. I keep it in a tiny nalgene bottle and dump some in my water bottle as needed.
Vitalyte for the win.
In the heat of summer I often add nuun tablets to one of my water bottles. Some people will add a pinch of table salt to their water for this purpose.
Gatorade powder, in the little packets, and Emergen-C packets. Very useful specially in hot weather. For me, anyway.
Awesome, thanks guys!
I too am trying NUUN this summer.
I use Nuun and carry it on group hikes for folks who haven't been hydrating well. If someone is complaining about headaches or leg cramps I make then down a bottle. It makes a big difference. I used to use gatoraide powder but even diluted it has too much sugar. If its hot weather I usually down one at the end of the days hiking.
The home made version is basically Morton Lite salt with some sort of flavoring until you can tolerate it. It has a 50/50 blend of potassium chloride and sodium chloride.
They sell several versions of Nuun, some with caffeine.
I use powered packets of Pedialyte. Works great. Don't let the name scare you. It's for adults too. Compared to Gatorade powder Pedialyte has less sugar, more salt and more potassium.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedialyte
You can find it in almost any grocery store too. Head for the diapers aisle.
No. I'm planning to take Emergen-C, though. Fruit is heavy.
85% of thru hikers that consume electrolyte mixes on a thru hike fail.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
Glorified sugar.... you don't need it. Eat real food and drink the wonderful clean mountain water.
I had never realized that dietary salt and potassium were glorified sugar.Originally Posted by RockDoc
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
For my part, if I am sweating a lot usually add 1/4teaspoon of Morton's lite salt (a salt/potassium blend) to a liter bottle of whatever I'm drinking and I do this once or twice a day. I can't prove that it does anything physiologically besides making me feel better, but it certainly does make me believe that it's doing something.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Damn, I love statistics.85% of thru hikers that consume electrolyte mixes on a thru hike fail.
And 10% of all thru hikers that start the trail finish?
There are plenty of studies that show that salt makes a very real measurable physiological difference in people that are exerting themselves and sweating a lot.For my part, if I am sweating a lot usually add 1/4teaspoon of Morton's lite salt (a salt/potassium blend) to a liter bottle of whatever I'm drinking and I do this once or twice a day. I can't prove that it does anything physiologically besides making me feel better, but it certainly does make me believe that it's doing something.
The most relevant question I see is regarding the need for more complex or expensive salts instead of just table salt or Morton's lite. Probably 80% of people can get all the electrolytes they need from a pinch of table salt in each liter of water. There are certainly a few people that benefit from the potassium in lite salt, but only a very small number, maybe 1%, that actually benefit from the other trace salts in more complex electrolyte mixes. Most of us just don't sweat enough of the trace salts and we get enough in our diet to cover our needs.
I think the real point is to freely experiment with what works for each of us, and not assume that for most of us there is any real reason for anything more complex that a pinch of table salt in our drinks.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
Oh yeah? Well I read somewhere that 89% of all statistics are made up.85% of thru hikers that consume electrolyte mixes on a thru hike fail.
I am a big believer in electrolyte supplements, not because others say but because I have tested my own body in a wide variety of conditions. You can easily make an exact copy of Hammers enduralyte recipe by mixing 41g of Mortons Lite Salt with 108g of Calcium Magnesuim complex. It makes 100 equivalent servings.
one final note, this is an area that gets a wide variety of opinions ranging from needless to crucial. Not surprising since there is a huge range of bodies, paces, durations and conditions, all which will impact the perceived effectiveness of taking the supplements. I went from cramping up at the end of every long day to eliminating it completely when I take the proper amount. I only had cramps twice on my thru hike, both days when I ran out of my capsules. EYOE!
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