Episode 110 - Are special drink mixes really that special?

Water. Carbs. Salt. Flavour. Colour. Food Acid. That’s it. Glucose:fructose ratios, high or low molecular weight polymers, hypotonic or isotonic solutions, scientifically formulated electrolyte blends, hydrogels, pH neutral, the list goes on. But with only a few ingredients and some basic levers to pull, how different are drink mixes really? Is there really a “optimal” formulation? And could you just buy the raw ingredients and make it yourself for a fraction of the cost?

 

Timestamps:

01:42 - Intro and podcast update

03:33 - The basic ingredients of sports drink mixes

05:07 - What are we trying to achieve with a drink mix?

08:04 - The water in sports drinks

12:34 - Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership, T-12 course for athletes, eBook

14:44 - The carbohydrate in drink mixes - amount and type

24:07 - Drink osmolality - hypotonic, isotonic, hypertonic

27:57 - The electrolytes in drink mixes - does it matter?

32:28 - The flavours, colours, sweeteners, and food acids in drink mixes

34:19 - Is there a risk of drink mix contamination with banned substances?

36:24 - Are special drink mixes really that special?

38:32 - The environmental impact of drink mixes

38:48 - Making your own drink mix from basic ingredients

43:12 - Wrap up

 

Fueling Endurance eBook | T -12 Race Nutrition Course | Practitioner Resources

The Fueling Endurance eBook contains answers to 84 of the most common nutrition questions that runners, cyclists and triathletes ask, and contains insights, tips, and quotes from experts and athletes.  The T -12 self-guided course will help prepare you for your next event, with online tools, guides, information and instructions to take you through the 12 weeks leading up to race day. And the Fueling Endurance Practitioner Membership provides access to online tools and calculators I use all the time when working with endurance and ultraendurance athletes. This includes working out the carbohydrate needs for runners (road and trail) and cyclists for different types of training sessions. For more into on each of these, check out fuelingendurance.com.