Electrolyte supplements?

macrocarpa · May 9, 2023

Anyone find a good electrolyte option that isn’t loaded with sugar or a gross sugar substitute? I don't understand why they have to put so much sugar in everything.

southsoundtree · May 9, 2023

All the sugar is for the American palete. Can't make it taste like French fries.

Muggs · May 9, 2023

I've heard really good things about LMNT, haven't tried it myself

Reach · May 9, 2023

Look into Sqwincher Zero. No sugar, not a lot of sweetener, and a decent load of electrolytes. That’s what we buy for the crews, the taste is decent and we buy it in QuikStiks, which can just be dumped in a bottle of water and shaken up quickly. It mixes well, even if the water is ice cold.

macrocarpa · May 9, 2023

southsoundtree said:
All the sugar is for the American palete. Can't make it taste like French fries.

Yep! We are #1

Steve-o · May 9, 2023

I use stuff called "Scratch" which tastes good and gets the job done. Supposed to be all natural with cane sugar:

data farm 26 · May 9, 2023

I use scratch too, it's great. Not very sweet imo depends on how you mix it. Also drink an emergen-c most mornings

I think it's actually skratch though with a k

Chris Schultz · May 9, 2023

The best I’ve found. Tastes good too. They also make gummies which are a good supplementary to keep in the truck.

Serf Life · May 9, 2023

I like those Trace ones too. We tried 4-5 and those were my pick.

Chris Schultz · May 9, 2023

The picture is another option, possibly easier to work into your routine (pill form). Before I even leave the house I’ve drunken 20-30oz of water, most mornings I’ll add a small amount of sea salt into some room temp water also (you’ll get used to the taste). I think I’ve shared this before, but a naturopathic doctor I know shared that a large part of the population is dehydrated on a cellular level, and water alone cannot cure that. Hydration is critical.

Barc Buster · May 9, 2023

When I work hard I sweat like like a nun at a cucumber farm. I’ve battled with dehydration for decades going all the way back to my college football days. Nothing really worked great until I tried the LMNT products.

Their background comes from the CrossFit realm. Their founder is a biochemist. Quite simply most of the so called electrolytes products on the market don’t have enough actual electrolytes in them. The LMNT packets do and are super convenient.

The only drawback is they can be a bit pricey at just over a buck per. A remedy for that is a diy recipe based on their electrolyte ratio:

1/2 cup sea or himalayan salt
2.5 tsp Potassium Chloride
3.5 tsp Magnesium citrate powder.

The potassium comes from a product called NU salt it’s a low sodium salt replacement. The Mag powder is easily sourced at a health food store or Amazon.

You simply mix all ingredients together and add roughly 1/4 tsp. per 16 oz. water. I usually go for the convenience of the LMNT pouches at work all day but use the diy mix at home. Hope this helps.

data farm 26 · May 9, 2023

Drinkin a gerolsteiner whenever you can is a good idea imo. I lived on 2 a day for years but now switched back to still.

macrocarpa · May 9, 2023

Chris Schultz said:
The picture is another option, possibly easier to work into your routine (pill form). Before I even leave the house I’ve drunken 20-30oz of water, most mornings I’ll add a small amount of sea salt into some room temp water also (you’ll get used to the taste). I think I’ve shared this before, but a naturopathic doctor I know shared that a large part of the population is dehydrated on a cellular level, and water alone cannot cure that. Hydration is critical.

That’s what I am discovering. I have a reverse osmosis filtration system for my drinking water and it removes all containments but also all minerals. I’ve been researching how it can actually strip the body of minerals/electrolytes as it flushes through the body. Called “hungry water”.

Mike Islander · May 10, 2023

Salt pills. Look it up.

Chris Schultz · May 10, 2023

L3VI said:
Drinkin a gerolsteiner whenever you can is a good idea imo. I lived on 2 a day for years but now switched back to still.

Love that stuff!

Arb23 · May 13, 2023

I've been liking the Liquid IV stuff. It's got sugar, but you need sugar for energy. As long as you don't overdo it, it's fine. Most folks are couch potatoes and never burn it off. That's usually not a problem working trees. It's overpriced like all this stuff, but I grab it on sale if I see it. If I don't have that, I take a salt pill.

Barc Buster said:
When I work hard I sweat like like a nun at a cucumber farm.

Haven't heard that one before. Lol

Reach · May 13, 2023

Arb23 said:
I've been liking the Liquid IV stuff. It's got sugar, but you need sugar for energy. As long as you don't overdo it, it's fine. Most folks are couch potatoes and never burn it off. That's usually not a problem working trees. It's overpriced like all this stuff, but I grab it on sale if I see it. If I don't have that, I take a salt pill.

Haven't heard that one before. Lol

I have tried that stuff, it does give an instant boost, but then I get something akin to a hangover a couple hours later, and feel just plain awful for the rest of the day.

The sodium citrate worries me a little as well, as that stuff is a laxative. Drink too much, you’ll be running for the bushes.

Arb23 · May 13, 2023

Reach said:
I have tried that stuff, it does give an instant boost, but then I get something akin to a hangover a couple hours later, and feel just plain awful for the rest of the day.

The sodium citrate worries me a little as well, as that stuff is a laxative. Drink too much, you’ll be running for the bushes.

There are a few varieties - there's a flavor with caffeine boost and one with extra Vitamins and one with probiotics. I usually take the Lemon Lime - I will drink two maybe three over a few hours with plain water in between if I'm really working so I've never had that experience.

Are you sure the bush run wasn't from the taco bell for lunch?

Reach · May 13, 2023

Arb23 said:
There are a few varieties - there's a flavor with caffeine boost and one with extra Vitamins and one with probiotics. I usually take the Lemon Lime - I will drink two maybe three over a few hours with plain water in between if I'm really working so I've never had that experience.

Are you sure the bush run wasn't from the taco bell for lunch?

I am not surprised that there are different versions. The only one I tried, which I tried two or three times, was the regular version. One of our crane operators likes it, he gave me some to try on a very hot day when I was doing the rigging for the crane.

I drank only one, so it didn’t send me running for the bushes, but I certainly felt miserable later in the day, bad enough that I certainly don’t want to try that stuff again. The results were the same each time, so at least for me I feel like they were consistent enough to think the cause was the Liquid IV, rather than just working in the heat.

Arb23 · May 13, 2023

Side story: I grew up in NSW Australia, and as a kid mom (mum) gave us all salt pills and put white zinc creme on our noses when we were outside playing in the 40+C (104f+) heat. It was standard operating procedure back then. Haven't been back in a while, but it probably still is.