Home Made Perfectly Natural Fuel

I received an email from Active.com and inside they included some tips on finding healthy and natural energy boosts for long workouts. And since I mentioned in a previous post that I need my energy boosts I thought this was perfect.

Better Brands

There are a few brands that include natural ingredients in their sports products and do not use high-fructose corn syrup, food dyes or artificial sweeteners. Look for these sport product lines:

Unnecessary Additives

Scan the ingredient list for unnecessary additives. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that provides sweetness without adding sugar. Sounds good? Your stomach may not agree-watch out for gas and bloating with xylitol. Artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame and acesulfame potassium are added to sports products for sweetness with zero calories. This makes the product super-sweet, which is a major complaint of many exercisers and the reason why so many people avoid sports drinks. There is no place for artificial sweeteners or synthetic food dyes in a sport product. Avoid Red 40--an example of a synthetic food dye. Look for beet juice instead--an example of a natural red dye.

Make Your Own!

Tart Cherry Sport Drink

Tart cherries help to reduce inflammation associated with exercise.

• 32 ounces water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 24 ounces Knudsen Tart Cherry Juice (if this is too tart for you use regular cherry juice instead)
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Makes seven 8-ounce servings
60 calories, 177 mg sodium, 186 mg potassium, 15 grams carbohydrate

Pina Colada Sport Drink
The coconut water gives a light flavor, a few carbohydrates and tons of potassium.

• 12 ounces water
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 32 ounces O.N.E. Coconut water
• 12 ounces 100% pineapple juice
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Makes seven 8-ounce servings
60 calories, 194 mg sodium, 352 mg potassium, 15 grams carbohydrate

Directions for making your own sport drink:
Bring the tap or bottled water to a boil. Dissolve the salt in the water. Mix in juice and coconut water (if using). Chill and consume.