An isotonic or hypotonic drink

An isotonic or hypotonic drink

 It can’t be said enough: hydration before, during and after exertion is the key to your athletic success… especially when your favourite drinks can allow you to recover better or be more efficient! But instead of turning to the energy drinks available in your supermarket, why not do them yourself? At the editorial, we explain how to prepare your isotonic drink. Follow us!

Energy drinks are designed, as the name suggests, to provide you with energy, especially during the effort during which the body becomes dehydrated and loses many mineral salts. The goal of these sports drinks is to increase the intake of sugars and minerals to prepare the body before the effort but also to help it recover after the effort. Note that these are not caffeinated or taurine energy drinks, which are consumed for their “boost” effect.  They are not recommended for athletes.

If they are easily found in the trade, energy drinks do not escape the wave homemade; after all, since you are already making your granola, your smoothies, your fermented foods, energy drinks are within your reach. More interesting financially and gustative, this approach must however obey some basic rules to obtain a drink of effort that is effective and safe.

European rules and regulations

Energy drinks are subject to European regulations which control, in particular, claims on marketed products. Thus, the number of carbohydrates should be between 80 and 350 kcal/L, or 20 to 87.5 g/L, while sodium should be present from 460 to 1.15 mg/L.

Although it is difficult to reproduce precisely the same measures in your home recipe, it nevertheless gives a good idea of the dosages of carbohydrates and sodium required for your preparation to be energetic and remineralizing.

Sugar… but not too much

Carbohydrates are essential in your energy drink since they will allow you to maintain a significant effort. The number of carbohydrates should be adjusted according to the duration of the effort and its intensity. As part of an important intensity, your sports drink should bring you 30 to 40g of carbohydrates per hour of effort.

You can use table sugar or honey, but this may quickly turn to syrup (and not vinegar for the moment): maltodextrin, a white powder with a neutral taste derived from starch and rich in carbohydrates, will allow you to reach the carbohydrate levels necessary for your effort. Count 30 to 70 g/l of malto depending on the temperature.

An isotonic or hypotonic drink

Maltodextrin also has a significant advantage: it makes your drink isotonic, understands a density similar to that of blood plasma. A property of capital importance because it allows optimizing the exchanges with the blood.

A stress drink can also be hypotonic, that is to say with a lower concentration than the plasma: it will then be particularly effective to rehydrate you. To do this, simply dilute your recipe in a larger amount of water. This can be particularly useful in case of high heat.

Presence of minerals indispensable!

When you sweat, you lose a significant amount of minerals: there is an average of 0.8 to 1g of sodium, 0.3g of potassium and 5 mg of zinc per litre of sweat. These minerals play a major role during your effort, they help fight against muscle cramps and fatigue.

It will therefore be essential to add about ⅓ teaspoon of table salt for 500mL to your preparation so as not to suffer an excessive loss of sodium. You can replace some of your usual salt with a little nigari salt (or magnesium chloride). This dosage should not affect the taste of your drink.

A pinch of BCAA

We no longer present the powdered amino acids that have now found their place in your shakers. It must be said that their benefits are many: they make it possible to produce more energy, to save glycogen or to reduce muscle degradation. A cocktail necessarily useful during the effort but also after, to improve the recovery.

Add 5 to 10g of BCAA to your energy drink (per 500mL of liquid) to get all the benefits, ensuring that your BCAA mixture has a ratio of 2.1.1 (twice as much leucine as valine and isoleucine). It can also be flavoured to make your drink more enjoyable to consume.

This last point is important because the main thing is that you drink your preparation during your session. Rather than plain, boring water, you can use an infusion of your choice or grape juice diluted in the same amount of water for the base. All you need to do is add maltodextrin, salt and BCAA.

You can also complement your sports drink with ingredients of your choice, such as turmeric to fight against cell oxidation, spirulina or matcha for a kick-start effect. And most importantly, drink small sips every ten minutes! second-person with

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