Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
Natural alternative to Sports drinks?
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
LC - I'm not a hippy organic freak or anything I just grew up on a farm that didn't use chemicals and I think it's best...that'll all!
But you're right that I'm right! You can prove anything 
PS Pretty sure the e-coli comes from the soil still on the product as they can't bleach it off like non-organic!
ahh thanks M.ister W...I was starting to think I sounded a bit preachy! Wish I'd never discovered this RW Forum now...must get work done before someone notices I'm doing sod all
apparently coconut water tastes like breast milk.
The problem, joybird, is that people like Bill Statham are simply scaring people to sell more books. He gives you half the story so you end up getting frightened about additives that are completely safe, like Aspartame, and don't get scared by stuff that really can harm you.
However, I can understand why aspartame might give some people headaches, as it breaks down into the same chemicals that give you a hangover. We're fortunate in having food labelling regulations in the UK that ensure it is listed so we can avoid it if we wish to.
M.ster W is right about research except I will take it a bit further - the only research you should read is that that is published in 'peer reviewed' journals. To publish your research in these journals you must satisfy a number of regulations such as 'no affiliation to the product you are researching' and the research must be able to be replicated and yeild the same results. The 'peer review' part means the research has been reviewed by a board of eminent researchers in the field you are working e.g. sports nutrition. Some 'peer reviewed journals include: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Journal of Applied Physiology, International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Eminent researchers include Mark Tarnopolsky MD, Prof. Ron Maughan (Uni of Aberdeen), Prof. John Hawley and Prof. Louise Burke (Aussie Institue of Sport) to name but a few.
With regards t post-exercise nutrition - Some positive research has been done on the skim milk as an alternative to sports drinks.
Been avoiding aspartame for years as the taste (or aftertaste) is bad.
Products I've read the labels of & I've used (so unless something has changed will be aspartame free)
Powerbar performance drink
Cliff bar shot blocks (just grab water)
Accelerade
Stuff I chose to steer clear of
High 5 (I think some of this may now be 'clean', but not checked)
SIS
Lucozade
The problem is that with long races I don't want to be carrying liquid, fine in well organised events like the Essex county marathon or IOW marathon where you can send out your own bottles or have your own support crew but in the large events say london this may not be so easy.
The main problem with aspartame (apart from taste) is that when it is broken down in the gut it produces phenylalanine. A small minority of the population suffer from phenylketonuria - the inability to deal with high levels of phenylalanine in the diet. All newborn babies are tested for phenylketonurea at birth (heel prick blood test). Avoidance of the likes of aspartame for sufferers of phenylketonurea is trivial, however, when considering how exacting their diet must be.
If you do find the taste truly awful, then ensure the product you replace it with meets the appropriate requirements for an isotonic sports drink - 4-7% carbohydrate.
A suitable shake without aspartame is aquasource super energy food. Main ingredients are
Pre-Sprouted Barley – produced by a recently developed system of milling barley just before it sprouts. The barley produced captures all the enzymes and nutrient activity in the barley grain just prior to sprouting.
Colostrum – Nature’s first food, providing all the key immune factors and a host of other nutrients to help support the immune system, the digestive tract and overall good health.
Because AquaSource Super Energy Food contains long chain carbohydrates to provide sustained energy release, it helps stabilise energy levels thus helping to minimise the peaks and troughs associated with a normal calorie-controlled diet.
More info on this site: nutraland.co.uk
Guinness