"Which electrolytes are better?"

don't have a clue, but I'll address Marlin's post anyway.

I'd guess that your blood is getting thicker as you get dehydrated, which impairs circulation and the ability to carry O2, and that is likely what causes that bit of dizzyness.  I've had that happen climing mountains a time or two when pushing too hard - I think its just not enough Oxygen getting to the brain ????

I have been touting the use of energy drinks probably a dozen or more times on here.  I think it makes a huge difference in sustained performance, especially if you are pushing your limits.  I use "Cytomax" energy drink rather than plain water - at least I will start out with it and use a quart of that before going to plain water.  Its just easier for your body to absorb the energy, and it cuts down on the "need" to eat solid foods - it takes energy to make that solid food into fuel, and your body will tend to shut down other functions a bit to digest the food - or it sits as a lump in your stomach (at least in mine). 

This past Saturday, I went to a local lake and did 3 laps around the shoreline.  I stay within a boat's length of the shore at a minimum, mostly stay within 6', and sometimes its within 3" and heeling the boat around a 270 deg turn to circle a rocky point - lots of steering, minimal "go straight"
so I only average about 3.5 mph - did 33.6 miles.  I started out with 3 pints of premixed cytomax, which took me thru most of two laps, and I started with water after that - drank a total of 2 1/2 quarts of liquid over a solid 9 hours in the sun.  Wasn't feeling any effects of dehydration though I didn't pee much.  Not super hot though, as I started out at dawn (maybe 65 deg?)  and finsihed at 3 before it got really too hot - likely was only in mid-eighties at 3pm.  Up untill I stopped at about 31 miles to eat a plum, all the solid food I ate was 4 little Hershey's mini's candy bars (little one bite sized chocolate bars).  I didn't "need" to stop to eat the plum, but the weather was holding nicely and I could afford to stop, so I did just to get off the boat seat for a bit.

Weekend before that, I went backpacking.  Hit the trailhead Friday evening at 6:45 and hiked up 3 miles to 11,000 feet to beat the heat -about an hour and a half to the top.  Did 22 or 23 miles on Saturday fueld by 2 1/2 pints of cytomax followed by another quart or two of water - that day got hot, even at 10,000 feet I was sweating a lot.  I did eat a bit more that day.  Finished up on Sunday with 3 1/2 mi to the truck.  Some blisters, but no cramping or dehydration.

  While hiking, I just hand carried a pint bottle and took a swig every few minutes or so.  While paddling, I kept a bottle handy and would drink every 15 minutes or so, when I got behind a point and out of the wind.

I never "hit the wall" on either trip, and didn't get cramps or get too dehydrated.   I think this stuff really works as advertised.  It certainly works for me, far outperforming just plain water.

I use it on all my Quetico trips, and it works about as well for my brother, though we don't push as hard when he is along.  It cuts down on the need for "big" lunches as you just don't feel too hungry, and saves a fair bit of weight in that regard.  It works best maybe, if you are pushing hard, but it also works if you aren't, just less noticeably maybe.

Is Cytomax the best thing going ?  don't know, don't care, but I would recommend it to you.  REI carries it, most health foods stores will, and you can find lots of places on line that sell it.  It does cost a lot more than water, but its worth it.

try it, you'll like it!

I think you're quite correct, ST.  My earlier comment in response to DB was meant for the "average" person.  Sports drinks are nice to have, but probably don't add anything for normal workouts and activities, maybe a "mental" boost, but not really a physical boost.  I have no doubt they are beneficial for elite athletes and hard-core trippers...

Sports drinks may be a waste of money for most people in most situations, but they aren't harmful, and sometimes can be better than plain water for non-elite athletes as well as olympic class and above.

Sports drinks as I know them basically contain two things besides water: carbs (ie sugar) and electrolytes. (Are there really "sports drinks" out there containing caffeine?)

Any source of carbs will work as well as a sports drink, but as M_M has posted, sometimes liquid sugar is easier on the stomach than a solid source. I like dilute Gatorade for long runs in hot weather too, but for canoeing, I just eat a handful of gorp every half hour or so.

The electrolytes' main benefit (imo) is that they make hydration more efficient: water gets transported across the walls of the small intestine into the bloodsream faster, so you don't feel so bloated when you're trying to pour gallons of fluid down your throat. On my recent 10+ litre day, I wished I had Gatorade or something similar with me, because a lot of the time I felt I was forcing the water down, almost always drinking even though I didn't feel thirsty.

I think I'm as cynical as anyone here regarding marketing gimmicks, but remember that the first sports drinks were developed with no commercial applications in mind. Gatorade was invented at the University of Florida solely to help their football team win more games (hence the name). It was only later when its effectiveness became well-known that it was marketed to the general public.

Are one sports drink's electrolytes better than another's? Well, they all claim that they are. Maybe this is where elite athletes might see a difference.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggest the following mixture for oral rehydration therapy (ORT):

6 teaspoons of sugar (either white or natural sugars; e.g., honey, molasses)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 liter of water

Most rehydration drinks seem to have these components plus some additional ingredients (mostly flavoring, coloring and perservative, I suspect).

Personally, I would also seek a source of potassium if cramping is involved.  My go-to food for this has historically been a product called shoestring potatoes (a.k.a. papitas fritas).  The potatoes, of course, contain potassium.  Potatoes are not the greatest source ... things like raisins and almonds are much better.  However the shoestring potatoes also have salt.  (Preparation typically also involves vegetable oil and baking.)

So, on hard portage days, I generally have shoestring potatoes handy as a food source.  This item is extremely light weight, but probably needs to be repackaged into snack sized plastic bags to make it water resistant.  (Once, as I sat eating this at the picnic table at Prairie Portage, I had a young member of the staff walk by and declare that the container it comes in is a CAN!  It IS a cardboard tube with metal caps, but then I wasn't carrying it INTO the park.)

I've even given this to other members of my traveling party when they developed cramping.  The last time I did that was on a backpacking trip to the Sawtooth range in Idaho.  One of our group, an avid cycler that commonly did 100 mile races, developed cramps going over one of the passes.  I gave him a handful of shoestring potatoes and water.  Within a matter of minutes, he was good to go again.

dd

solotripper wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2011 at 4:48pm:

I'm with you on salt in-take.  I NEVER eat shoestring potatoes other than on trips ... WAY too much salt.  And, at home, my preference is for unsalted nuts ... yet, I take salted almonds on trips.

I just have to be careful when I'm working hard (either at home or in the field) because I produce an enormous amount of sweat ... after a normal walk in the summer, I can literally wring moisture out of my t-shirt.  It will also be loaded with salt stains.  I've been known to go for an hour and a half walk and return 5 pounds lighter ... clearly that's almost all water (and salt).

After a trip, I also have to wash down my packs, especially the parts which come in contact with my body.  They will also have salt stains, which would likely attract critters for the salt if I didn't take care of it.

The part that got me on my last trip is the unexpected suddenness of dehydration/heat exhaustion.  I'd run my canoe and light pack 3/4th the way across a 165 rod portage, returned for my second (double-pack) load and carried that completely across the portage.  It wasn't until I started back down the trail that I found I was out of gas.  I'd not dropped my first load part way due to fatigue.  I had to return to that approximate location to retrieve a food cache stashed on our way in.  I marked its location with my GPS, which was inside my canoe.  After I retrieved the cache, I was all-in and just had to sit beside the trail until I had a little rebound.

This was portage #7 for the day and I had no issues on any previous portage (although they were mostly short). After a lunch break (I didn't eat) and rest, #8 was reasonably easy, but #9 was beyond my physical ability once I'd carried my first load across.  Its just that I went from slightly tired to done in just a few minutes.  I've not been that deep into heat exhaustion before, primarily because I can feel the early effects and take remedial action.  It was just bizarre.  I guess the mid-80's temp combined with about 70% humidity didn't help much.  I did that last portage in a deluge, sans rain gear, and the rain was warm.

dd