Gatorade Continued

[mrach]

As a not yet Dx POTs, I was really perplexed to see that the doctors recommend Gatorade ,when it is full of sugar and artificial dyes, are we not supposed to avoid that. Do you know of any healthier alternative to Gatorade?

[corina]

mrach,

i drink a lot of gatorade and it really helps me. i thought of all the sugar too, but haven?t noticed gain weight.

maybe you can add water to it???

corina

[Dizzy Dame]

Some people are bothered by sugar and others are not. I personally tolerate gatorade just fine and it's the cheapest, easiest way I've found of getting my electrolytes. You can also try pedialyte but that's very expensive. Some people make up their own electrolyte solutions using salt, water, and other ingredients...I just don't have the energy for such an undertaking.

There are "electrolyte" powders you can buy online to make up your own electrolyte solutions, but these often have other fillers like green tea extract and echinacea, which both cause problems for me...but maybe they'll work for you.

[SunsetParadise49]

I drink a lot also and haven't noticed any weird things that it does to me lol. It has salt in and eletrolytes (sp?) so that's why they tell us to drink it.

[dizzygirl]

I used to be able to drink gatorade by the gallons.. early on in my pots.. but over the last 7-8 months i developed an intolerance to the sugar and the red dye in gatorade...

if you are worried about the sugar. you can always dilute it with some water or ice cubes..

i've found that i can tolerate the orange powerade---not gaotrade... but only if i dilute it with water and only drink small amounts in a day of it...

good luck

[Lulu]

i buy gatorade powder (it comes in this great big canister) and then i make up a diluted version of gatorade to drink. it helps me to retain some fluids (i have a weird-staying-hydrated-thing) but decreases the caloric content and salt content>> i have to watch the salt b/c i have the hyperadrenergic form of pots (w/very high blood pressures if not on meds) and i'm trying to lose weight to lessen load on CV system.

this seems to work fairly well for me, although i still end up at the hosp for IV fluids from time to time. if i only drink water, i somehow end up dehydrated even more. so i mix it up a bit. i've also heard of folks who don't like the "taste" of water putting lime or lemon juice and a pinch of salt in it. i can never use up the fresh fruit in time....EVER....a mystery for the ages....

i used to be able to find powerade powder, which i liked even better, b/c it had B vitamins in it. for some reason the local stores here have stopped carrying it. (because i bought too much??? )

[Sophia3]

The vast majority are SO HELPED by Gatorade that we pay no attention to the sugar and colorings. The RATIO of sodium, to potassium, to carbs HELPS RETAIN the fluids.

Adding water to gatorade can ruin that aspect.

That said, if you are drinking diluted gatorade just to avoid drinking too much water to wash things out, that's fine. But if you see yourself urinating too much, you should drink Gatorade straight.

It helps save me many a days and prevents trips to the ER.

many, many years ago, I loathed and detested Gatorade with it's after taste and artificial colorings. wouldn't drink it for anything. I have been so HELPED by it that I don't even mind the flavor.

But there are so many choices of flavors and many are disgusting! The X treme versions that are mixed flavors are grotesque but that's just me...and we are all different.

[desiree942]

I recently asked Dr. Grubb about Gatorade and he said he doesn't push it any more as he finds many POTS patients are too inactive and therefore Gatorade causes weight gain -- I think it's the high fructose corn sweetener. If you don't want to drink gatorade try smart water --it is electolyte enhanced water but no sodium. I've been drinking smart water and a small can of tomato juice for the sodium and it really helps.

The vast majority are SO HELPED by Gatorade that we pay no attention to the sugar and colorings. The RATIO of sodium, to potassium, to carbs HELPS RETAIN the fluids.

Adding water to gatorade can ruin that aspect.

That said, if you are drinking diluted gatorade just to avoid drinking too much water to wash things out, that's fine. But if you see yourself urinating too much, you should drink Gatorade straight.

It helps save me many a days and prevents trips to the ER.

many, many years ago, I loathed and detested Gatorade with it's after taste and artificial colorings. wouldn't drink it for anything. I have been so HELPED by it that I don't even mind the flavor.

But there are so many choices of flavors and many are disgusting! The X treme versions that are mixed flavors are grotesque but that's just me...and we are all different.

[Dizzy Dame]

I forgot to add that Gatorade has just started "fittness water" called propel. It contains sodium (though not as much as gatorade) plus almost no sugar and no artificial dyes. You can add a bit of extra salt to it to get the same sodium intake as gatorade. I should warn though that Propel contains 50% of the recommended dose of Niacin (vitamin b3) per bottle, and a niacin overdose can be very dangerous, so one shouldn't drink more than 2 bottles (roughly equivalent to 1 liter) of propel a day to keep from risking a niacin overdose.

Oh, and Gatorade does not contain high fructose corn sweetener but rather is sweetened with sucrose syrup, which comes from sugar cane.

[Sophia3]

I tried the Propel but the fake sweetener they use makes it WAY TOO SWEET for me and tha artifical smell is a turn off. Kudos to those that can stomach it...and it doesn't have the same ratio of potassium and sodium as Gatorade.

If you drink enough Gatorade that it contributes to weight gain, I can see Dr. Grubbs point. But for those of us who feel too queasy to eat much, gatorade is a godsend and most all autonomic docs (including mine and the cardio that did my tilt a few years ago) suggest it...as long as it doesn't cause folks to get too overweight.

It's all about balance and we all walk individual tightropes, don't we?

sheesh.

p.s. I have a bottle here of Powerade Option..strawberry..still gross but it was on sale and I was desperate to try it..but from 12 inches from my nose the smell

[mrach]

Thank you, for all theanswers, it seems my impression was that we have to drink Gatorade as an alternative for salty water in order to get the BP up, I did not know that there are other reqirements as well...

[lmbutare]

I have found that Ceralyte is better for me than Gatorade...It is a much higher level of salt and is rice based not sugar based. It's also low calorie but you have to add something like Crystal Light to it b/c it tastes kind of bad by itself.

Ceralyte is sold at ceralyte.com and comes in 50mEq, 70mEq, or 90mEq (Pedialyte is 45mEq of sodium so it's a bit more than that). The value is pretty good too, but you have to buy it in bulk. I got a sampler of it before I bought a bunch so that I could make sure I liked it before buying a ton of it.

I'm a person that responds really well to pedialyte, but it's too expensive, so this is the next best thing. There are also some recipes and stuff that you can mix the ceralyte with so you won't get too bored.

One thing to watch out for is the high salt if you have GERD problems. I have Cera70 and can't drink more than half a liter or so a day b/c it bothers my stomach.

I hope this is helpful!!

Lauren

[gillian502]

It's also helpful for the people like me, who have Celiac Disease or who have made a personal choice to avoid gluten, to know that Gatorade is gluten-free.

[marnian]

You can buy Pedialyte in bulk if you find it helps you. I order cases of various products by Ross through my pharmacy but they also deliver if necessary: http://rosstore.com/. I sometimes also drink fruit punch LiquiLytes by Gerber because it's easy to find in powder form and it tastes pretty good. Not great for regular use, but easy to slip into your purse to pour into a water bottle later in the day.

[MightyMouse]

Some report that they use ceralyte instead of pedialyte--I can't recall, though, why they choose one as opposed to the other.

nina

[Clairefmartin]

I drink lots of V8 or Cambells tomato juice. I know some can't tolerate the acidity, but it has a high level of sodium and potassium, and is low sugar and carbs, so I prefer it to Gatorade.

[SunsetParadise49]

What I recently began doing also is adding salt to Crystal Light drinks. We buy it with no sugar/caffiene. I can not taste the salt that is added which is always nice!

[Dizzy Dame]

Gwendolyn,

I noticed that you said you drink sugar-free crystal light. Be careful with sugar-free drinks, artificial sweeteners like aspertame can exaccerbate POTS symptoms and can cause hypotension. My doctors have advised me not to drink/eat any artificial sweenteners because of it.

Just keeping an eye out

[Sophia3]

Dizzy dame

There was a thing on the news lately how aspartame can make folks gain weight and i forget the theory on that show...was a month or so ago.

HOWEVER, i read many years ago, in "some people" aspartame can fool some folk's pancreas into thinking it is receiving sugar and dumping out insulin, thus creating appetites and low blood sugar..which in turn causes POTS symptoms, as we know.

so i see where the docs are coming from. I just drink my gatorade in measured cup doses.

Others drink nutrasweet aka aspartame and are fine. I do well with the occassional dose of it over strawberries or bran cereal. But years ago, when I drank soft drinks, the diet stuff always made me hungry.

come to think of it, maybe that is what that 'news segment' mentioned.

Did I mention I have problems with my memory?

Did I mention I have problems with my memory?

[Guest dionna]

i drink the gatorade and powerade. but i did before i got sick too. i was always working out so that is what i drank. i love the taste. i always get the blues and purples. sometimes reds. not the out there combine this with that and then another flavor. just the normal ones.

dionna

[lthomas521]

I've given up Gatorade. Instead, I use the following:

1/2 t salt

1/2 t potassium chloride (salt substitute)

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t sugar

1 liter water

several drops of licorice extract (with glycyrrhizin)

This is an adaptation of a recipe that someone else's autonomic doctor recommended. I cut the sugar way down and added licorice extract. (Licorice makes you retain salt.)

I drink a liter of this first thing every morning. Sometimes I drink another in the early evening. It really seems to help.

[bttrflyamby1981]

Hi,

I have tried to drink Gatorade but I'm afraid of weight gain. Yesterday I decided that I need to cut out the sugar in my diet in hopes I can get the weight down, or at least stop the "gain". I have put on 10 pounds in only a couple of weeks?

Anyway, I guess it depends on the person. Sugar seems to make me feel sick.

Amber

[anjuu]

For those of you who dislike regular V-8...You should try a small bottle of SPICY V-8. Throw it in the microwave, add green onions, carrots, any vegetable really, and some soup crackers. VOILA. You have dinner and your daily sodium intake! It does have a slight spicy zing, so if you don't /can't do spicy, this is not for you.

My roomate cannot stand V-8, but I gave her some heated, and we concluded that without any veggies, it tastes like a poor man's vegeatable crab soup.

[becky]

hi all,

over here its difficult to find gatorade cos most places don't stock it and powerade is really minging, anything that brightly coloured can not be good for you!!

so instead i take rehydration sachets, mostly blackcurrant flavoured, you can get them in pharmacies, they are for upset stomachs and contain electrolytes. This was something that my mum suggested cos i kept getting dehydrated and passing out.

apparently they are really good cures for hangovers!, so it's not just me that drinks them my boyfriend does too, they taste like salty blackcurrant juice, hmmm yummy, not! but it's only 200ml and they really seem to help me. i don't think that they have artificial sweetners in, but they do contain some sugar.

Also on the topic of aspartame (sp?) be careful with powerade because it contains phenylaine(sp? sorry!) it's an artificial sweetener but it is also a mild laxative, i am really sensitive to this so can't drink it because i end up dehydrated all over again, if you get me!

hope that helps some

becks x x x

[kmpower]

Thanks for the recipe, lthomas.

I have two questions. Do you use distilled water as a base, or R/O, or does it matter? Is there a physiologic reason for the sugar or might one use stevia (hubbie has sugar problems)?

Thanks again.

OLL