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Recipe to Make Your Own Sports Drink

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Homemade Sports Drink Recipe

Are you as sick of store bought sports drink as I am? I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2005. Throughout my training and the marathon I drank A LOT of store bought sports drink.

As an herbalist, it just didn't feel right. Those drinks are filled with sugar - some contain high levels of fructose which is even worse than table sugar. So I set out to find a way to make my own.

This lens will teach you how to make your own sports drink using natural ingredients. Also feel free to check out an article I wrote on eHow called How to Make Your Own Herbal Sports Drink which shares the recipe I use the most often. But this lens will go into even greater detail.
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Homemade Energy Drinks are Healthier!

Step 1 - Choose the Herbs You Will Use in Your Sports Drink

Herbal Sports Drinks

In my sports drink recipes, herbal tea forms the backbone. I only use one herb because too many things in your system can confuse it, especially while running or working out. I'll talk about my favorite herbs to use and the reasons why I choose them.
  • Green Tea is one of my favorites because it also delivers a small amount of caffeine. We all know how good green tea is for us, too. So this is a great way to get those helpful antioxidants. Choose a flavored green tea (try peppermint to give you even more oomph) or just use it plain.
  • Ginger. I hike a lot and often in cold temperatures. When I know I'll be out on the trail in subzero conditions, ginger is always my top choice because it warms the body from within and keeps blood flowing to the extremities. It is also helps control inflammation, making it a good post workout choice as well.
  • Stinging Nettle. I crave stinging nettle and love to drink it by itself iced during and after my workouts. It helps repair your connective tissue and is also rich in minerals. I suspect I crave it because of the mineral content because a lot of minerals get lost while sweating. It's a natural choice for my homemade sports drinks.
  • Peppermint. Unlike green tea and nettle, peppermint doesn't make me need to urinate. So this is a good choice in a sports drink. An extra bonus - the scent of the peppermint is uplifting!

Best Homemade Energy Drink Ingredient is Honey!

Eat Honey for Quick Energy

Wee Bee Naturally Raw Honey -- 1 lb Each

Wee Bee Naturally Raw Honey -- 1 lb Each

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Raw honey is the best honey there is. Rich in vitamins and enzymes, this is a must-have ingredient in your homemade energy drinks.

Buy Herbal Teas for Your Sports Drink

Herbs for Your Energy Drink

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Step 2 - Brew the Tea for Your Energy Drink

Herbs are the Basis for My Homemade Sports Drink

Once you have your herb selected, it's time to brew the tea that will go into the sports drink.
  1. Pour one and a half cups of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of the dried herb, or one tea bag. If you are using Ginger, follow the instructions here for making ginger tea out of the fresh root.
  2. Let the tea steep for five minutes and then strain or remove the tea bag.
  3. Stir in one teaspoon of honey and a pinch of sea salt until they dissolve. At this point, you can let it cool in the fridge. This is your sports drink in its most basic form.
  4. You can multiply this recipe and make it in bulk if you need a larger amount.

Use Honey for Endurance

Honey is an Essential Sport Drink Ingredient

Honey is my favorite endurance food.

Your body needs it to fuel your long duration workouts (of 90 minutes or more).

According to studies done at the University of Memphis Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory by Dr. Richard Kreider, honey is at least as good as dextrose and laboratory created carbohydrate gel.

For me, I choose raw honey because it is all natural and not created in a lab.

Photo credit: http://lbjsbrownbag.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/honey.jpg

More Options for Honey in Your Energy Drink

Put Honey in Your Sports Drink

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Step 3 - Stir the Fruit Juice in the Sports Drink

Natural Fruit Juice is Best

Your next step is to add 2 cups of fruit juice for every cup of herbal tea. Pour into a pitcher or bottle and stir or shake until well mixed. Refrigerate and use within three days.

Choose any fruit juice that you want, as long as it is 100% natural.

If you wish to skip this step, you can. Just brew more tea and mix more honey and sea salt in it. That mixture alone is enough. But the juice adds extra flavor.

Or, you can change the proportion to 1 cup of juice and 2 cups of the tea, honey, and salt mixture.

How to Make an Herbal Sports Drink

Homemade Energy Drink

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Do you make your own energy drink?

Share your homemade sports drink stories and tips

  • MQWilson Aug 22, 2011 @ 3:56 am | delete
    thanks for sharing this great information
  • Phillyfreeze69 Aug 8, 2011 @ 11:40 am | delete
    Although I do not make my own energy drink I do drink a 24 0z. can of green tea almost everyday. I have known about the medicinal properties found in honey and have tried a few of the natural remedies that natural honey can help alleviate.
    Excellent lens on making ones on herbal teas.
  • globalodyssi May 25, 2011 @ 7:26 pm | delete
    awesome idea, this will save me a ton of money and be great for pre and post surf sessions, thanks.
  • Razzledazzlethem Mar 6, 2011 @ 6:48 am | delete
    Nice Lens:-)
  • Dec 5, 2010 @ 1:54 am | delete
    Nice lens! I actually prefer Shakeology as my energy drink of choice.
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by

kohuether

My name is Katherine. I am an herbalist and very active in fitness pursuits. When I ran a marathon, I drank sports drinks constantly. Over time I realized... more »

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