www.gatorade.com/pdf/2006EF_Fact_Sheet.pdf
Some pertinent info from the .pdf:
Gatorade Endurance Formula contains a specialized five-electrolyte blend, including nearly twice the sodium (200 mg) of Gatorade Thirst Quencher, as well as chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium, to more fully replace what endurance athletes lose in sweat when fluid and electrolyte losses become significant.Gatorade also has a Fluid Loss Calculator which you may find interesting, although it only goes to 90 min. duration. I did a 76 mile bike ride yesterday in 91 degree temps, and was on the bike for 5:20!
Like Gatorade Thirst Quencher, Gatorade Endurance Formula contains a scientifically balanced 6% carbohydrate blend (14 grams/8 oz) that helps speed fluid absorption in the body and fuel working muscles.
http://www.gatorade.com/hydration/fluid_loss_calculator/
And from another product, Accelerade, a nice product comparison list that includes Gatorade E.F.:
http://www.accelerade.com/products/product-comparison.html
I've never tried Accelerade, but from some posts I found online, some people hate the taste and the protein settles out. Caveat Emptor.
Even though it may seem like I'm pushing the Gatorade E.F., I'm really not. It's just what I use. I think that regular Gatorade is just sugar water, and I never used sport drinks until I started bike riding and was cramping a lot at night after the ride. For normal activities, you do not need these drinks, or all those carbs or salts. For normal American lifestyles (i.e., obese couch potatoes), you are probably getting way to much sodium and carbs.
Men's Health Magazine had an article on high blood pressure: Beat High Blood Pressure. The entire article is worth reading (as is the magazine as a whole), but here's the lowdown on salt:
SaltThat "salt substitute recipe" explains why "low sodium" foods and drinks usually have so much more potassium than the regular kind. They exchange potassium chloride for sodium chloride.
The white stuff causes your body to retain water, which increases blood volume and, consequently, blood pressure. The results are deadly: The more sodium you eat, the shorter your life, according to researchers at the University of Helsinki. They reviewed more than a dozen studies and found that people who reduced their sodium intake by 30 percent lived an average of 7 years longer than those whose sodium intake remained high. (The national average is over 4,000 milligrams (mg) a day--1,600 mg more than is recommended.)
Do This: Mix up a DIY salt substitute. Australian scientists determined that diluting regular salt with potassium salt and Epsom salt lowers arterial blood pressure by six points. Cooking with the concoction reduces overall sodium intake and boosts blood levels of potassium, a nutrient that naturally regulates blood pressure. Pour 65 percent table salt, 25 percent Morton Salt Substitute (potassium chloride), and 10 percent Epsom salt into a small bowl, mix well, and funnel into a saltshaker. You won't taste the difference.
Not That: Skip the saltshaker altogether. You need some sodium in your diet to survive. (One recent study revealed that too little of the mineral can actually increase your risk of death by 37 percent.) Instead, focus on eliminating supersources of salt, such as processed foods. One frozen dinner can contain as much as 2,000 mg sodium, a cup of cottage cheese packs 918 mg, and a single slice of deli ham packs 240 mg.
So, ~ 2,400mg is the recommended amount of salt this article from Tufts University sez "new" (2004) limits of 2300mg for salt, and 4700mg for potassium
Here's what used to be (I haven't eaten like that for years) an average lunch/dinner at McDonald's for me:
salt numbers:
- ketchup packet = 110mg (I'd use at least 3 packets, if not 4)
- salt packet = 270mg
- large fries = 330mg
- quarter pounder w/cheese = 1190mg
- medium coke = 15 mg (diet is 30mg)
- = 2150mg of salt in one meal!
Xenia to London:
- 14.3 mph average
- 60.02 mi. distance
- 4:10:32 total time
- 23.2 top speed
Sodium:
- 1800mg sodium from the E.F. Gatorade
- 840mg sodium from the Low Sodium V8
- 200mg sodium from a PowerBar
- plus some from a small bag of trail mix at Shoemaker's IGA
- = over 2900mg sodium to keep from cramping. I was cramping afterwards at Kroger's so I bought the V8, and it wasn't that hot out.
Potassium:
- 810mg--EF Gatorade
- 4920mg--Low Sodium V8
- 90mg--PowerBar
- 1350mg--3 bananas (1 before the ride on a peanut butter, mayo, banana sandwich and more 2 during ride)
- = 7170mg potassium
- 126g--EF Gatorade
- 60g--Low Sodium V8
- 19g--PowerBar
- = 205g carbs
Yesterday, four weeks later and in better shape, with the 76 mile ride in the heat, I only drank one 11.5 oz. can of Low Sodium V8 (see below) afterward at Kroger's, trying to find the minimum amount of sodium to keep from cramping and that was all I needed (along with the 3X24 oz. of E.F. plus 2 regular Gatorades with salt I added to them during the ride, and all the water I drank, too).
If you're just looking for some sodium and potassium thinking that might reduce or stop cramps after sports—and you like tomato juice—V8 and Low Sodium V8 are a great way to go. They are now available (at least at Kroger's) in single 11.5 oz. cans for 89 cents. These are the nutrition facts off the cans:
Low Sodium V8
(per one 11.5 oz. can)
- Calories: 70
- Total Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Potassium: 1180mg
- Total Carb: 15mg (12g from sugars)
- Protein: 3g
- Vitamin A: 60%
- Vitamn C: 180%
- Calcium: 4%
- Iron: 4%
Regular V8
(per one 11.5 oz. can):
- Calories: 70
- Total Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0g
- Sodium: 690mg
- Potassium: 670mg
- Total Carb: 14mg (11g from sugars)
- Protein: 3g
- Vitamin A: 60%
- Vitamn C: 170%
- Calcium: 4%
- Iron: 4%
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