Five Home Isotonic Drinks That Will Improve Your Performance

We have for you five recipes for isotonic drinks that will be easy to prepare. You can use them instead of ready-made products to enjoy the natural composition and safety of your drinks. Before we proceed, let us explain what isotonic drinks are and whether they are suitable for everyone. They also carry some risk, which is often overlooked.

What are isotonic drinks and do they really work?

If you are up-to-date with sports news, you know that drinking isotonic drinks is the foundation for every athlete. More energy, better concentration, performance, and other benefits which are listed by every drink manufacturer. Do they really work? Why are you encouraged to drink them instead of water?

Sports drinks, or isotonic drinks, are used by athletes to compensate for the loss of electrolytes caused by excessive sweating. Electrolytes are minerals such as calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium that help to maintain a good balance of fluids in the human body. Is this all that isotonic drinks contain? They are full of carbohydrates to support your activity – your body draws energy from them. In the store-bought products, you will find mixtures full of sugars, sometimes proteins, caffeine and other additives that are better or worse for your health.

Should you drink isotonic drinks instead of water?

Water is necessary for the proper functioning of the body and accounts for up to 60-70% of your body weight. Loss of just a few percent can lead to death. You may have heard that without water we can survive on average 4 days and without food even several times longer. We lose water every day through urine, feces, sweat, and even through the skin and exhaled air. In order to replenish its shortages, it is recommended to drink fluids during the day in a quantity that depends on your individual needs. What about isotonic drinks?

Of course, water is their main ingredient, but they also contain carbohydrates and electrolytes to improve your performance. The main electrolytes available in the ready beverages are sodium and potassium.

Water should be your first choice before, during and after physical activity, but it is worth having a healthy isotonic drink at hand, especially during prolonged activity. If you want to run a marathon or plan to spend hours on a mountain trail or cycling, you can use it to hydrate your body more quickly.

However, it is worth being cautious if you are not training for a very long time – the isotonic drinks contain sugars, but they have little nutritional value, so you can start gaining weight, and they can lead to problems with your teeth.

Isotonic drinks – to drink or not to drink?

Isotonic drinks can bring you many benefits, but, as mentioned earlier, they only make sense during a prolonged effort of more than 60 minutes. Why? Drinking isotonic drinks during intense cycling or running for 30–60 minutes has a positive effect on athletes – this is what 6 out of 9 studies suggest, but the rest have not confirmed this. One of them showed that the drink improved performance by 2% during one hour of activity compared to placebo.

How do the isotonic drinks work? Your body stores carbohydrates in muscles and the liver as glycogen, used as fuel during your workout. Ingestion of carbohydrates before or during the exercise may slow the use of the body stores and thus extend the time after which you will start to feel fatigue.

Unfortunately, there are no specific studies to confirm that the isotonic drinks help in short-term activities such as sprints, agility exercises, jumps, as well as strength training.

Another group of sports is the so-called stop-and-go sports and team sports, such as football and basketball. They are called this way because they feature alternating rest and intense activity. Some studies do indeed confirm that drinking carbohydrate drinks during such activities reduces fatigue and improves sports performance.

Research assessing the impact of isotopic drinks on athletes exercising continuously from 2 to 4 hours has shown that their performance is improved.

What is the quantity of carbohydrates needed to improve performance during training? Small quantities of up to 30 grams per hour may improve performance in exercises lasting 30–75 minutes, although only marginally. It is recommended that up to 60 g of carbohydrates be consumed per hour when training for 2–3 hours. These are recommendations for continuous activity without rest.

Isotonic drinks – are they for you?

A homemade isotonic drink is more than just a beverage to quench your thirst after exercise. It is a specially composed liquid that helps restore the body's electrolyte balance. Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium are essential for the proper functioning of muscles and the nervous system. During intensive training, we lose electrolytes with sweat, so replenishing them is crucial.

 

For those who exercise regularly, it's also important that homemade solutions help avoid harmful chemicals often found in ready products. Introducing such drinks is a simple way to support the body during intense exercise and in daily life.

Recipes for homemade isotonic drinks

If you like natural ingredients and prefer them to ready mixes from manufacturers, you can make effective and tasty isotonic drinks. A homemade isotonic drink is more than just a beverage to quench your thirst after exercise. Electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium are essential for the proper functioning of muscles and the nervous system. During intensive training, we lose electrolytes with sweat, so replenishing them is crucial.

Preparing a homemade sugar-free isotonic drink has plenty of advantages. First of all, we can control the ingredients and avoid artificial additives and excess sugar present in isotonic drinks available in stores. Using simple products that we often have on hand, such as lemons, honey or salt, we can create a healthy alternative to store-bought equivalents.

It's worth sparing a moment to think how to make a homemade isotonic drink to effectively hydrate the body. The key ingredient is obviously water, which is the base of any drink of this type. Add to it a little sea salt or Himalayan salt — a source of sodium essential for maintaining the fluid and electrolyte balance.

Natural lemon juice provides vitamin C and adds a refreshing taste to our drink. Honey acts as a natural sweetener and a source of energy needed during physical activity. It gives our homemade isotonic drink a unique character and adds even more value to it.

The benefits of consuming such drinks are plenty: improved performance, better body hydration and faster recovery after exercise.

🥃 Lemon and pomegranate isotonic drink

Creating a homemade isotonic drink is a great opportunity to experiment with a variety of fruits that not only enrich the taste, but are also a great source of valuable vitamins and minerals. To ensure that our homemade isotonic drink recipe provides effective hydration, it is important to add a pinch of sea salt or Himalayan salt — these minerals help maintain the body's electrolyte balance during exercise. Let's not forget to add a teaspoon of honey as a natural sweetener; its presence guarantees a delicate sweetness without the use of sugar.

Ingredients:

 

Mix all ingredients and, if desired, add magnesium and/or calcium powder.

🍯 Honey and lemon isotonic drink

Such an isotonic drink is an excellent option for those looking for natural ways to boost endurance during intense exercise. Its main ingredients are water, honey, and lemon. These substances improve our body's ability to cope with dehydration and recover faster. This recipe for a homemade isotonic drink is perfect for athletes enjoying long activities such as marathon running or cycling. Enjoying such an isotonic drink before or during exercise keeps you optimally hydrated without overloading the body with excess calories or artificial additives.

Ingredients:

 

Mix all ingredients together.

🍓 Strawberry isotonic drink

Seasonal fruits can be an excellent addition to our isotonic drink. Think of strawberries, which are rich in vitamin C and give the drink a distinctive flavour while supporting the immune system by providing antioxidants — these are beneficial to health.

Ingredients:

 

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend them until smooth.

🍋 Lemon isotonic drink

Preparing a homemade isotonic drink is a great way to provide your body with the necessary ingredients after intense exercise. Ingredients such as lemons, honey and sea salt combine to create the perfect drink that not only hydrates but also energises the body. This simple recipe delivers everything you need to effectively rehydrate your body after exercise without the addition of artificial sugar or preservatives. Consuming such an isotonic drink before or after workout helps maintain optimal performance and supports muscle regeneration.

Ingredients:

 

Mix all ingredients together.

🌿 Mint isotonic drink:

Mint has a remarkably refreshing effect on the body. Its cooling effect makes it an ideal addition to a drink enjoyed after an intense exercise. What's more, mint aids digestion and relieves stomach aches, making it an excellent choice for those caring for post-workout wellbeing. These natural ingredients add not only flavour, but also health benefits, making our isotonic drink even more valuable. This unique recipe for a sugar-free homemade isotonic drink is an excellent alternative to products available on the market.

Ingredients:

 

Mix all ingredients together.

Some tips when preparing homemade isotonic drinks

Want to prepare the best isotonic drink? Remember that water is the most important ingredient, so use high quality mineral or filtered water. Also, care should be taken of the vessel in which you store your isotonic drink, which should be free from harmful BPA. Remember that the squeezed fruit quickly loses its nutritional value (we recommend always using fresh fruit), so try not to make a drink many hours before your activity.

If you use cold water, it will be difficult to dissolve the natural honey, so it is best to dissolve it in a small amount of heated water. However, try not to exceed the temperature of 40 degrees, as you will lose its benefits.

To sum up, this short journey through the world of homemade solutions to dehydration: making our own isotonic drink is a simple way to promote health and achieve better sports performance without unnecessary added sugar or preservatives. Feel free to experiment in the kitchen and create your own unique recipes!

Are you ready for training and is your isotonic drink waiting for you? See the best training accessories, including bottles, which will be ideal for your new sports drink.