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Written by Jason Mahokey
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Wednesday, 30 January 2008 |
What's In Your Bottle?
 I've been intrigued with the new variety of Electrolyte tabs/powders that have become more available over the past year or two. The virtually tasteless electrolyte liquid Elete has been around for a while now, and recently Nuun, Zym, and CamelBak Elixir dissolving tabs have become available. Readily available for "Joe Middle Ring" (Me!) at your local grocer is Propel Fitness Water (made by GatorAde) which is also now available in single serving pouches.
I recently picked up pack of the Propel Powder just to add some taste to the seemingly endless task of hydrating and re-hydrating. It's not bad, but I was (sorta still am) doubtful that I would use it for anything other than some time on the trainer and to add some taste to my water when re-hydrating. But it did make me want to see how some of these tabs and powders stack up against each other. There are many more than this available, but I selected these 6 products because they are the ones that have peaked my interest and most of them are available easily to me via Bikeman.com.
I'm drawn to these products since during races I prefer to get most of my hydration/electrolyte intake from my hydration pack, and carbs/ protein/calories from my bottles and gels during races. Many of these products seem like they could be added to the hydration pack without worrying so much about "sticky bladder stank". CamelBak Elixir is even marketed as such. Well they don't actually use the term "sticky bladder stank" but the more consumer friendly phrase "no sticky reservoir cleanup". I've tried to get the info as accurately as I can but I ask you pardon any typos that there may be. Lots of acids, chlorides, vitamins and "what not" floating around in this stuff. Got a little bug eyed. I originally worked this info up for my own use to compare and see what I wanted to try out. But then thought maybe some other folks could use it for their comparisons.
The information provided is more of a reference than a comparison or a review. I'm not championing any of them right now, because all I've used so far is Propel and Endurolyte (capsules). On PAPER Nuun and CamelBak's Elixir look like the ones I'd like to try the most, with Zym coming in a very close 3rd. Hope to get some samples of these soon. I do know that Bikeman.com carries many of these and as I try them I'll post some info back here and/or on my blog- thesoiledchamois.com. This is another good thing about the off season and base miles. It's a good time to experiment with new stuff. You do NOT want to try anything new on race day. This I tell you from experience! I had a little Jelly Belly Sports Beans vs. Perpetuem vomit showdown at the Leesburg Bakers Dozen race last year. Yikes! vomit meets top tube, with a twist of cramped stomach muscles and trail side dry heaves. Dammmmn! Did that hurt. So race day = NOTHING NEW!
I feel you can never have too much variety in your nutritional arsenal. I used to swear by using JUST Hammer Products and still use them. But now I like mix things up. It keeps my mind and tummy happy over a long race. You never know at what point in a race your belly is gonna say "ONE MORE DROP OF HEED AND I'M PUKING ALL OVER YOUR TOP TUBE!!" Plus if your drink tastes like hell, you won't drink it as much. If you don't drink it, you won't get any of it's benefits, no matter HOW good it supposedly is for you.
Again, these are just some nutritional break downs to see how they stack up against each other. I've tried to base the information on servings for a large water bottle. If you are interested in these products I hope the info will help you narrow down some choices. Obviously there are some things that only you can decide if you REALLY need. Hell, some of the stuff only someone with a PHD in Biochemistry & Nutrition would know if you REALLY need. Regardless, the info is here. I've included links to the product pages on Bikeman.com and also included the web addresses for the product's manufacturer so you can see what their claims are and for more information. Happy hydrating!
Propel Fitness Powder*
1 pack makes 20 oz.
propelfitnesswater.com
20 calories
00 g fat
60 mg sodium
60 g Carbs
04 g Sugars
00 g Protein
(vitamins were not indicated in Milligrams but rather percentages)
10% DV of Vitamin C
25% DV of Niacin
25% DV of Vitamin B6
4% DV of Vitamin B12
25% DV or Pantothenic Acid
*Powder vs. Bottled Propel Ingredients may vary.
These are based on Propel Powder
CamelBak Elixir
1 Tablet makes 24oz
camelbak.com
10 Calories
0 Fat
1g Carbs
86 mg Vitamin C
36 mg Calcium
18 mg Magnesium
1.4 mg Manganese
68 mg Chloride
410 mg Sodium
70 mg Potassium
Nuun Active Hydration
1 Tablet Makes a 16 oz.
nuun.com
20 Calories
00 g Fat
360.0 Sodium (carbonates)
100.0 Potassium (bicarbonate)
12.5 Calcium (carbonate)
25 mg Magnesium (sulfate)
37.5 mg Vitamin C
500 mcg Vitamin B2
Zym (Endurance) Electrolyte Tabs
1 Tablet Makes 1 16 to 20 oz serving
gozym.com
07 Calories
00 g Fat
00 g Carbs
01 g Sugar
250 mg Sodium
50 mg Potassium
30 mg Calcium
50 mg Magnesium
100 mg Vitamin C
05 mg Vitamin B5
08 mg Vitamin B6
40 mcg Vitamin B12
Elete
1/2 Tsp. Makes 1 32 oz. Serving.
eletewater.com
00 Calories
00 Fat
00 Carbs
00 Sugar
125 mg Sodium
130 mg Potassium
20 mg Sulfate
45 Mg Magnesium
390 mg Chloride
Endurolytes by Hammer Nutrition
.25 Tsp. = 1 Endurlyte Capsule
hammernutrition.com
00 Calories
00 Fat
00 Carbs
00 Sugar
40 mg Sodium
60 mg Chloride
50 mg Calcium
25 mg Magnesium
25 mg Potassium
6.7 mg Vitamin B6
1.6 mg Manganese
17 mg L-Tyrosine
50 mg Glycine
Jason
"The Soiled Chamois"
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