Electrolyte Replacement Products?

AlanD

Anyone know of a good electrolyte replacement product that can be taken orally in a pill or added to a hydration system (camelback) to be taken during an endurance event to help prevent or ease cramping?

Morpheus

The army give us one when we go out on exercises, in the ration pack, its woeful but works wonders, i dump it into my camelback. I will check the name on it later, if ive any sachets left from camp.

When training soccer i make my own, 2 spoons of sugar and pinch of salt. Cant remember where i got THAT recipe, it sounds crap but it works (maybe a placebo !?)

AlanD

I've read about the home made concoctions but believe that simply adding salt may not be effective enough. Our daily intake of salt should be more than enough to keep sodium levels up, but I think it's the combination of everything else that better replaces your electrolytes.

Your placebo could be working alright, but if that soccer game ended up last 2/3 hours how would it work I wonder?

That army mix sounds good. I must go to the health store and check out what they have anyway.

I find that even if I'm fit enough for a particular event, I eventually end up cramping in unusual places and it's probably becuase I'm not fit enough, but taking an electrolyte replacement would help.

Degsy

Chemists have a complete electrolyte replacement called Diorolyte,its a single dose sachet and costs about forty cents a pop.

AlanD

of course yes! Isn't it a remedy for diarrhoea sufferers?

I must check it out and trial run it before the next race.....

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

AlanD

I agree and I do eat bananas before any sporting event, but I reckon I have the balance wrong between sodium and potassium. So I'll give Diorolyte a go to see how it works out.

If I sweat profusely for 2 hours and the muscles don't get any break then I've probably lost a lot of salt and the potassium levels are not high enough either.

Clive

Product Name:
Rehidrat
WADA Status: Permitted
You should record your reference number: 102090
5/9/2006 19:40:20
Drug Category Electrolytes
Used for Oral rehydration therapy, Diarrhoea
Prescription Status Non-prescription medicine

Explanation of Status Permitted when used in accordance with the product’s Product Authorisation.
Active Ingredients
Ingredients: Status:
Sodium Chloride 440mg Permitted
Potassium Chloride 380mg Permitted
Sodium Bicarbonate 420mg Permitted
citric acid 440mg Permitted
glucose 4.09g Permitted
sucrose 8.07g Permitted
Cause Drowsiness Permitted

Product Name:
Rapolyte Sachets
WADA Status: Permitted
You should record your reference number: 102091
5/9/2006 19:41:27
Drug Category Electrolytes
Used for Oral rehydration therapy, Diarrhoea
Prescription Status Non-prescription medicine

Explanation of Status Permitted when used in accordance with the product’s Product Authorisation.
Active Ingredients
Ingredients: Status:
Sodium chloride 350mg Permitted
Potassium chloride 300mg Permitted
Sodium Citrate 600mg Permitted
glucose 4g Permitted

Product Name:
Electrolade
WADA Status: Permitted
You should record your reference number: 102092
5/9/2006 19:42:0
Drug Category Electrolytes
Used for Oral rehydration therapy, Diarrhoea
Prescription Status Non-prescription medicine


Explanation of Status Permitted when used in accordance with the product’s Product Authorisation.
Active Ingredients
Ingredients: Status:
Sodium chloride 236mg, potassium chloride 300mg, sodium bicarbonate 500mg, glucose 4g. Permitted
Additional Information Product may not be currently marketed

Dioralyte
WADA Status: Permitted
You should record your reference number: 102093
5/9/2006 19:42:33
Drug Category Electrolytes
Used for Oral rehydration therapy, Diarrhoea
Prescription Status Non-prescription medicine

Explanation of Status Permitted when used in accordance with the product’s Product Authorisation.
Active Ingredients
Ingredients: Status:
Sod. chloride 0.47g, potassium chloride 0.3g, disodium hydrogen citrate 0.53g, glucose 3.56g. Permitted

There's the four products listed on eirpharm.com, and their status in sport. Diarolyte can be picked up in Boots fairly easily and is good stuff.

Enduro

Another good eloctrolyte replacement is Nuun Tablets. Much more palatable than deoralite, and they are very effective.

I've used an energy gel, called voom or vooma, that also doubles up with electrolye replacement. Its very very good indeed.

What exactly is the nature of the endurance event you are doing? I do lots of endurance sports, and tbh, its only in extremes that I reckon I need electrolyte replacements specifically, as opposed to normal run of the mill isotonic powders/gels/drinks.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

AlanD

I'm racing in the Liffey Descent on Saturday. It's marathon kayak racing starting at the K Club and finishing at Islandbridge. It's about 18 miles in total. This is about 2/3 times what I normally race throughout the year, so this race always takes it's toll. Normally after about 1.5 or 2 hours, some smaller muscles start to cramp up. Forearms, fingers and sometimes abs, but mostly forearms and fingers.

So I reckon electrolyte replacement should help a lot.

Enduro

In that scenario, personally, I would use the voom gels (with water), and try and pace myself more carefully to survive the full distance without cramping (start easy and go harder towards the end). Make sure you're well rested for a few days beforehand, and eat a big meal of proper food on Friday night. Load up with some energy/isotonic drinks before the start (canoeing is particularly easy for this... you don't have to wory about it sloshing around and causing stitch). I've kayaked for 8 or 9 hours (twice!) in one sitting earlier this year in the middle of an adventure race, so I speak with a little experience of endurance kayaking!

Damn anyway... thats another year I've forgotten to give the liffey descent a go.

AlanD

Would the voom gels be more effective than dioralyte?

Yeah the preparation a few days before the race is important alright. So I normally rest well, get well hydrated, get in some sports drinks, eat bananas, etc. My routine pre race is decent enough really.

Thing is, the Liffey Descent isn't a huge race in terms of lenght. The higher division marathon paddlers race this distance every other week throughout the year anyway, but my division only does half or less this distance which is why it's a bit of a bigger deal to me. The winners will be home in about 2 hours, so I'm hoping to be home in about 2.5 hours or less....all depends on whether I take a swim or not.

AlanD

Any idea where you would normally buy Vooma gel?

Enduro

Probably too late, but what the hell, might be useful for future reference...

We (My team) got our supply of Voom Gels from the Cycle Superstore in Tallaght. proably not as effective as deoralite for pure electrolyte replacement, but much more likely to be all-round effective for you in the liffey descent, as its more than just electrolytes. It would only take a second or to to consume, which in the context of a relatively short race (in endurance terms) is useful.

Your preparation certainly sound more than adequate for the liffey descent, which would lead me to suspect that the root cause of your cramping is that you're not pacing yourself correctly, and going out too hard and fast. If you're used to racing much shorter distances and rarely race the longer stuff it probably seems natural to blast out of the blocks (metaphorically speaking, of course), but for a marathon you need to start a lot slower.

Good luck, and have fun!

AlanD

Dioralyte worked like a dream on Saturday. Had no cramping issues at all which was brilliant.

Only for my boat got damaged and I starting paddling something resembling the titanic I would have posted a decent time. Water leaks cost me about an hour I reckon.

t-ha

AlanD wrote:

Dioralyte worked like a dream on Saturday. Had no cramping issues at all which was brilliant.

Only for my boat got damaged and I starting paddling something resembling the titanic I would have posted a decent time. Water leaks cost me about an hour I reckon.

LOL - I punched a hole in my bow at straffan one year... :rolleyes:

Were you competing or doing it for the experience (like have you run it before & was cramping an issue that time)?

AlanD

I was racing it up to the point of taking on buckets of water. I certainly wouldn't have been even close to the winners, but wanted a decent time and finish mid field in my class (K1).

I've done the race a good few times and cramping is always an issue, but really only because the distance is outside my normal race distance. So the muscles are not prepared for it. The aim for next year would be to step up training distances and be more prepared. Dioralyte helped immensely this year though, plus my increase in fitness probably helped too.