Be Healthier: The Natural Sports Drink

Have ever been running and suddenly noticed a terrible stabbing pain in the side of your stomach, or a cramp that shoots through your foot and makes it impossible to walk?  These very uncomfortable experiences, are symptoms—your body’s natural signals—that you most likely are dehydrated or have an imbalance of electrolytes. 

Even though I had run for several years, I never discovered the right way to hydrate.  I always suffered with cramping, and assumed it was a natural pain of the activity.  When I began favoring yoga to my gym workouts a couple of years ago, I realized that plain water wasn’t enough to keep up with my fluid and electrolyte loss from the profuse sweating. Very quickly after my first class, I started feeling poorly. I was very dehydrated and a classmate suggested I try coconut water.  After my first Zico, pure premium coconut water, I immediately went from nauseous, dizzy and weak to feeling like superwoman.  It totally revived me.  I walked straight home and read about the amazing liquid and educated myself about why it helped me feel so good. I have since become knowledgeable and devout believer in coconut water for hydration and electrolytes. It is the natural sports drink, cure for too much alcohol, and provides lots of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.

Maintaining our body’s electrolyte balance is essential for our organs and cells to function properly.   Although the minerals required are in relatively low amounts, it is a crucial harmony that, when disturbed, causes noticeable effects like cramping and nausea.  The importance of electrolyte balance is discussed in circles of athletes, but the average person may be less familiar with the concept. Thanks to very effective marketing by the sports drink industry, most of us-including me until the past couple of years- mindlessly reach for a brand sports drink before or after a workout, not realizing there are any other options for rehydration and replenishment of crucial electrolytes.  For that matter, most of us don’t really even understand what electrolytes are and how they affect our bodies.  We just drink this sugary, salty, artificially flavored, colored and processed concoction because it is popular and we aren’t aware of any other options.  I am a huge believer in exploring alternatives.  It is especially interesting to compare a natural remedy to a man-made or chemical solution from a lab.

While I have permanently given up Gatorade in favor of my tetra pack of Zico, fresh coconut water is the absolute best for taste and nutrition than the packaged stuff. Many health foods carry coconuts for drinking as well.  Since it isn’t always practical to locate, I think drinking it in the packaged form is perfectly fine, but if you have the option to buy a young coconut, or have the opportunity to try it at a local juice bar, it is a treat.

**My favorite brand of the packaged version is Zico, since it tastes less sweet than the others and has a couple of naturally infused flavored options.  If it isn’t available in your health food store, they can also be ordered in bulk, which is the most cost effective way to buy it.