# best hydration products



## Part time cyclist (8 Mar 2017)

what is your poison???


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## S-Express (8 Mar 2017)

Water is pretty good. Widely available, too.


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## jefmcg (9 Mar 2017)

my poison? pretty well any artificial sweeteners. Who decided they were essential for athletes (and children: see "no added sugar")?


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## Sharky (9 Mar 2017)

Have you tried "Wobbler" beer?


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## marzjennings (9 Mar 2017)

Water, as it's the only thing that actually hydrates the body. Now if you're also looking to replace electrolytes lost through perspiration, then I stick with gatorade as it's so cheap over here.


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## Yellow Saddle (9 Mar 2017)

The use of the term "hydration product" indicates that you've already fallen for the Gatorade brainwashing. Think water, rather than water laced with HFCS, the root cause behind obesity and type 2 diabetes.


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## Drago (9 Mar 2017)

For pure hydration, water.

For the replacement of other substances then other drinkies may help, but for replacing lost water nothing beats water.


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## vickster (9 Mar 2017)

Water. I'll occasionally use a high5 grapefruit tab or preferably sugar containing high juice squash (Waitrose) on long, hot rides
Caffe latte (skinny wet)
Tea


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## S-Express (9 Mar 2017)

Something tells me this thread is not going quite the way the OP intended...


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## Drago (9 Mar 2017)

I suspect the OP may have taken the term 'hydration' to mean something other than the replacement of lost water.

The replacement of other lost chemical compounds is not hydration.


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## Spiderweb (9 Mar 2017)

Water often with a high 5 zero tablet or two especially on hot days.


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## MichaelW2 (9 Mar 2017)

I use dihydrogen monoxide. You can buy it in dehydrated form so just add water.


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## winjim (9 Mar 2017)

jefmcg said:


> my poison? pretty well any artificial sweeteners. Who decided they were essential for athletes (and children: see "no added sugar")?


Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is an association between use of artificial sweeteners and hypoglycaemic episodes in children.


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## martint235 (9 Mar 2017)

Water. I tried Zero tabs for a while but they seemed to make any cramps I had worse. So plenty of plain water.

Once I'm home I have a few beers as these reduce the possibility of cramping plus they give my body time to recover anything it's lost by eating food.


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## KnackeredBike (9 Mar 2017)

Nothing but the presidential stuff for me. Gets me some weird looks in the gym.


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## pclay (9 Mar 2017)

Water. Its the cheapest product available, and works the best.


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## theloafer (9 Mar 2017)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/health_and_fitness/4289704.stm


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## winjim (9 Mar 2017)

By chance look what just dropped through my front door. Shine _and_ hydration and only £2.50. I think I'll go for the tangerine splash, I'm feeling bold.


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## Dogtrousers (9 Mar 2017)

Swimming against the tide a bit here but I tend to like my water flavoured, so I like squash. Water on its own is acceptable tho.


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## MontyVeda (9 Mar 2017)

Water, preferably cold. I tend to bang a couple of 1/3rd filled water bottles in the freezer* the night before and top them up with tap water... the mass of ice will keep it cool for hours on the hottest days.

*some rigid plastic will break under the strain.


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## david k (18 Mar 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> The use of the term "hydration product" indicates that you've already fallen for the Gatorade brainwashing. Think water, rather than water laced with HFCS, the root cause behind obesity and type 2 diabetes.



Please excuse my ignorance but what's HFCS? I'll try googling it so may find the answer before I see a reply


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## Drago (18 Mar 2017)

Handy French Cream Spreader?


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## david k (18 Mar 2017)

Drago said:


> Handy French Cream Spreader?


Thought so, that's what google said anyway


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## jefmcg (18 Mar 2017)

High fructose corn syrup. It's a suspect in the obesity epidemic.


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## ayceejay (18 Mar 2017)

Squash? although that means something different over here I remember this time.
My brother was not the sharpest knife in the quiver (keep up) but when my mother made his lunch to go off to work he took the bottle with the undiluted orange stuff instead of the diluted bottle she had made. 
What would you do?
Well he drank the undiluted stuff. He wasn't well for a while after that


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## CanucksTraveller (18 Mar 2017)

It's water with a high5 tablet for me on most rides of 50k or under, but I do use high5 energy source on big days out. 100k rides will see me use 2 x 750ml bottles at least.


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## Yellow Saddle (19 Mar 2017)

david k said:


> Please excuse my ignorance but what's HFCS? I'll try googling it so may find the answer before I see a reply


As jefmcg said, high fructose corn syrup. Books have been written about the stuff and its very existence is interesting. It is a product invented by political will, not requirement.


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## CaadX (2 Apr 2017)

I suspect that one of the finest endurance athletes on the forum may sugest a certain Irish formula I could not of course endorse it either way !


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## Alan O (3 Apr 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> As jefmcg said, high fructose corn syrup. Books have been written about the stuff and its very existence is interesting. It is a product invented by political will, not requirement.


On a visit to the USA some years ago I remember someone I was working with there being horrified that Coca Cola in the UK was being made with refined sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup - he'd been led to believe the corn syrup was the natural healthy choice.


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## jefmcg (3 Apr 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> It is a product invented by political will, not requirement.


US has a lot of corn. Famously from the 38(!?) ingredients in McNuggets, 13 of them a derived from corn (and the ones that aren't include a mutagen and butane).

Anyway, this has nothing to do with hydration products. On that subject, here is my current favourite.


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## Yellow Saddle (3 Apr 2017)

jefmcg said:


> US has a lot of corn. Famously from the 38(!?) ingredients in McNuggets, 13 of them a derived from corn (and the ones that aren't include a mutagen and butane).
> 
> Anyway, this has nothing to do with hydration products. On that subject, here is my current favourite.
> 
> View attachment 345457



What's in that stuff?


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## Dogtrousers (3 Apr 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> What's in that stuff?



Product Summary. Lemon Syrup. Ingredients. Sugar, Water, Lemon Juice from Concentrate (20%),Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Acid: Citric Acid, Flavourings, Stabiliser: E445. Nutrition. Typical values. For 100 ml* � Energy. 153kJ. Energy. 36kcal. Recycling. Component. Material. Recyclable.
Source

E445

Edit: It's a favourite of mine. Being a typical remoaner my cupboard is packed with quinoa and poncy foreign muck.


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## kingrollo (3 Apr 2017)

I like High 5 - £10 a tub from a wiggle. It probably wouldn't make any difference to my performance\recovery if I used plain water. When Im working hard on my bike I like something with a bit of taste. At any cafe stops I head for the bananas and milk shakes - no idea of the science but it makes me feel better.

Same goes for food really - I could survive on porridge, carrots and fish- but I wouldn't want to.

My routine for longer rides High 5 drink, Oat bars on the ride - boiled eggs and banana's at the roadside. I think its a case of whats works for you.


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## Drago (3 Apr 2017)

Gravy. Gravy is the best hydration product.


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## Yellow Saddle (3 Apr 2017)

kingrollo said:


> I like High 5 - £10 a tub from a wiggle. It probably wouldn't make any difference to my performance\recovery if I used plain water. When Im working hard on my bike I like something with a bit of taste. At any cafe stops I head for the bananas and milk shakes - no idea of the science but it makes me feel better.
> 
> Same goes for food really - I could survive on porridge, carrots and fish- but I wouldn't want to.
> 
> My routine for longer rides High 5 drink, Oat bars on the ride - boiled eggs and banana's at the roadside. I think its a case of whats works for you.



If I were you, I'd watch out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39459831


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## kingrollo (3 Apr 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> If I were you, I'd watch out.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39459831



He already had me last week.


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## Drago (3 Apr 2017)

Yellow Saddle said:


> If I were you, I'd watch out.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39459831



He d'oesnt' frightten'd me.


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## kingrollo (3 Apr 2017)

Drago said:


> He d'oesnt' frightten'd me.



Be more better if we all gotten him weren't it .....innit


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## RoubaixCube (3 Apr 2017)

Water with a zero high5 tablet or two when doing any sort of ride beyond 30miles


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## dfthe1 (6 Apr 2017)

Water with just a splash of squash for me, for a bit of taste. I like Ocean Spray cranberry. 

I find buying squash harder and harder, though. I can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners, but it's really difficult to find squashes without them now.

I'll be really interested to see how we view artificial sweeteners in a decade or so -- I don't think they're as 'healthy' as they're made out to be.


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## tyred (7 Apr 2017)

I like my preferred hydration product so much that I have it piped into my home


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## ojoman (10 Apr 2017)

Love those High5 tabs - especially the ones with caffeine in them. Sometimes I put BCAAs in to help with recovery, but I guess the jury still out on their usefulness.


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## thecube (21 Apr 2017)

I quite like the high 5 zero tablets. Whilst water is normally fine, I find these tablets are good for the colder months when I don't want to drink as regularly as the summer. They also contain vital electrolytes that can be lost during dehydration, therefore hydrate quicker than just water. They normally have no added sugars too.


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## Milzy (21 Apr 2017)

The local river water put through my RO unit then power heads pump it around for a day to PH balance it. Tastes better than Volvic.


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## pubrunner (24 Apr 2017)

CaadX said:


> I suspect that one of the finest endurance athletes on the forum may sugest a certain Irish formula I could not of course endorse it either way !



Shurely not . . . hic !


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## Dogtrousers (25 Apr 2017)

Here's a product I don't understand. High 5 zero! Zero calories! 

Hang on, this isn't a slimming aid. Why would we care if there are zero calories in it? Why would we even _want_ it to be calorie free?

When I'm cycling I tend to be stuffing calories in.


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## jefmcg (25 Apr 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> Here's a product I don't understand. High 5 zero! Zero calories!
> 
> Hang on, this isn't a slimming aid. Why would we care if there are zero calories in it? Why would we even _want_ it to be calorie free?
> 
> When I'm cycling I tend to be stuffing calories in.


I had a "rant' about this a while back https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-zero-calorie-drinks.108938/

(well, really other people ranted more than me. Basic answer was "it's useful if you are training to win elite racing")


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## Dogtrousers (25 Apr 2017)

jefmcg said:


> I had a "rant' about this a while back https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-zero-calorie-drinks.108938/
> 
> (well, really other people ranted more than me. Basic answer was "it's useful if you are training to win elite racing")


Thanks. I'll bear it in mind next time I plan to win some elite racing.


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## dan_bo (25 Apr 2017)

Vimpto.


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## Dogtrousers (25 Apr 2017)

dan_bo said:


> Vimpto.


It's VIMTO - easily remembered as:
It's an anagram of VOMIT
There's no Pee in it.


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## dan_bo (25 Apr 2017)

Dogtrousers said:


> It's VIMTO - easily remembered as:
> It's an anagram of VOMIT
> There's no Pee in it.


you're not from round here are you.


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## dan_bo (25 Apr 2017)

see.


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