‘Sport Drink’ Is the Best Sports Drink

The sports drink market is huge. Companies everywhere try to sell their drink or powder, from pedestrian, cheap options like Gatorade to products far more expensive and boutique — purporting to offer more sophisticated health advantages but generally being similar, only in fancier packaging.Sport Drink is not that; it is a “Make America Healthy Again” associated brand built on making a sports drink powder that is not reliant on the synthetic ingredients that dominate the industry. The big one is maltodextrin, a starch derivative used in nearly every sports drink powder because it dissolves easily and extends shelf life. The problem is that maltodextrin has a glycemic index of 106 to 136 — higher than table sugar’s 65 — meaning it spikes blood sugar faster than the sugar it supposedly replaces. Sport Drink’s supposedly founders spent an extra six months in development specifically to formulate a powder that did not need it.Because it uses real sugar, it has 40 calories per serving — more than some of the diet alternatives on the market. But their Lemon-Lime sports drink is one of the healthier options available, and the best tasting I have tried. Sport Drink also sells a diet, sugar-free version, though I have not tried it yet.Those used to sweetener-based products will instantly be able to tell that this has real cane sugar in it — a certain molasses quality that, when paired with the fruit-juice-derived lemon-lime, tastes excellent — and it still has a relatively strong electrolyte blend. Sport Drink uses Dead Sea salt and magnesium glycinate, which is said to be gentler on the stomach than the magnesium citrate in many competitors.The only caveats are that it foams up aggressively when added to a bottle — and, because it is a more boutique brand, it is expensive. A can runs $40, which works out to about $1 per serving depending on how generous one is with the tablespoon. Gatorade powder, bought in bulk, costs about 12 cents per serving. But this tastes a lot better than Gatorade, and for those who care about avoiding maltodextrin and synthetic additives, that gap might be worth it.

‘Sport Drink’ Is the Best Sports Drink

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