A homemade electrolyte drink for POTS made with freshly minced ginger, citrus juice, and added salt for a healthier way to stay refreshed. This is also great for athletes or anyone else who needs to stay hydrated.
I’ve been meaning to make my own homemade electrolyte drinks for aaages. Before I get to the recipe though I feel like I should give a little backstory about why it’s important for us personally. One of my main goals with this blog is to raise awareness about some of these health issues, so if this gets a bit boring…oh well.
For years I heard Mike talk about how difficult it was for him to stand up for long periods of time. Waiting in lines made him feel dizzy and showering always left him feeling as if he had just run a marathon. Those issues were either shrugged off by doctors who didn’t seem to get it, or written off as being just another chronic fatigue problem. It wasn’t until he was finally diagnosed with Coeliac Disease and started seeing his gastroenterologist, who recognized the symptoms that Mike described as being typical issues that people with POTS experience. After waiting a few months to get the proper testing done Mike was also diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Say that five times fast.
Postural: posture
Orthostatic: moving in an upright position
Tachycardia: abnormally rapid heart rate
To put it in the most basic terms it means that people with POTS experience an increased heart rate in upright positions that lead to a number of symptoms like exhaustion, dizziness, and fainting. For any of you Deliciously Ella fans out there, she also had POTS which inspired her to start blogging about healthy eating and holistic living in the first place.
There are two things that you’re likely to hear from your doctor after getting a POTS diagnosis: drink more water and increase your salt intake so that you retain that water. Dehydration will increase the symptoms of POTS because the blood volume circulating in your body is reduced which also leads to reduced blood pressure. Low blood pressure = dizziness/fainting.
If you drink too much water you start to dilute electrolytes in your body which can also lead to worsened symptoms.This is where the homemade electrolyte drink comes in. Electrolyte drinks are infused with vitamins and minerals (potassium and sodium) that help prevent dehydration. Most of the time if you want to buy electrolyte drinks you’re limited to things like Smart Water and Gatorade. As much as I like Smart Water, paying $3 for a bottle of water just doesn’t feel all that smart to me. As for Gatorade…I can’t even look at Gatorade without wanting to be sick but that’s another story for another day.
I’m sure that there are supplements that you can add to water to make your own form of electrolyte drinks at home, but after doing a bit of research I realized just how easy it is to make our own healthy version at home.
I borrowed the skeleton for this recipe from the Dr. Oz website, but decided to add some extra citrus for some added calcium. I also threw in some ginger because a) ginger is amazing in everything and b) it’s an anti inflammatory food that will never not be useful to Mike.
If you have the option, I’d recommend using sea salt over table salt for this because table salt is processed in a way that removes trace vitamins and minerals which is exactly what we are trying to achieve in this drink.
I hope I didn’t bore you too much with the information overload! It’s hard to discuss health issues like this without going into the how’s and the what’s involved.
POTS or no POTS, athlete or not, this is still a great drink for anybody who wants to stay hydrated and refreshed.
- 1 liter filtered water
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (about 1 inch chunk)
- Juice from 1 lime
- Juice from 1 orange
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons honey or agave/maple for vegan option
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- In a medium sized sauce pot warm your water on a low heat.
- Add all of your ingredients to the sauce pot and stir until the sweetener (honey or maple), salt, and baking soda is dissolved. That should only take a couple minutes at most.
- Remove the pot from the heat. If you don't want any bits of ginger left in the drink, strain it out with a fine mesh strainer before transferring the drink to a pitcher or water bottles to keep in the fridge.
- Let the drink cool for about 5-10 minutes in the fridge and then enjoy.
If you have POTS, this is great for making in large batches and then storing in water bottles in the fridge for when you go out.
Sarah
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Thank you for this recipe! When I first made it, I used sugar instead of honey. Because of this, I was not able to drink it as it increased my nausea. I made it a second time, this time with honey and juice from a grapefruit, and it did not make me sick. I will be using this more often now. Obviously the grapefruit wouldn’t work for people that take medications, but because I haven’t been diagnosed with POTS, I don’t have any. Thanks again!
So glad you liked it! 🙂
Sarah,
Thank you so much for putting this on your blog. I just made a batch and it’s really delicious. I didn’t put any sweetness in it because I’m currently doing the Whole30 and it still turned out like unsweetened lemon lime Gatorade. This is the best one I’ve tried so far.
I had been looking for a recipe that easy and tasty. I live in Texas and it gets pretty hot during the summer and I wanted something that wasn’t full of chemicas.
Again thank you.
I’m so glad you liked it! I’ve never been to Texas but I can imagine how necessary the extra refreshments are! I’m also glad to know that it was still good without the added sweetness. I still don’t have a strong enough will power to complete a whole 30, but I like cutting out extra sugar whenever possible so that’s good to know! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
This is such a refreshing energy drink, love the addition of ginger and orange here.
Thanks, Molly!
I can’t wait to make this Electrolyte Drink for my son. He is the most athletic person I know and probably would like a change from his pickle juice. LOL. Thanks for sharing. Off to visit more Sits Girls.
Hi, Anjanette! I applaud your son and his ability to drink pickle juice – I don’t think I’d be able to myself lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for linking up with us at #SaucySaturdays! This is a great because I have to drink electrolytes regularly and this is a great and natural way!
Thanks, Dini! Glad you like it!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My daughter plays tennis and she surely needs a healthy sport drink! All her friends are having gallons of Gatorade but it is so full of yucky things. Just the though of it and puts me off .
Of course! Thank you! I love tennis, I wish I would have thought about making this when I used to play on a team because it would have made such a difference. Hope your daughter likes it!
Thanks for this recipe, I was just ill and the Doctor told me to use more salt and I was drinking Gatorade. This is so much better. And thank you for giving the option for maple syrup as a sugar. I have celiac disease and was just also diagnosed with IBS and I find that so many recipes use sugars that are not allowed on the FODMAP diet for IBS. It’s kind of ironic that many of the recipes for gluten free contain sugars that aggravate IBS as my gastroenterologist told me that many patients with celiac disease also have IBS and then wonder why just a gluten free diet isn’t making them feel better. Both problems needs to be addressed with diet. Monash University in Australia did the research for the IBS FODMAP diet and there is a lot of good information on their website.
Hi Cara! I’m glad this recipe is helpful! When Mike was first diagnosed with POTS we got a list of foods with lots of sodium that he should eat from the Doctor and it was filled with all sorts of junk food – it just seemed a bit strange, ya know?
I know what you mean about it being ironic that so many recipes for gluten free foods still contain things that are known to irritate people who actually need to eat gluten free. My husband went on a low FODMAP diet earlier this year for about 6 months and that has made such a difference in the foods he can tolerate. We’re in the reintroduction phase of the FODMAP diet – I’ve been slowly adding things in one at a time, and I’m so excited because he’s actually be tolerating things quite well. He had a bad spell last week, but we’re almost positive that he might have been exposed to cross contamination (sigh). Honey was something he didn’t have for the longest time, but as long as he has it in small doses it doesn’t cause any problem.
Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment! I hope you feel better soon if don’t already!
this is such a great idea..and love how it can be used for hydration.
Thanks, Dixya!
I love adding fresh ginger to drinks, it makes me feel so energized, this sounds like a great beverage to sip on after a long run!
Ginger in drinks is great – I love it in tea especially. Thanks, Joy!
This is such a great recipe. Pinning it for sure.
Thank you, Deepika!
This looks amazing! Can;t wait to try it! I am featuring your recipe this week on Allergy Free Wednesday!
Oh, wow! Thank you so much Tessa!
Looks so thirst quenching ! I sure could use some of this in my life every day. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks, Florentina!
What an awesome and healthy drink recipe! I love the flavors of citrus and ginger. I normally drink coconut water for electrolytes, but this is far less expensive, and I bet even tastier! Thank you for sharing. Pinning and Yumming!
Thanks, Leslie!
I’ve always wanted an alternative to yucky Gatorade! We have normal health but an electrolyte drink recipe is always good to have on hand. I’m pinning this recipe!
Thanks, Diane! Let me know what you think if you try it!
This is such a useful drink to know about. On the occasion that I have had to have sachets of electrolyte drink I have immediately been sick as they taste so awful, which of course makes the problem worse. So good to be able to have a homemade one.
Oh no! That is a problem, isn’t it? Mike had the same problem with some of the ones he’s tried too which is why making a homemade version was the best idea for us
Fantastic. I forget to make things like this, especially when sick. Found you on SITS. I blog at http://beefruitfull.com
Hi, Mera! I usually forget too, but now since we’re making it so regularly I find it’s been helping a lot. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for linking up with Thursday Favorite Things! I’m going to make it this weekend!
This is perfect! I’ve got a crumby cold and I’m scheduled to work two 12 hour shifts this weekend as a visiting nurse. This will help me power through!
Oh no, I hope you cold passes soon! Glad this could help see you through your busy week. Thanks, Rachel!
I love going for runs in the morning now that the weather is a little cooler here … and I can’t wait to give this a try! It sounds delicious!
Yay I hope you like it! It’s so refreshing during a nice run 🙂
I have celiac disease, and I actually have a few friends who have celiac disease and POTS. Thanks for sharing Mike’s story. I’ll have to forward this post to some of them.
I love how you made this recipe from scratch, and it sounds delicious. I like the little bit of extra citrus that you added as well. It was great to find you on Gluten Free Fridays, and I hope you have a fabulous weekend. 🙂
Hi Kaila! Thank you so much for passing it along! I like sharing Mike’s story because I’d like to think that it might help at least one person. I know that we’ve enjoyed finding other people who can relate to what’s going on. I hope you have a great weekend too!
I was so interested to read this, Sarah. I didn’t really understand what POTS was before. I feel I have a much better idea now. It’s nice to have a healthy electrolyte drink recipe even for those who don’t have POTs. I would use this when someone had been ill or even if they are planning heavy exercise. Thank you so much for sharing this with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Thanks, Aril! I’m glad to know that I’m helping to spread a little awareness 🙂 I never thought about it in relation to being sick, but now that you mention it I think that would be a great idea! I’ll remember that for the next time someone here is feeling under the weather. Thanks again, and it was my pleasure 🙂
Directions say: stir until the sugar, salt, and baking soda is dissolved. – funny thing is there isn’t any sugar listing in the ingredient list.
Sorry Debbie! By sugar I meant the maple/honey because I see those as natural sugars. I’ll rewrite that to make it more clear – thanks for pointing it out to me!
Thanks so much for sharing this electrolyte concoction; I’ve bookmarked it to try!
Excellent – hope you like it, Dan!
I have all the ingredients at hand..will be trying this soon! Looks so fresh!
Yay, thanks, Noor!
This looks fabulous! I hate to drink anything like gatorade, its so full of junk! Love this yummy, healthy and cheaper alternative for my marathon training. Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks, Emma! I know what you mean – I can’t bring myself to drink gatorade. It’s just too much for me. Good luck with your marathon training! Go you!
This would be great for my grandsons.
I hope you grandsons like it!
This is such a great idea to make your own ‘sports drink’. I’m hardly an athlete but when I do head out and do something active, I usually find that water just doesn’t quite do it – this would be perfect, and a lot more economical, and probably healthier than anything I can find at the store. Such a win!
Thanks, Gabriel! I’m the same – I don’t run marathons or anything, but when I do go out for a run I feel like this does the trick!
This really sounds amazing. I’ve been buying Gatorade for my grandson to have during football practice and his games, but sounds so much better! Thank you!
Wonderful! Let me know what he thinks if you try it for him – thanks, Tina 🙂
Pinned! I’m a Gatorade nut and can’t always get to the store! Thanks for linking up to Merry Monday! Sharing on G+! Have a great week!
Kim
Ooh yay! I hope you like it as much as we do! Thanks, Kim 🙂