Why Pay More For Electrolyte Tablets?
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- Опубликовано: 20 окт 2024
- Why Pay More For Electrolyte Tablets?
When you are out cycling on the bike, it is important to hydrate yourself and replace the electrolytes lost due to sweating. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to use an electrolyte tablet dissolved in water and the carried on the bike in a bidon.
One of the leading brands of electrolyte tabs is The High 5 Zero, specifically marketed as sports nutrition and hydration, retailing at around £8 or $10. These tabs work great and do exactly what they say they will. However, I recently visited my local ALDI and found a much cheaper electrolyte alternative, retailing at less than £1 or $1.50.
But can a budget alternative electrolyte tab, contain the same amount of active ingredients as the market leader costing ten times the amount?
I read the small print on the pack to see if it really is worth it and ask why pay more for electrolyte tablets.
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Remembering my humble background in Pharmacology, I assure you that both concoctions are just different levels of the same rip-off. Most of what we sweat out is NaCl and KCl, everything else is negligible, at least during a 2-3-hour ride. Basically, all we need on a hot day is a pinch of salt (a source of sodium) in 500ml of water and one banana (a source of potassium) to eat sometime mid-ride. If you want to go fancy, brew 250ml of green tea, put it in a bidon, top it up with orange or grapefruit juice and add a pinch of salt. That will cost less than one tablet and it will cover all necessary nutrients and vitamins.
For a performance ride or a race, use the same drink, just add two tablespoons of honey to it and replace orange juice with mango juice. This will work better than a gel (or, rather, just like the gel, but without upsetting your stomach). The only possible drawback is that it will weigh you down 0.5 kg as opposed to the gel, which weighs next to nothing. However, water is needed anyway, and this drink is like the best of both worlds. For longer rides I take two bidons, and I have never had a bonk.
That is, of course, a recommendation for cyclists with normal sugar tolerance whose ability to use fast carbs as an energy source is not compromised.
Although a banana would be good for potassium, you could also add a bit of NoSalt or LoSalt to your drink.
Sounds like sense, i always used the dioralyte products which i think are replacing those same salts, i've noticed that when i don't use these products my hands slightly swell up, my research leads me to believe is this due to potassium levels dropping, is this true??
@@freddydad1 No it's not true. The average person sweats out about 1000mg of sodium per litre of sweat lost (some people are double that). That litre would also contain about 200mg of potassium for the average person. So generally, we lose about a fifth the mount of potassium as you do sodium per litre. Potassium stores are fundamentally based on diet and nobody needs an electrolyte drink for intense exercise if its primary mineral is potassium and it's not delivering enough sodium. The exception to this is people doing keto or intermittent fasting who may not be getting enough dietary potassium. Most of us who are not going 'keto' or 'fasting' need a 5:1 sodium-to-potassium ratio and you can probably opt for about 100mg of calcium and magnesium post-ride to top those minerals up, although as Irakly Shanidze said above, "Most of what we sweat out is NaCl and KCl, everything else is negligible" - keyword being negligible. There are studies backing this up, so do some research on optimized electrolyte drinks or electrolyte mineral ratios. @leonardmlee This applies to your more recent review of the Mineral Republic electrolyte drink - you should really see what study backs a product, even if just electrolytes. But you are correct on the comparison here regarding price discrepancies.
Those tablets look interesting. I get my goodies at Decathlon, especially the powder I always use is Aptonia ISO+ which contains all the stuff that helps when doing long rides, and in hot weather since I sweat quite abit this has helped me tremendously!
Example: 1-water bottle with powder, 1-water bottle without (just water), and 2-3 small pick me up snacks, will do me for a 100k ride.
Now mind you, this is ONLY when I have reached optimum weight, and endurance training!
Any money that goes towards my cycling is well worth it in my opinion.
But then again, one should use what ever works best for them...
Glad to see you are doing great :-)
I have noticed since I started using these some 4 to 5 years ago and they have risen in price every time I try to buy them, so I only buy them now on special offer, but no more I'm off to Aldi as I always carry Bananas anyway. Thanks, Leonard.
This is the first time I've seen them on sale but the price hike is very interesting.
@@jollygoodvelo Holland and barret do them , just wait for them to do a penny sale and it's 2 for the price of one basically.
The Aldi ones seem to be an alternative to Berrocca rather than an Electrolyte tab, hence the high Vit C , and your pee will be an interesting shade of yellow after using them continuously. Quite often the High5 Zero and SIS Hydro ones end up on sale somewhere for around £3.50 a tube. Worth keeping an eye out and stocking up, when the chance arises.
For those in the UK, Home Bargains do a zero calorie electrolyte tablet, also in tubes of 20 has everything the more expensive Zero tab has, think i got my last lot at a pound a tube if you buy in multiples. I'm fond of the cherry flavour.
Home Bargains do some great value stuff, many of it useful for cycling. Mine is 20 miles away but visit it a few times a year.
There is no point in using zero-calory stuff, as cycling on a level that requires replenishing electrolytes also requires energy intake. So, unless you are on a fasting workout, depriving yourself of carbs is unnecessary.
@@IraklyShanidze00X Unless like myself, we do not want our fluid intake to be a part of our fueling!
I used to use the Wiggle ones until I started to make my own. A piece of lime, dash of salt and a splash of whatever juice I have laying around. I cycle around 80 km's a day in 30 plus degree weather this time of year and it does the trick. I prefer the more natural route but a £1 does seem reasonable.
Yes, natural is always going to be better but its very inconvenient having to buy all the stuff and then make the drink all the time.
We have to cycle in sub 12 centigrade weather and buy a tube of these electrolyte tablets on the remote chance we get a day when it's above 22c.
Distilled fermented agave juice sounds like it’d be a winner in that recipe.
I’ve been using the tropical ones from Aldi for a few months now. At a fraction of the price they are just as good. Highly recommend for anyone.
The Aldi ones are more like Berocca. I have used the SiS ones as well.
How much are the Aldi ones
Managed to grab myself a bidon thrown away by one of the Lotto Soudal riders on TDF in 2018 and what pro performance enhancing concoction was in it?
Plain old unadulterated water.
How do u know?
I use the Nuun hydration products myself over here in The States; they've been very good, even on days when I just work out and not ride. (I WISH I could find them for around a dollar here, LOL!)
Since I'm a big guy myself, I sweat like a stuck pig and constantly battle with keeping hydrated. Nuun seems to do the trick, but I wouldn't mind finding a more natural solution, as one of your other posters pointed out here in the comments.
Great content, sir! Very informative as always!
Yup, here in AZ, without electrolytes, it is quite easy to collapse, for example on a four hour ride over 40 degrees C. I find Nuun works fairly well.
They're CDN$8.25 for 10 tablets up here in the Great White North. Uh-oh! It hasn't snowed today.
These are good only if you're activity last more than an hour. You can also make your own, 700 ml water, 300 ml real fruit juice and pinch of salt. Keep on riding...
How funny! I just came in the room after making my electrolyte water, and saw you uploaded this video! I absolutely love my orange flavor electrolyte powder. That's how it comes here, and they sell them in single packs. The one I get is 5 baht per pack, which is approx 15 cents (U.S.). I usually buy 10 packs at a time, because I do drink these two to three times a day.
If you are in Thailand another good option if you don't want to make your own is Sponsor. A small bottle is 10 baht and the bigger can is 13 baht. Tastes much better than OSRA stuff in the packets. Just a suggestion. Have a good day.
I know Thailand can be extremely hot so I would imagine that you need those three. Good job it isn't too expensive.
@@purpleaki7135 I don't think I've seen those. But I will take a look next time I'm out. Although I do love the taste of the ones I get! But I do wish there were more flavor options. I don't care for the lime one, and the only other flavor is the orange that I get.
Do u mind sharing the Thailand brand? Thanks
Been using Aldi tropical ones for refills when I’m out and about for convenience. Only side note is watch your urine after, it can be very misleading as the effervescent tabs make it go a wonder shade of yellow. Could be seen as dehydration. Off out in this beautiful weather now, be safe people 🚲🐒
That's the B vitamins.
I do think you'll need to add salt to those ones but definitely a good supplement. I have one daily for immune system boost, but use the specialist sport tablets to replace salt from sweating (Sudium) and reduce cramping (Which I think requires potassium amongst other things).
Hi Leonardo.I would use the cheaper one.It contains leucine,,leucine is an amino acid.Ciao from semi lock down Italy
Avoiding salt completely is bad. I good guide is to taste your own sweat if it tastes sweet you need more salt.
I worked on a ship without salt tablets and I snapped a few tendons in me left knee. So it’s a good idea to maintain electrolyte levels.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll be off to Aldi then.
Asda do a few sports drinks too.
There is no way to avoid sodium.it's in everything we eat
Yes, we do need a small amount of salt but it does appear to be in everything in large amounts these days.
leonardmlee yes that’s why I avoid fast food, or processed food.
Good tip. Thanks for sharing. I keep a tube in the garage for when I am on my turbo. I only use it for hard/longer sessions.
Yes, also LIDL sells them for a little over euro for 20 tabs in the same package. I like them because they taste great. However my friend who happened to be a pharmacist mentioned they are useless (all of them) and he even explained the principle how electrolytes should accumulate in a body and be released for energy and apparently in those tabs we are getting sorbitol and starch and not much more. So we need real fruits like bananas instead. This is one person (pharmacist) opinion, I am not pushing how true this is. I am still eating (drinking) them as they have nice mandarine flavour - yumi! 😀
As soon as something is marketed for cyclists the price goes way up! They know their market. Here in the states the ingredients are listed in order of amount contained therein. Often times a product is produced in the same factory and labeled differently for different markets. I always try to research what I am buying because of this. EVERYTHING in the states is MARKETING!! You can ALWAYS find a cheaper alternative if you look, often times with the EXACT same ingredients!! It's quite annoying.
Hi Leonard ... here in Germany I bought at a Netto supermarket, 1 tube each of Magnisium, Calcium, and a multivitamin ... the magnisium had 250mg pro tablet, the Calcium 500mg pro tablet and the multivitamin had Mag 112.5mg and Cal 200mg .... each tube with 17 tabs cost 55 €cents = 0,49 pence ... but it's a long way to come to safe 50% :-) ... I'll have to check the price at our Aldi
We used to have Netto here in the U.K. but I don’t think we do any more.
@@jollygoodvelo after you reading out the the amount of mg pro tab from your's I was surprise at mine were so much higher ... only the multivitamin tabs were roughly the same level
You organised for our rideout tomorrow..
Still working on it.
Just add Himalayan Pink Salt or Celtic sea salt to your drink
Only problem with that is it makes u incredibly thirsty on long rides. I did this yesterday on a long ride.
We have Aldi here in the states too. But, I can't stress enough, B1, B6, and B12... which the cheaper one has... B1, B6, B12 taken daily will double or triple your fitness. It tripled mine.
IMO potassium is pretty important. However, one can always carry a banana in a jersey pocket and get potassium.
It would be interesting to see how big a part potassium plays in our electrolytes.
if you can find a product called "No Salt" over there you could add a pinch, it's Potassium Chloride (technically still a salt) as opposed to Sodium Chloride like common table salt.
@@jollygoodvelo - when I was in Egypt I passed out due to sweating out too much potassium (hypokalemia) and was put on a drip. Doctor gave me rehydration sachets to use daily. Basically Dioralyte which is used to rehydrate you after diarrhoea. It was a very unpleasant experience and left me wiped out for 24 hours. So ever since then if I am going somewhere hot I take one sachet of this every day. Just saying this because it was the lack of potassium in my system that made me so unwell
@@jollygoodvelo potassium is super important as its the major ion that regulates heart beats. Too high or too low amounts in the body are dangerous.
@@coreyallert1482 There's another product, called LoSalt, which has both potassium and sodium chloride :-)
The High 5 are £4 a tube, worth trying the Wiggle own brand as they are better priced but still sports specific. They also have recovery drink and gels.
One thing I'd caution...which ever version you buy...is dilution into water. People forget that on very very long rides guzzling this stuff back that is too concentrated (or when you dont have enough pure water in between concentrated electrolyte gulps) upsets the osmotic pressure in the kidneys.
Hi Leonard,
I've used the Aldi tablets for a while and find them ideal. As for price it's a no brainer. I get the orange flavoured and add one to my orange squash in my drinks bottle.
At a tenth of the price of the High 5 ones it really is a no brainier.
You can buy electrolyte powder for peanuts from bulk powders or ebay. Failing that just put normal sugar and himalayan salt in Yr drinks and it will do almost same thing.
I used similar tablets for years, but now I just carry good 'ole Gatorade that way I get my sugar (carbs) and my electrolytes at the same time while out riding; it's been working fine for me. I get the 32oz (946ml) bottles for $1 from Walmart, so the price is right. I may get some more of those tabs and drop them in my Gatorade and get a turbo boost of electrolytes...uhmmm I drink the Gatorade Zero when off the bike for the electrolytes. Those powdered mix carbohydrate/energy drinks messes with my stomach while riding, so I had to cut back on them, but I've found that Skratch Lab powdered mix is ok. So, now it's Gatorade or Skratch.
Orange juice or Gatorade in my flask in the cage on my frame and a banana in pannier. Easy to get all of the electrolytes. Doesn’t really matter for me here on Cape Cod now as it is too damn cold to even sweat a drop.
Thanks for sharing! I would imagine the Aldi products fits the needs of the vast majority of recreational cyclists and look to have a strong place in the market. The extra potassium and magnesium of the more expensive products may be beneficial, and fractionally more rapidly adsorbed by the body from solution than say a banana (potassium) and oaty flapjack (magnesium)... but that's splitting hairs for most of us - and who doesn't enjoy 'proper food'?! A pinch of table salt is an even cheaper alternative with an even narrower electrolyte profile... and some keen athletes will buy individual electrolytes in bulk and concoct their own balance, and even base it on their sweat composition, sweat rate, etc. But the Aldi product is good news for the customer as it's extra competition for the market - driving future improvement and value - cheers Leonard!
Somehow I doubt the price of the High 5 tabs will becoming down anytime soon!!
how long did you queue for those
I didn't. The shop never had a queue. Plus they had everything on the shevles. I think ALDI are doing a great job.
leonardmlee couldn’t agree more
Hi Leonard, great as always. I would personally stay away from the higher sodium tablets because of blood pressure issues. That is just me as an old guy though.
That makes good sense.
The B vits in the Aldi brand will more than make up for the lack of in the Zero brand. B vits help with many things in the body like metabolizing foods and fats into energy.
Thanks for that info. I didn't know thats what they did.
leonardmlee yes that’s what they do. They also help support the immune system as well. They also help with recovery along with proteins. You’re looking a bit more fit these days keep up the great work.
Bring Aldi to Japan!!!! (My Mum raves about it but I told her to be wary of overly cheap meat!)
I love Aldi and its twin, Lidl.
Bought some SIS Go Electrolyte Pink Grapefruit tablets (£8.00 for 20) the other day, which I recently tried out on a 70km ride. Whilst quite refreshing to drink in a diluted sort of way, I can't say that my body noticed any difference? If they were in fact helping my body, then I think that I'll follow the advice of Mr Wise Guy in future (see below), as its much cheaper, thank you :-)
Cheaper than my Ribena drink per ride = £1.50 - £1.80, rip off!! My issue is I'm using sugary cereal bars & think idd certainly loose weight quickly if I cut out refined sugars whilst out cycling.
Water, mixed with 2/5ths fruit juice & add some salt to the water -> per the comment section..
I have bought these from home bargains for about 65p to a £1.. I too always used to buy from wiggle..not anymore.. however I only use for indoor cycling. 👍🏻👍🏻
I'll have to take a look in Home Bargains.
As far as electrolytes go sodium and potassium are the important ones, the zero tabs taste nice, but the sodium and potassium levels in those are way too low to be of any use, they’re just playing it safe with very low levels as there’s a lot of confusion about salt, id just get the Aldi ones for the taste and the vit C, then add some salt substitute (Lo salt) as it contains both sodium and potassium, you’re gonna want about half a teaspoon per 500ml bison.
I’ll be down Aldi first thing thank really appreciate it
Wonder if Aldi in the US carries those, can anyone confirm? I'm a big fan of the Scratch Labs powder, it has a mellow taste and is made from actual fruit for the flavoring. But it is pricey at ~$1USD/serving.
I haven't seen them at Aldis here in US, not even close to their distribution center in Batavia, IL. So my guess is not available at all. I am with you on the like Scratch. Very good stuff.
You were fleeced at Wiggle at that price.....they often have those tabs at at much cheaper price if you don't mind the flavour.....currently try the same using Wiggles own brand. Pretty much the same contents.
Great info as always 👍
Thanks 👍
Bang goes any sponsorship deal with Wiggle - hehe
Top Tip - Thanks.
Don’t Aldi sponsor a cycling team?
I use the wiggle tabs.
I do use those expensive tablets for my Low Carb eating plan. And get them half price as I buy 8 tubes. But that sounds like a nice bargain. I may try that Yes ! cool. Thanks for the video.
Give them a go as they are pretty inexpensive.
C02 cartridge is the perfect example of this , for the restaurant industry it coat pennies but slap the word velo on it and a bike sticker sells for 10x the price.
You can multiply that by 100 by adding the words ‘pro’ or ‘professional’.
Rob Boss
Look out for Aldi cycling events. They do the CO2 cartridges for cycles at a fraction of specialised cycle shops.
The aldi or Lidl ones are fine to use I find
I used Decathlon ones and they taste horrible, so back to High5 Zero again.
Not so much magnesium but more importantly your potassium. Magnesium and K+ share and odd relationship that magnesium won't be replaced within the body without K+. The other lures are very important in their own way but just a bit of a fun fact without going into too much detail.
Thanks for the tips.
I think I'll try these as I buy from Asda but they're a bit bland.. these seem better as I am an aldi fan as i can't get there as easily as Asda, but I'll make the effort! but saying that it's up by work so can't argue really 😉
I take magnesium only at night or after a long ride, seems to stop cramps 👍
Amazon do a full box of 8tubes with 20 in per tube for between £28 and £42.
Ever wonder why your sweat tastes salty? It’s the key component! If you start with salt but on the go you still need to drop it in
Good point.
electrolyte imbalance is a key factor in cramping and the ability to re-hydrate during a longer ride. (www.stuweb.co.uk/contact if you want the war stories)
but the research is suggesting that we need to start looking at that balance of salt and other minerals to work on the longer endurance rides and keep working during longer rides.
similar packaging is not the indicator here.
also the vitamins effervess wheras the high5 should dissolve.
depending on you palete. there are a few brands checking wiggle every couple of weeks is a good shout fon an offer. but Sis, powerbar, for goodness shakes, torq all do them.
because we are training indoors i am pretty much doubling up at the moment.
4.19 on wiggle today
I only take the High 5 as they have no sugar and taste good.
You need sodium and potassium for it to be an electrolyte replacement tab. Without those it sounds like they are a vitamin c tablet
I buy a big package of blank powder electolytes, one packages cost $18 and last 6 months
Bargain!
good shout
You've just invoked silent assassin from Wiggle to come to your door
Blue Moon He’ll have to join the queue.
Nothing wrong with the cheaper tablets imo
My thoughts exactly.
I've been using the Aldi ones for a few years now and just as good as the more expensive ones imo. Only thing is I haven't been able to get any for the past couple of months as they seem to be on the list of panic buying/hoarding items so are now constantly out of stock (they were only 75p in March 2020). Strangely enough ebay is full of listings of this exact product at vastly increased prices!
Odd that they increase the price on a product that is sold as an 'energy' tablet rather than a vitamin suppliment.
I out a quarter teaspoon of tablet salt, a banana and a magnesium tablet. You'll get all you need.
Sounds like a magic spell.
@@jollygoodvelo does magic for me😃
Bought some zero tablets. 2.50 in B and M. Never tried them, next outing I will....Bet you I won't gain Watts 😂
Bet the expensive ones are more aero
A lot lighter than using a sports drink, although I have watch my sodium intake due to high blood PSI.
You don't eat the tablet, you need to dissolve them in water.
@@apierc1 I usually always take a bottle of water with me while biking.
Great tip, off to Aldi.
cream of tartar powder is potassium,so perhaps just add half a teaspoon of that to your biden .
SiS GO Electrolyte Powde taste good 🙂
Eight quid is extortionate.. the Aldi ones would be fine with some salt added
My thoughts as well.
First!!!!!!! You'll need more than fancy tablets to beat me!!! 😀😆🤪
Well done.
@@jollygoodvelo thanks Leonard
It's the only thing in life I'm any good at
for the recreational cyclists (like 99% of the audience here are) there is no need for tablets - have a water with honey, salt and lemon, or a tea or anything else - none of us is professional who is training 40h/week on the bike ;-)
I think an electrolyte tab is pretty convenient.
@@jollygoodvelo yeap, convenient yes, needed no ;-)
80 grams of white table sugar gets me home !!
👏🏻
I just make my own mix
1tbs of salt and 1tsp of koolaid and its works fine for me 😂
A tablespoon of salt???
@@jollygoodvelo yeaah thats not bad for 750ml bidon, taste quite funny and add a little bit kick in it
£8? U got ripped off, try dolphin fitness, much cheaper.
👍
If I were you I'd stop taking these. Not healthy at all, in fact very bad for you; the best place for these are the bin. If you want to replenish your electrolytes do the following: half to a full lemon squeezed into a glass (vitamin C), half a tea spoon (minimum) of cream of tartar (potassium), two to three table spoons of organic cider vinegar with mother (acetic acid), half a tea spoon of Himalayan pink salt (sodium and trace minerals and potassium) topped up with hot filtered water. Also take a supplement of magnesium GLYCINATE. GLYCINATE is the preferred form of magnesium as it is easily absorbed, and does not cause as many problems as other form of magnesium do. Take this half an hour to one hour before you go on your ride. If it has been a particularly hot ride, and you have been sweating quite a bit, take another glass after you have finished.
Thanks for the recipe.
leonardmlee please read it again as I had to edit it.
Are rather brand guaranteed to have what’s in them as what they say on the label. That’s where I do not trust supplements no governing body
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