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Cytomax v. gatorade


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As for electrolite replacement, I'd say Cytomax, but only because I feel I recover quicker with Cytomax and not from any scientific information. However, I can only down the stuff on weekend warrior trips as the taste wears on pretty fast and will switch to gatorade for longer trips and only using Cytomax in small doses.

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I got this out of a book I have.

 

8 oz serving

 

Cytomax 8% carb 83 cal 19 g carb 70 milligrams sodium

 

Gatorade 6% carb 50 cal 14 g carb 110 milligrams sodium

 

Interestingly Red Bull has 215 milligrams of sodium

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And for what it's worth, I find I can usually tolerate more of the Gatorade flavors (we have consumed fierce lime, orange, fierce berry, berry-citrus and fruit punch at various times in our household) but I can't even be in a room with the Cytomax smell. What works for me is a dilution of 1:1 Gatorade (fluid) with water, or enough powder in water "to taste". I'm one who will for whatever reason let myself go thirsty if I have only filtered or iodine-tableted water, but if there's flavoring I have a MUCH higher chance of staying hydrated... I think it's individual preference, though as Jon shows there are actually more carbs (read: calories) per 8 oz. serving of Cytomax, AND by diluting the Gatorade 1:1 that reduces the per-8-oz values even more... Solution? a Gu packet followed by a couple huge gulps of beverage of choice (non-alcoholic of course!!)

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I actually like the taste of Cytomax, but that's because it tastes like Tang. Geek_em8.gif

 

I don't usually carry electrolyte drinks, but try to have them after. I can't really tell the difference between cyto and gatorade but I do feel better afterwards if I have one or the other.

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From the Cytomax website http://www.cytosport.com/products/cytomax.html:

 

"Natural Herbal "Lift": (in Tangy Orange, Go Grape and Peachy Keen flavors only) reduces your perceived effort so you can push harder"

 

I've noted difficulty falling asleep if it's used as a recovery drink right before going to bed in the mountains. It's given me skipped heartbeats too, which are common with the weight reducing diet pills. Was thinking all my problems were a problem for me...or it was my imagination, but the issue went away when I used the flavors without the lift. Anyone know more about the herbal lift aspect, as it relates to multiday extended efforts--and if there's a detrimental effect?

 

I've laid off the herbal lift flavors for a few months...and have been lazy to get the straight scoop on the stuff. I thought the drinks worked well, but was intimidated by the issues they seemed to cause. More info/background on all this would be appreciated.

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I actually like the taste of Cytomax, but that's because it tastes like Tang.

 

Drink Cytomax for a month straight and then get back to me about how you like it. Kinda like Tequila if you've ever imbibed a bit too much in a single sitting. You won't touch the stuff again.

 

(Picture yourself praying to the porcelain gods saying, "I'll never drink that stuff again!!!!!!")

 

Actually, I prefer just Gatorade and/or water while on the trail and pound a Red Bull prior to ascent, and suck on some Gu during water breaks. It's all personal preference.

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Well Old Man, I'll agree with you some there. I think Cytomax is awesome, it really does an insanely good job rejuvenating me. The flip side is why/how? I know these food products escape FDA approval by being 'dietary supplements' and that is exactly what's typed on the side of the Cytomax jar (Dietary Supplement). I worry sometimes that there is some sort of drug/steroid contained within and that had I known about it, I would not have used the stuff. Someone told me to look up the ingredients in some "PH" book, I think it's one doctors have that can tell you exactly what each ingredient is.

 

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Greg_W said:

I heard once that, once hydrated, electrolytes lose their potency over time. Thus, the powdered versions are superior. I have no backup, that is just what I was told by someone who attended a clinic thing.

 

Sweet Boy - that was me who atttened the clinic. cantfocus.gif

Electrolytes have a 1/2 life of about 6 hours. It makes sense when you think about hitting 'the wall' after a long day of climing. smirk.gif Gatorade's electrolytes are added long before the product hits the shelf. A powder form of electrolytes such as Cytomax is more beneficial. thumbs_up.gif Gatorade is great for the sodium content. The swelling you get during or after a long day is due to lack of sodium. (the chemists might agree) It is good to drink Gatorade, eat salted nuts or pretzels to help the swelling. Cytomax will help rejuvinate (sp?) the body! fruit.gif

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kitten said:

Electrolytes have a 1/2 life of about 6 hours.

 

That is absolutely positively not true!!! Plus Drul agrees with me and he has an IQ of 164. Beer in Cavey's fridge has a half life of 6 hours bigdrink.gif

 

Honestly I think Gatorade is crap. I'll admit it I drink it from time to time, but it is formulated more for little kids to get hooked on and less for real athletes. The only thing that is "athletic" about it is that it has sodium and potassium in it. Athletes drinking out of the Gatorade cooler aren't drinking the off the shelf stuff, it is specially formulated stuff that you normally can't find, one of them being Gatorload.

 

I've heard lots of good things about pickle juice, a lot of pro football players and triathletes use it.

 

I can almost gaurantee that Cytomax doesn't have any steroids or anything like that, it isn't on the IOC ban list and considering how many professional athletes where testing is strict I just can't see why they would put it in.

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jon said:

 

Beer in Cavey's fridge has a half life of 6 hours bigdrink.gif

yelrotflmao.gifyelrotflmao.gifyelrotflmao.gifyelrotflmao.gifyelrotflmao.gif

Honestly I think Gatorade is crap. I'll admit it I drink it from time to time, but it is formulated more for little kids to get hooked on and less for real athletes. The only thing that is "athletic" about it is that it has sodium and potassium in it. Athletes drinking out of the Gatorade cooler aren't drinking the off the shelf stuff, it is specially formulated stuff that you normally can't find, one of them being Gatorload.

 

Kitten says:

Anything powder form & added to a liquid is better than a product that was sitting on a shelf. Electrolytes DO have a half life! Look at the packaging..... cantfocus.gif

 

 

 

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When I was doing my long endurance training stuff, I found that the powerade they sold at the gym left my stomach too upset from the sweetness, but water lacked electrolytes and I cramped pretty bad. So I got online, looked around, and bought samples of some different brands of sports drink powders. Here are some thoughts:

 

Cytomax : I tried the apple berry and the citrus. These both tasted great and very sweet, but unlike the the generic sports drinks they didn't overuse the high fructose corn syrup like the generics do for their sweetness. It didn't upset my stomach like generics, and didn't give my throat that sticky feeling that drinking very sweet drinks do, but the flavor was a lot too sweet, and that made it hard to make myself drink it in big increments when I was really pushing it.

 

GU2O: I was pretty impressed with this. Not as sweet as the cytomax but still had a very fresh pleasent taste. I'm gonna buy some more the next time I'm up for ordering.

 

Gookinaid: This was the one that I was completely sold on. It tastes like salt water with a hint of lime. This very mild flavor makes it easy to drink when you're really pushing it. According to their web site, it's absorbed more quickly than water. I don't know about this, but I can drink much more of it without my stomach getting upset or cramping. When I'm really getting on it and downing lots of water I would cramp up pretty quickly and my stomach would feel heavy with the liquid. Not with this. It get my two thumbs up.

 

And if it's all just the placebo effect, well damnit as cheap as gookinaid is, it's worth getting the effect if it's real or really in my head.

 

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I tried GU2O powder. It was really difficult to dissolve in cold water, which was annoying, but I guess not much of a problem if you dissolve it beforehand. The stuff tasted like an electrolyte, but wasn't that bad.

 

I drank some Pedialyte once (medical electrolyte for children) when I sick once and it was horrible...

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