Energy drinks can be expensive and can often contain some very surprising ingredients (food colouring, sweeteners…). To know exactly what goes into your energy drink, here’s a recipe for a homemade version that will beat out the competition:

• 2 glasses of water
• 2 glasses of juice
• 1/3 teaspoon of table salt

Source: article by Mélanie Olivier, Vélo Mag, May 2002 issue, page 46.

Tap water is fine, but if you want something more, choose locally produced mineral water (to avoid European imports and their food miles).

Lemon, orange, pineapple, apple and grape juice are all highly recommended for the natural sugar they contain.

The salt helps make the drink isotonic (meaning with similar liquid concentrations as the human body and therefore more easily absorbed by your system). A wise choice would be to use coarse organic salt. Although it does take longer to dissolve in the water, it is a source of minerals and trace elements, which are very useful for replacing those lost through perspiration.