Bottoms Up! All-Natural Sports Drink (Plus a Recovery Tincture!)

When exercising for extended periods of time, we lose large amounts of electrolytes. Instead of picking up a sports drink from the store, you can use Jill Stansbury’s recipe for an Electrolyte Drink to keep you going without the processed chemicals and sugars. And if you’re feeling sore after all that work, try her tincture for muscle pain with exertion.

The following is an excerpt from Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals, Volume 5 by Jill Stansbury. It has been adapted for the web.

Electrolyte Drink for Athletes

When people exercise and sweat in hot climates, they may lose large amounts of electrolytes. It is important to replenish sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Endurance athletes may use a commercial product that contains these minerals. Coconut water contains many natural electrolytes and can be a stand-alone sports drink in a pinch. Green, leafy herbs such as Equisetum, Medicago, Rubus, Urtica, and Taraxacum are excellent sources of the above minerals. This formula uses Urtica, but this can be swapped out or combined with the others according to preference. Camellia, or green tea, is a caffeine source used here for its ergogenic effects. Adding a pinch of salt or mineral and trace mineral drops to the finished tea can further boost the sodium, chloride, and other electrolytes.

Ingredients

• Coconut water 1 cup (240 ml)
• Fruit juice, optional 1/2 to 1 cup (120 to 240 ml)
• Camellia sinensis, dried 4 tablespoons
• Urtica urens, dried 4 tablespoons
• K/Ca/Mg powder 1 teaspoon
• Himalayan salt 1/4 teaspoon

Procedure

Prepare the Camellia and Urtica into a tea by steeping the combined herbs in 8 cups (1,920 ml) of boiling water. Add the salt and mineral powder to the steeping water at this time. Let steep until cool, then strain into a pitcher or large canning jar and refrigerate. To prepare the sports drink, combine roughly 3 cups (720 ml) of the tea blend with the coconut water and fruit juice, if desired.

Tincture for Muscle Pain with Exertion

Cramps in the calves with walking is a common presentation of peripheral artery disease. The condition tends to become progressively worse, with no effective cure and few therapies. Patients should stop smoking immediately and work with a cardiologist or other specialist to improve circulatory health. Reducing oxidative stress in the blood vessels and improving lipid levels may help. Ginkgo biloba flavonoids can help improve muscle perfusion, but it might take many months of regular consumption to note any improvement. Patented Ginkgo products such as Tanakan or Tebonin are commonly prescribed in Europe for this purpose. Ginkgo and Rhodiola form a common combination that may improve endurance.

Ingredients

• Ginkgo biloba
• Rhodiola rosea

Procedure

Combine in equal parts and take 1 to 2 dropperfuls, 3 or more times a day, long term. If, after 3 to 6 months of continuous use, improvements are seen, it may be possible to maintain the results with a smaller dosage.

The Ingredients: A Closer Look

Camellia sinensis • Green Tea

As an all-purpose systemic antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiallergy herb, Camellia may help allergic disorders when consumed liberally as a daily tea. Camellia may also be used topically to reduce allergic skin symptoms and may improve the absorption of other compounds in topical formulas such as compresses, lavages, and sitz baths. The well-known antioxidant activity of Camellia offers neuroprotective activity, credited largely to epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is one of the most important active compounds of green tea leaves. Researchers have suggested that green tea be included in protocols for MS because of its protective anti-inflammatory effects on the CNS and because regulation of energy expenditure may improve MS-related fatigue.

Urtica dioica, V. urens • Nettle

Urtica is a highly nourishing herb with broad utility in herbal medicine. In terms of allergic conditions, Urtica is specific for hives and for itchy, blotchy skin lesions as well as genital itching, pruritus ani, pruritus vulvae, and itching of the scrotum. Urtica is also indicated for profuse discharges from mucous membranes. Urtica may also be used for angioedema, both acute and chronically recurring. Urtica is used as a urinary tonic and for prostatic enlargement and urinary inflammation. Urtica is extremely safe, tonifying and appropriate in teas, tinctures, or encapsulations, for short- or long-term use as a base, synergist, or specific herb, as most appropriate.

Ginkgo biloba • Maidenhair Tree

The leaves of the Ginkgo tree are most commonly known for the circulatory effects that may extend to enhancing perfusion to the bone. Ginkgo is shown to have positive effects on bone mineral density and bone microstructure and may significantly reverse bone loss in various research models. Consider Ginkgo for poor circulation to the bone and for bone infections and diseases associated with circulatory insufficiency related to longterm smoking, diabetes, chronic renal failure, or other disease. Ginkgo may help protect cellular mitochondria from various toxins and have renoprotective effects in cases of kidney disease and help to slow the resulting progression of bone loss.

Rhodiola rosea • Arctic Rose

The astringent roots of small, creeping, herbaceous Rhodiola have been used as an energy tonic and an adaptogen-like herb. Rhodiola may also help prevent altitude sickness, improve stamina and endurance at high altitudes, and support athletic endurance and performance in general in cases of muscle weakness and fatigue. Salidrosides in Rhodiola are shown to promote synthesis and activity of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine. They are also thought to explain Rhodiola’s ability to increase attention and memory, as well as to enhance muscle endurance and physical performance in athletes. Roughly 200 milligrams per day is the dosage shown to enhance athletic endurance, but may also be considered as a therapy for those with muscle weakness and poor stamina.

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