Powdered ORT??

P.S. I've been told by a Wilderness Medicine instructio that Gatoraide needs to be cut with 50% water to get teh correct isotonic balance to be absorbed properly.

this is very true. All medical professionals should tell you this. Sorry, no help with the other stuff.

Eric,

This outfit makes oral rehydration salts packets to the WHO standard. I used to use them diluted to 50% strength, cut with Crystal Lite, in lieu of sports drinks.

http://rehydrate.org/resources/jianas.htm

Tom, that company you linked requires a $68 minimum order (125 packets). Also, the product they offer, in keeping with the current WHO recommendation, uses pure glucose. There is some debate about the use of pure glucose, and some ongoing discussion at the WHO about changing the current Low-Osmolarity ORS formula to use a mixture of glucose-liberating polysaccharides instead. The desired effect (electrolyte absorption) can only occur in the presence of glucose, but pure glucose is absorbed almost immediately, so the efficiency of electrolyte absorption in a formula containing pure glucose is low. In a formula containing a mix of carbohydrates that gradually liberate glucose, complete absorption of the electrolytes can occur over several hours.

Ceralyte 70 is considered by many (including workers within the WHO) to be better than the current WHO formula. It has the same electrolyte ratios, but mixed carbohydrates instead of pure glucose. It is available on ebay for about $4 per packet.

Since I began doing longer trips with my girlfriend, I have been carrying a packet of low-osmolarity ORS that I made myself for 1/100 the price of any commercial product. For $20-30 you can make several pounds of it. You already have table salt, so you just need potassium chloride, trisodium citrate, and a mixed carbohydrate source (like brown rice syrup solids).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/POTASSIUM-CHLORIDE-1-lb-Pound-Lab-Chemical-KCl-Reagent-/190634440005?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c62b2b545

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SODIUM-CITRATE-Trisodium-citrate-dihydrate-8-Oz-/290502568974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a34d6c0e

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RICE-SYRUP-SOLIDS-1-LB-for-Home-Brewing-beer-making-/360400478844?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e98ae27c

As a BPL member, you probably have a gram scale. The following quantities will make enough powder for one liter of ORS solution:

Sodium Chloride: 2.6g
Potassium Chloride: 1.5g
Trisodium Citrate: 2.9g
Mixed Carbohydrate (ie, brown rice syrup solids): 30-50g

Group Health's Healthwise handbook gives the following recipe for a rehydration drink:

1 quart water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
if available, add 1/4 teaspoon salt substitute (e.g. Lite Salt)

"Tom, that company you linked requires a $68 minimum order (125 packets)."

Which works out to about 50 cents/packet. Dilute that 50% and it is down to ~25 cents. I'd say that is pretty cheap, especially compared to your Ceralyte at $4/packet.

"Also, the product they offer, in keeping with the current WHO recommendation, uses pure glucose. There is some debate about the use of pure glucose, and some ongoing discussion at the WHO about changing the current Low-Osmolarity ORS formula to use a mixture of glucose-liberating polysaccharides instead. The desired effect (electrolyte absorption) can only occur in the presence of glucose, but pure glucose is absorbed almost immediately, so the efficiency of electrolyte absorption in a formula containing pure glucose is low."

Perhaps, but as you say, the debate is ongoing, which I would interpret to mean that there is considerable difference of opinion on the matter. In the meantime, the WHO recommendation stands. I personally used it for years with good results in pretty hot weather, so I have no reservations about recommending it, especially given the WHO stamp of approval and it's cheapness compared to Pedialyte or Ceralyte. It is worth noting that the current composition of many "sports drinks" is along the lines you mention as far as polysaccharides are concerned.

"Since I began doing longer trips with my girlfriend, I have been carrying a packet of low-osmolarity ORS that I made myself for 1/100 the price of any commercial product. For $20-30 you can make several pounds of it. You already have table salt, so you just need potassium chloride, trisodium citrate, and a mixed carbohydrate source (like brown rice syrup solids)."

Whoa, Tom. Take a deep breath.

"Which works out to about 50 cents/packet. Dilute that 50% and it is down to ~25 cents. I'd say that is pretty cheap, especially compared to your Ceralyte at $4/packet."

My Ceralyte? I was just making a recommendation that I thought the OP might appreciate. If you want to debate it, my suggestions are still cheaper than yours, at any quantity. If he wants just a packet or two, he can buy the Ceralyte for less than $10, or if he wants a lot, he can make his own for $20. Or, if he prefers your suggestion, he can buy it for $70 from the company you linked.

"In the meantime, the WHO recommendation stands."

So it does. I just thought, since strong arguments have been made for mixed carbohydrates instead of pure glucose, I should mention it in case the OP wanted to make his own.

Incidentally, I think the use of Lite Salt in the recipe Daryl provided is a clever idea. It is cheaper and more readily available than potassium chloride, and the K/Na ratio in Lite Salt is just right for ORS.

"If you want to debate it, my suggestions are still cheaper than yours, at any quantity."

I don't know what kind of math you are using, but I can pick up a tube of Mortons Lite salt for a couple of bucks that will last me a couple of years. So much for the electrolytes. As for the medium chain polysaccharides, at $1.83 for 8 oz, $3.66/pound" he could do it for considerably less than $20 if he wants to make his own, using Mortons Lite and maltodextrin.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=maltodextrin

"If he wants just a packet or two, he can buy the Ceralyte for less than $10"

Why any serious hiker contemplating the use of ORS would want to stop at 2 packets is beyond me, but if he did he could pick up 4 individual packets of Pedialyte at Walgreens for $4.89. Oops, Pedialyte contains glucose, just like the WHO recommends.

Tom & Colin,

Thanks for the info. I do think I'll try making my own ORT powder just to see how it tastes. I wonder if there is a lemon-lime flavor powder I can substitute as PART of the sugar component. I'll look around.

"I don't know what kind of math you are using, but I can pick up a tube of Mortons Lite salt for a couple of bucks that will last me a couple of years. So much for the electrolytes. As for the medium chain polysaccharides, at $1.83 for 8 oz, $3.66/pound" he could do it for considerably less than $20 if he wants to make his own, using Mortons Lite and maltodextrin."

Tom, there is nothing wrong with my math. When I said my suggestions were cheaper than yours, I was right. At that point, your only suggestion had been the $70 case of packets. You didn't jump on the MYOG ORS bandwagon until now. The Lite Salt and maltodextrin suggestion isn't your idea, anyway. Daryl and I already proposed that, and it supports the point that I made: making one's own ORS is cheaper than spending $70 on a case (your only idea so far).

Good work.

Eric, glad you found some of this information useful. A bit of lemon-lime flavor is nice. The Ceralyte is lemon-lime flavored, and the stuff I made for myself tastes a tiny bit like lemonade due to the citrate, but it would benefit from a bit more flavor.

You didn't jump on the MYOG ORS bandwagon until now. The Lite Salt and maltodextrin suggestion isn't your idea, anyway. Daryl and I already proposed that, and it supports the point that I made: making one's own ORS is cheaper than spending $70 on a case (your only idea so far)."

I love it when someone like you not only comes across as condescending, but goes on to trumpet that they've just invented the wheel. Why don't you do a BPL search on Mortons Lite and maltodextrin? I think you will get enough hits to disabuse you of the notion that you have contributed anything new to the discussion, except perhaps for the novel idea of using brown rice syrup solids instead of maltodextrin. Sorry pal, like the wheel, Mortons Lite and maltodextrin have been around for a while, as have MYO rehydration/nutrition powders.

Edited for content.

"I wonder if there is a lemon-lime flavor powder"

If you seek the flavor only, then get True Lime, True Lemon, or True Orange. These flavors come in tiny packets (right for a 10-16oz beverage) and contain mostly Citric Acid.

–B.G.–

That's a straw man, Tom. Nobody claimed that they had invented anything. Review the thread. ORS, and recipes for making it at home, are readily available on BPL and all over the internet. Daryl and I found some recipes and brought them to the attention of the OP. And it seems that the information was useful to him.

My point to you earlier was that making one's own ORS (or buying a packet or two of Ceralyte) is cheaper than $70. And despite your strange objections, I was right. To make ORS at home,or buy a couple packets of Ceralyte, costs less than your proposal to spend $70.

No content editing necessary here.

"Nobody claimed that they had invented anything."

From the tone of your posts you could have fooled me. Nice to see you admit it.

"My point to you earlier was that making one's own ORS (or buying a packet or two of Ceralyte) is cheaper than $70.My point to you earlier was that making one's own ORS (or buying a packet or two of Ceralyte) is cheaper than $70. And despite your strange objections, I was right. To make ORS at home,or buy a couple packets of Ceralyte, costs less than your proposal to spend $70."

2 Packets of Ceralyte is definitely cheaper than 125 packets of Jianis WHO formula, IF you only need 2 packets, but when you say your home formula is 100 times cheaper I question that. You said that for 20-30 dollars you can make several pounds. 125 packets of Jianis product is 8 pounds. What does it cost you to make 8 pounds? I'm guessing it will not work out to be 100 times cheaper, or even a lot cheaper. Then there is the hassle of mixing it and storing it without it spoiling. The Jianis product is sealed in airtight packets with a shelf life of 5 years. It is not quite as simple as you portray it. I do not think my objections are strange at all. In any case, Eric has ample information to proceed on his own. If he needs any further information, a simple BPL or Internet search will do the trick.

As for me jumping on the Mortons Lite/maltodextrin band wagon late, you might want to browse a few of the other threads on the subject. You will find I have been using it for several years.

Eric,

As you've probably gathered by now, I was instinctively a little skeptical of Colin's math from the begining, so I went back and did what I should have done before my initial response to him, which was colored by my reaction to his tone: Check his numbers and mine. The results are as follows: Cost of 125 packets of WHO formula from Jianis Bros, providing 8+ pounds of WHO formula in sealed packets with a shelf life of 5 years is $70 + $18.90 for shipping(calculated from KC, MO to Seattle) = $88.90. Cost for Colin's ingredients, as calculated from dummy purchases on EBay for an equivalent amount of ORS powder to be mixed by you, again calculated to my Seattle address are: 8 pounds of brown rice syrup solids is $44 + $16 for shipping = $60; 8 oz of Sodium Citrate is $4.25 + $6.30 for shipping = $10.55; 1 pound of Potassium Chloride for $2.96 + $5.99 for shipping = $8.95; This works out to $79.40, so Colin's approach is $9.40 cheaper than mine, not counting a couple of bucks for baggies. Then there is the hassle of spending who knows how much time bagging the stuff up, cleaning up after, and finding a way to store it properly so it doesn't degrade over time. Yes, you could order in smaller batches, but then the disproportionate shipping costs would quickly eat up whatever cost savings you see above, because there is always a minimum shipping charge involved. The choice is up to you, but I now feel that you have the true cost data you need to calculate whether the time and effort involved is offset by a maximum savings of $9.40. Colin's approach certainly does not cost 1/100 of any commercial product, and is marginally cheaper at best. Good luck, whatever you decide to do, and I apologize to you and the rest of the community, excluding Colin, for my contribution to any unpleasantness. This was thread that should have remained strictly informational.

Tom, today I checked on the price of the Morton's Lite Salt (90% potassium chloride). At my store it was $3.50. That seems a lot higher than what I've paid before. It must be a Homeland Security thing.

–B.G.–

"It must be a Homeland Security thing."

You have to pay for all those drones they're deploying in domestic airspace somehow.

One can buy dry gator aid also and just add water.

Anyone tried drying liquid gator aid?