Make Homemade Energy Drinks
Energy Drinks are all the rage with everyone from teen party goers to serious athletes to the average person that just wants a pick-me-up before that long corporate reorganization meeting. The problem is, they can set you back a pretty penny if you have them more than once in a while. Luckily, they can be made easily, giving you stamina without breaking the bank.
Ingredients
- {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} non-carbonated beverage
- 3 pinches table salt
- 1 to 2 pinches potassium chloride-based salt substitute
- 1/2 to 1 daily dose liquid B-vitamin supplements
- Less than 200 mg medical/food grade caffeine
- Herbal extracts such as ginseng, if desired
Steps
- Choose {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of a flavourful, non-carbonated beverage. Often filtered water and a powdered drink mix are a good choice.
- Add 3 pinches of normal table salt (sodium chloride)
- Add 1 to 2 pinches of potassium chloride based salt substitute.
- Add liquid b-vitamin supplements (Add dosage depending on the amount of the finished drink you intend to consume per day. If you're going to consume the whole batch by yourself in one day, 1/2 to one dose is recommended.)
- Add medical/food grade caffeine, no more than 200 mg per serving (See warnings below).
- If desired, herbal extracts such as ginseng may be added, as well.
- Shake or stir and chill well.
- Pour your energy into a bottle. Use a funnel if required.
- Enjoy your homemade energy drink.
Tips
- Chilling the drink will help the flavour, masking the slightly off flavours that the salts and vitamins can add.
- Caffeine is bitter, and finding it in an easily soluble form may be difficult. Often it may be better just to leave it out, and take a caffeine tablet supplement (i.e. No-Doz, Vivarin). This also reduces the chance of overdose by poor measurement if you are unsure of yourself.
- Low- or No-sugar mixes may seem to be counter intuitive for a beverage such as this, but sugar causes insulin to be produced in the body, and once it's metabolized you can have an "insulin low", leaving you less energetic than before. Even when choosing commercial energy drinks, often the 'diet' can is the way to go.
- Following steps 1 through 3 and leaving out the rest of the ingredients will yield an excellent, effective and cheap sports drink similar to Gatorade or Powerade.
- You can also make a good energy drink by putting a few drops of 5 hour energy into a water bottle containing non-caffeinated pop and some Kool-aid, the carbonation in the pop and the sugars in 5 hour energy will give you a great boost in athletic or sporting events.
Warnings
- Caffeine overdose can be deadly. Do not consume more than your body is used to handling, and don't overdo it at that. Caffeine overdose symptoms include, but are not limited to, heart arrhythmia, coma, and death. Don't be stupid. Unless you have an analytical balance (scale for measuring milligram quantities of substances, usually costing several thousand dollars) do not attempt to estimate quantities of caffeine. Repeat: caffeine can be deadly.
- Some base beverages, such as iced tea, may already have some caffeine. Be aware of this when dosing.
- Herbs come with their own warnings, as well. Do your research before adding them to the mix.
- B-vitamins are generally beneficial at quantities over the Recommended Daily Allowance, but overdosing on some of them can have very unpleasant effects, as well. Niacin, or vitamin B-3, for example, can cause a very itchy skin rash and elevated body temperature at high dosages. Do not exceed the vitamin manufacturer's guidelines when planning your dosages.
