Sports drinks

A few years ago, I was downing Gatorade every time I went for a bike ride, a run or hike. Then came the time to go for the dentist check-up, and I found out what I was really getting from that drink: cavities. They were caused by sipping on a sugary drink for a long period of time. Actually, I don't even know if it is fair to call it a ''sugary'' drink, since it is probably made with corn syrup, which is even worse than sugar. The dentist told me that she had seen similar in other clients of hers that were bikers. So I tried other sports drinks, and switched to Hammer nutrition for a while. But that is not only very expensive, it has all kinds of strange-named ingredients in it. Finally, when I read ''Born to Run'', I found something that had, and still has, nothing but one ingredient: Chia seed. McDougall talks about it at length in the book, so my husband and I decided to try it. We have been using it since last summer, and love it. You just mix a little bit of chia in your water, put a little honey for sweetness, add lime (if you'd like) to taste, and you've got your home-made energy drink. I take it on long hikes, runs, bike rides... anything where you know you will need energy when you are tired and hot. Otherwise, good old plain water is a great drink for most short adventures. I also sometimes use the gels from Clif; they use brown rice syrup instead of sugar or corn syrup, but they still have a few ''weird'' ingredients like ''potassium citrate'' (where does ''that'' come from?), and come in packets wrapped in plastic... which goes to the trash. Chia seeds come in bulk, and have no other ''hidden'' ingredients. No waste, no trash. Just make sure to drink it cold!