Help With Adding Flavor to Water

[Fisher Cat]

Does anyoner have any non-powdered additives for water? I've noticed there are some effervescent tablets you can add, but are there any liquid concentrates that could easily carried?

I'm totally avoiding powders. I used to drink a lot of iced tea and back in 2004 I was rewarded with a bouncing baby kidney stone. Doc said it was caused by those little particles that never totally dissolve in drinks like that building up over all the years. At least it didn't hit me on the trail.

As I pre-emptive reply, I noticed your homemade electrolyte recipe, DougPaul, when I did a search on this before asking. Thanks for the tip.

 

[cushetunk]

What about herbal tea bags and honey (or sugar)? I'll make up a small but strong cup of hot tea, and then dilute it down with cold water. For really warm days, I'll add a pinch of salt. This is in the spirit of DougPaul's recipe, but has the added bonus of not requiring any measuring.

 

[Roxi]

Do mean adding flavor to the water you are carrying on your hike from home, or adding flavor to water you get while out hiking? I often add lemon or lime juice to the water I carry on a hike as I like the flavor. I add it in as I fill my water bottles and it's ready to go.

 

[Fisher Cat]

What about herbal tea bags and honey (or sugar)? I'll make up a small but strong cup of hot tea, and then dilute it down with cold water. For really warm days, I'll add a pinch of salt. This is in the spirit of DougPaul's recipe, but has the added bonus of not requiring any measuring.

cushetank, I hadn't thought of that but excuse the paranoia of anything related to tea. The reality, I guess, is that even the smallest of particles can avoid being dissolved, it can never be 100 % but the doc said avoid anything tea-related or anything with powder, and dark/caramel colored additives. Which is no prob as I enjoy drinking water.

Do mean adding flavor to the water you are carrying on your hike from home, or adding flavor to water you get while out hiking? I often add lemon or lime juice to the water I carry on a hike as I like the flavor. I add it in as I fill my water bottles and it's ready to go.

Roxi, I'd be looking to add it to the water I attain while on multi-day or extended trail work trips. So it would be added to any water I treat first.

 

[DougPaul]

For really warm days, I'll add a pinch of salt. This is in the spirit of DougPaul's recipe, but has the added bonus of not requiring any measuring.

If you put in too much salt the drink will cause dehydration, not enough and the salt will be of limited help. An advantage of measuring is that it gives you a controlled, reasonable dose.

It might be worth measuring at first, if only to get an idea of how big a pinch to use.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Does anyoner have any non-powdered additives for water? I've noticed there are some effervescent tablets you can add, but are there any liquid concentrates that could easily carried?

Once upon a time, one could get effervescent "soft drink" tablets. Don't know if you still can.

I'm totally avoiding powders. I used to drink a lot of iced tea and back in 2004 I was rewarded with a bouncing baby kidney stone. Doc said it was caused by those little particles that never totally dissolve in drinks like that building up over all the years.

Sounds a bit far fetched--anything you drink has been filtered by the intestines, traveled in the blood stream, and filtered again by the kidneys before it can appear in your urine. It is also possible for chemicals to pass through the kidney and precipitate (crystalize) out in one's urine.

You might take a look at http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/Kudiseases/pubs/stonesadults/ from the NIH for more info. According to it, black Indian Tea is a source of oxalate which can cause kidney stones. Other teas also contain oxalate (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12495262).
(Search on "kidney stones" and "tea oxalate" for more info.)

If you are concerned about ingesting particles, you might try passing the solution through a water treatment filter. That will at least guarantee that any particles are less than ~20 microns.

IMO, a blanket prohibition on drink powders might be a bit excessive, but it is your choice.

As I pre-emptive reply, I noticed your homemade electrolyte recipe, DougPaul, when I did a search on this before asking. Thanks for the tip.

I just wanted a cheap electrolyte drink (prompted by reading the Cordes article), did a bit of research, and posted my results. Hope you find it useful. (However, sugar and Morton's Lite salt are also powders...)

Consumer Reports suggests using half-strength fruit juice as an electrolyte drink.

Doug

 

[Fisher Cat]

Once upon a time, one could get effervescent "soft drink" tablets. Don't know if you still can.


Sounds a bit far fetched--anything you drink has been filtered by the intestines, traveled in the blood stream, and filtered again by the kidneys before it can appear in your urine. It is also possible for chemicals to pass through the kidney and precipitate (crystalize) out in one's urine.

If you are concerned about ingesting particles, you might try passing the solution through a water treatment filter. That will at least guarantee that any particles are less than ~20 microns.

IMO, a blanket prohibition on drink powders might be a bit excessive, but it is your choice.



Doug

I did find these tabs:

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___67650

I'm just going to look into the ingredients a bit more when I have the time.

Kidney stones are a bit hereditary on my mom's side, so I may be a bit more susceptible to them. Thus I've decided to take the steps I have to avoid the excruciating pain. Part of the stone did dissolve when it hit the bladder, but a good chunk didn't. I was so relieved by the pain when it finally hit the bladder that I thought it was all gone but, then when I had resumed my trail running, the last chunk decided to make a break for it. I didn't have the strainer they gave me and it got away. I mean come on, who's gonna trail run in 90+ degrees with a strainer dangling on a shirtless back. Yea, I know great mental picture.

So it may seem drastic, but I will do whatever it takes to avoid that pain again, and after all, just drinking water is not a bad thing, I enjoy it. After all, I haven't had a recurrence, but if that were to hit on the trail it would be a pretty rough haul out. Besides, the iced tea I drank wasn't exactly "all-natural" or "home brewed" it was more of the grocery-store type.

Thanks for the insight on the filter as well. It is an option I can consider.

 

[DougPaul]

I did find these tabs:

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___67650

I'm just going to look into the ingredients a bit more when I have the time.

Without tracking down the details of the ingredients, my first reaction is that they just look like electrolyte in a tablet form. (Presumably a tablet can contain just as much particulate as a powder.)

The tablets that I was describing were ~1/2in diameter and ~1/4in thick. One put them in water and they fizzed for a short bit. I presume they contained flavoring, some baking soda (for the fizz), some artificial sugar, and some coloring. (They were in some hiking lunches that we picked up from Granite Park Chalet (Glacier NP) in the 1960's. So my memory might be a bit weak...)

Kidney stones are a bit hereditary on my mom's side, so I may be a bit more susceptible to them. Thus I've decided to take the steps I have to avoid the excruciating pain. Part of the stone did dissolve when it hit the bladder, but a good chunk didn't. I was so relieved by the pain when it finally hit the bladder that I thought it was all gone but, then when I had resumed my trail running, the last chunk decided to make a break for it. I didn't have the strainer they gave me and it got away. I mean come on, who's gonna trail run in 90+ degrees with a strainer dangling on a shirtless back. Yea, I know great mental picture.

I may have passed a stone a number of years ago. Wasn't much fun, but fortunately the pain only lasted an hour or so.

So it may seem drastic, but I will do whatever it takes to avoid that pain again, and after all, just drinking water is not a bad thing, I enjoy it. After all, I haven't had a recurrence, but if that were to hit on the trail it would be a pretty rough haul out. Besides, the iced tea I drank wasn't exactly "all-natural" or "home brewed" it was more of the grocery-store type.

It sounds as if the oxalate in the tea could have been the cause. (A somewhat wild guess.) Perhaps simply drinking enough liquid and avoiding oxalate containing food and drink might help.

Thanks for the insight on the filter as well. It is an option I can consider.

It is certainly harmless to try. But my guess is that the components (such as oxalate) are more important that some particulates in your drink. (Any particulates or solids in your food and drink that are not dissolved and absorbed through your intestines will be passed out in your stool.)

Doug

 

[Hobbitling]

Quack

I suspect he meant that salty and sugary foods and drinks should be avoided. Which is true. Hydration mixes contain both salt and sugar, and so you probably would be better off with diluted juice and unsalted snacks.

If your doctor actually told you that you have kidney stones from undissolved drink mix particles, you need to get another doctor. That's the most scientifically and medically absurd thing I've ever heard. There is no way solid particles you swallow can end up in your urine. It is impossible.

 

[Amicus]

Help With Adding Flavor to Water?

Water needs a lot of help in that department, to be sure. A dedicated discussion group of VFTT'rs debates endlessly that perennial question - what are the best non-powdered additives to water? Drinkers with a Hiking Problem . Heck, let's just skip the H2O!

 

[Fisher Cat]

and so you probably would be better off with diluted juice and unsalted snacks.

I do believe that's the direction I will lean, along with DougPaul's thoughts-recipe, etc., it seems that instead of purchasing any products I like the option of adding juice, be it lemon or some other flavor, to the water. It would also seem to open up a lot more options in the taste and variety department.
Whether or not the Dr. is a quack or not is a topic for endless debate. All I know is that I was in a lot of unfamiliar pain, ended up going in and getting the diagnosis at the hospital. They were right in figuring it would pass but without being able to retrieve what came out they could not determine its substance, thus its root cause, and hopefully never will have the opportunity again to do so as I hope I never have another one.

 

[Roxi]

My mother, daughter, and I have all had kidney stones, so I know your pain Fisher Cat. Foods that contain oxalate are a source/cause, but in my case the doctor thought that like you, I am at risk due to heredity. He also recommended drinking a lot of water. We may be more likely to get them due to our genes, but drinking a lot of water and decreasing our intake of oxalate will help reduce that risk. Like you, I hope to never feel that pain again. Childbirth was a breeze compared to passing a kidney stone. On the other hand, I don't have to raise it or pay for college....

 

[chinooktrail]

There used to be a product called Zarex that came in a sugary sweet liquid syrup. Sort of like Karo syrup, but in fruit'ish' flavors.

If you carried a little of it on a hiking trip and added some to your water it would flavor the water as much or as little as you wanted.

Not sure how old the link was, but I googled it and it is reported to be available through the 'Vermont Country Store' site.

Hum, I may have to get some myself, just to remember something from my childhood...

 

[Fisher Cat]

Childbirth was a breeze compared to passing a kidney stone.

That's what the on-duty doctor at the Hospital said when she walked in. After they ran the batteries of test she walks in (I hadn't met her yet) with the results, she's heavy with child and says " Congratulations! I see that we're both expecting!." Despite the immense pain it did make me laugh inside. Earlier an assistant asked me to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the worst. As I'm writhing in pain I said "8". He said "An 8, whaddya mean an 8?" I said "I've never been shot or stabbed and I imagine that's worse so I'm saving it for then." Thanks for the camaraderie Roxi!

I've also stumbled onto the suggestion of fruit esscence or fruit extracts. There's a locally owned natural health store nearby I may check out.

 

[Roxi]

Earlier an assistant asked me to rate the pain on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 being the worst. As I'm writhing in pain I said "8". He said "An 8, whaddya mean an 8?" I said "I've never been shot or stabbed and I imagine that's worse so I'm saving it for then."

I got asked the same question, and replied, "It's at least a 12, maybe more!" May we never experience it again.

 

[dentonfabrics]

I'm totally avoiding powders. I used to drink a lot of iced tea and back in 2004 I was rewarded with a bouncing baby kidney stone. Doc said it was caused by those little particles that never totally dissolve in drinks like that building up over all the years. At least it didn't hit me on the trail.

Yikes! I'm a huge fan of Propel, adding a tube of powder to a bottle of water. I'm gonna have to rethink that I guess....

 

[WinterWarlock]

Have you seen any of the liquid tea extracts? I know it's tea, but maybe this would work.

BTW - I drink two cups of strong black tea every morning, and a gallon of iced tea a day. I've been doing that for almost thirty years with no kidney stones...maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[Amicus]

Kidding aside, I empathize with all fellow kidney-stone sufferers. I'm not able to compare its pangs with those of childbirth, but they're the worst I've ever felt. My first and worst attack, nearly 20 years ago, put me in a hospital overnight. After a few lesser attacks, each lasting a couple of hours, over the next few years, I seemed to be over these, until an attack 13 months ago that lasted about 7 hours, "passing" just as I was about to check in with the medics at the end of a long drive.

My HMO gave me a long and dense booklet last year on possible causes, from which I learned little more than they don't know for sure what those are. The tannins in tea were named as suspect, but I only started drinking that in volume after my early attacks. Powdered beverages were not mentioned.

Every one of my attacks followed, within hours or at longest a few days, some strong jolt to my anatomy, as in a wipeout while skiing, so I believe that is a factor - the strong jar shakes a stone loose, precipitating an attack.

I too remember Zarex - Kool-Aid in syrup form, basically. Fine for kiddies, but I wouldn't seek it out.

 

[expat]

SnoCones

How about getting the flavorings that they use to make sno-cones? That's got to be pretty readily available.

 

[ferrisjrf]

I like this e-Fuel sports drink mix. It seems to be what you're looking for...although I tend to doubt its effectiveness in preventing kidney stones.

Jason