Nature's Sports Drink

I've always disliked the idea of giving my kids sports drinks with their artificial colors, flavors and God knows what else is in there. Sometimes when they are out playing baseball and football in the blazing sun, I feel like they need a bit more then water though.

I have known about coconut water for a while. When I was eating raw, I used to buy the young coconuts at my local market, chop the top off and add the water to my smoothies or drink it. The kids liked it too. The problem is that it isn't too practical to bring a coconut and big knife to the games so my kids could drink it.

Well, that problem is solved. They have started selling coconut water in single serving containers, like a juice box. There are several different brands and they even have some flavors like pineapple, acai, peach mango and more. I bought mine at Whole Foods and the kids really liked it. So do I.

So what is so great about coconut water? Well, first of all it is natural, it comes straight from the coconut. No high fructose corn syrup, no sugar, no colorings, flavorings, or chemicals. That alone is something you don't hear much about when it comes to sweet drinks.

Secondly, coconut water is amazing stuff. It is similar to plasma and in WWII it was given to soldiers intravenously when supplies of plasma were low. It has more electrolytes then the sports drinks that are out on the market and has 15 times more potassium. In fact it has more potassium than two bananas. Potassium is essential for the body's growth and heart function. It helps kidneys function normally and helps keep a normal water balance between the cells and body fluids among other things. It is high in vitamin C, low in sodium and even has a bit of fat to slow down the metabolism of sugar. It also contains lauric acid which is used to heal the digestive tract.

So instead of reaching for those neon colored, artificially flavored sports drinks, try a little box of nature's sports drink. Let me know what you think.