Dr. Cheney recommended Vitalyte for electrolyte replacement:
http://www.klemmerhead.com/vitalyte...-article-fibormyalgia-lyme-disease-arthritis/
A study by Bell and Streeten established that the average CFS patient has only 70% of the normal blood volume. To address this, Dr. Cheney recommends drinking one quart of an electrolyte solution daily on an empty stomach. The best one he has found is Gookinaid’s VITLALYTE™*.
VITALYTE is rapidly absorbed into the blood stream through the stomach lining because it is isotonic – it matches the chemical concentration of the body’s fluids. When one of our local members asked Dr. Cheney about vitamin IV’s, Gookinaid’s VITLALYTE came up again. While Dr. Cheney thinks that the IV’s can be very helpful, he told her that if they are inconvenient or expensive, she could get virtually the same benefit from her regular supplements and drinking VITALYTE (this assumes that there is no problem assimilating the supplements). Because VITALYTE is absorbed so rapidly, it acts like an IV.
The glucose (in VITLALYTE) concerned some since it’s a sugar, and sugars feed yeasts. Dr. Cheney said that it’s not a concern with this product. Gookinaid’s VITLALYTE passes directly from the stomach in to the blood and never enters the intestinal tract where the yeast flourishes. Only fluids similar in concentration to the body’s fluids are so easily absorbed. Water can cause the cells’ lining in the stomach to swell and slow absorption.
Also, when the pressure of the water in the stomach forces water into the blood, it dilutes the blood and, when the diluted blood passes through the kidneys, they get rid of the excess water leaving a person almost as dehydrated as before drinking the water. On the other hand, solutions that are too concentrated can pull water from the body into the digestive tract making you even more dehydrated.”
From the March 2001 issue of the Cheney Clinic Online Newsletter
*As Dr. Cheney says,
Gookinaid increases blood volume without diluting your blood because it has the same concentration of glucose and critical electrolytes (especially potassium, and sodium) as blood. This means that the water, glucose and electrolytes tend to stay in your circulation, instead of being absorbed into the tissues which would cause edema or being excreted by the kidneys,
which would cause frequent urination and loss of the electrolytes and water.
You might want to compare the sodium, potassium and carb concentrations of Gatorade vs. Vitalyte. Gatorade is usually too high in sodium and it could be making you worse.
Gatorade: 160mg Sodium / 45mg Potassium / 21g carbs
There are a few varieties of Gatorade so you may want to check your own bottle.
Vitalyte: 68mg Sodium / 92mg Potassium / 10g carbs
http://www.vitalyte.com/products/electrolyte-replacement/zesty-orange-kilo-jar.html
I've been drinking Vitalyte for over 20 years. It used to be called Gookinaid, named for the developer Bill Gookin. I prefer this to plain water also, although I'd say only about half my fluid intake comes from Vitalyte.
There's also a thread here about making your own electrolyte replacement drink:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/electrolyte-rehydration-recipes-ingredients.3900/