PRODUCT REVIEW: EFS Sports Drink

It’s been a while since I’ve done a product review so I thought I would review my very favorite of all nutritional products, EFS Sports Drink. As most of you know I have Celiac Disease (or is it that I am a celiac? I never know how I’m supposed to say that) and follow a strict gluten free diet. I also have a wonky (yes, I said wonky) stomach that is pretty unforgiving during workout and race conditions. So, for years I gagged down Hammer HEED. I thought it tasted good, but in hindsight I think that was because I have such a positive cheery outlook : ) After three irondistance races I could not even look at another bottle of HEED. Don’t even get me started on the melon flavor.

Anyhow, along came my team sponsorship. One of our team sponsors is First Endurance. As part of our sponsorship we were asked to use the product for training and racing and review them. I was upfront with the powers that be about my wonky stomach and the fact that I could not endorse or blog about a product that I couldn’t use. They were very understanding and passed on Robert’s, (one of the founders of First Endurance) email address. He was very quick to respond and very helpful. All EFS products are gluten free (yay!) and several pro’s that are sponsored by the company are gluten free. (yay!)
So, here’s the low down on EFS drink. It’s yummy. Not in a, hey hon, try these gluten free brownies, they don’t taste as much like cardboard as the ones we usually have. It’s actually palatable, heck, I crave the stuff. I know, I’m weird. As far as my wonky stomach goes I have yet to have a bad stomach day that was due to my EFS. I had one that was due to pretzel bits getting dropped in my drink, I had one that was due to eating dairy before a workout (a huge no-no for me), but my trusty EFS has done me right.
My favorite thing is not having to swallow those stupid electrolyte pills. Here is the comparison of electrolytes:
I’m much too nice to post the competitor names, but lets just say one was already mentioned  in this review .  The flavors are Lemon Lime, Fruit Punch, Orange and Grape.  My current favorite is Orange, but a few months ago it was grape so I guess I just like them all.   I generally use a 2 scoop bottle (200 cal.) for every 1.25 hours I’m out on the bike.  On the run I will put 1 scoop in a small flask (100 cal) and sip it by the hour.  If I’m going longer  I will substitute in some EFS Liquid Shot.

One thing to note is that the EFS sports drink is an all carbohydrate drink.  I used to use drinks with protein during distance training and racing but found that my stomach just doesn’t like it.  I do much, much better on a carbohydrate only drink.  Throw as many articles you want at me about distance racing and need for protein, I just know that my stomach doesn’t like it so I save my protein for before and after workouts.

**Note that First Endurance is one of my sponsors.  I do buy their product, but they do support our team!