Fruits win again.

Part of the magic of yoga (especially ze hot yoga) is the effect it has on your appetite. After any class, my priorities are simple. I want water, about a liter of that sweet H20. And fruit. Oranges, Pineapple, berries, grapefruit and any other water-rich and refreshing treat. During an intense workout, you can sweat enough to fill a bucket...ringing out my towel looks like I just cleaned up a "spill in aisle 5." Your post-workout body is craving specific forms of replenishment . Water alone won't be enough, since all that sweat contains potassium and sodium (commonly referred to as electrolytes) and though it will rehydrate you, it won't replace those lost minerals. Too much water, in fact, can flush your body and lead to things like water intoxication...and not the fun intoxication, where you forget your name and wake up naked next to a man. And then find out that your latent homosexuality ain't so latent any more. Whoops! It can lead to the "shit, I'm dead" kind. Not fun.

Incorporating fruit into your pre-yoga routine, say an hour before, or keeping some close for a post-workout fruit binge is a great way to replenish lost nutrients. Another alternative is spiking your H20 with some electrolyte-laden goodness. Coconut water is an excellent option. Young coconut water is the magical liquid from the center of, you got it, young coconuts. This sweet nectar of the jungle packs a low-calorie, high electrolyte punch."One cup-full of coconut water contains more electrolytes than most sports drinks and more potassium than a banana." (Thank you, wikipedia. I love you more each day). I buy a liter at wholefoods every other week and pour some into my water bottle to sip on during class. Not only is it delicious, but it has some natural sugars that really keep me up during that hour and a half.

There are a lot of commercial sports drinks out there: Gatorade, Powerade and an ever-growing number of bizarre testosterone-loaded MAN drinks...like Monster (in danger-font...and you get the girls g-string, too. Creepers win!).

Though the obvious benefits of scoring some hot tail or a g-string to hang in your creeper closet are appealing, the ingredients in these marketing monsters are not. 27 grams of sugar per serving (three servings per can. I love type II Diabetes) and Taurine (a key ingredient in bile...ya know, that nasty yellow goo you see if you kick it way way too hard at a party and visit the porcelain god. It comes from the gallbladder and helps digest food. Surprisingly, tests have not shown an energy boost from taurine supplementation. But the writing on the can is still cool.)

Wins: Electrolytes are good. You need to replenish them during and after any strenuous, sweat-lodge type workout. Natural sources, as always, are best. Fruits are great sources of easily digestible nourishment post workout.

Not wins: Commercial sport drinks with insane advertising. Usually involving naked ladies (or men). Eat fruit instead. Save the naked people for when you watch porn. Or meet a real person.