New Delhi, June 21 -- It would be almost unthinkable nowadays to consume salted and diluted wine before participating in an athletic event. And yet, a mixture of wine and vinegar was one of the first attempts to create a sports drink. It was a potion evolved from a more rudimentary mixture of water, herbs and honey. An even older form of performance drink was apparently a suggestion from Galen, an ancient Greek physician in the 2nd-3rd century CE. His formula was to eat dates and a plant-ash solution.

"Potassium nitrate or saltpeter, known as niter, became a key ingredient. When mixed with date palm resin, it helped replace the potassium, magnesium and calcium lost in sweat and urine during intense gymnastic training," states a History O...