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The Lowdown on Sports Drinks

Posted May 31, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Supplements

tiger and gatorade In the 1960’s, a certain football coach had a dilemma. His players were suffering from heat related illnesses during games and practices and he had no idea why. In an attempt to find a solution, he met with the universities physicians to discuss the issue.

The physicians came to the conclusion that the problem was that players were sweating out valuable fluid and electrolytes which were not being replaced. In addition, glycogen stores were depleted for energy use, and they weren’t being replenished either. This led to the players feeling run down.

The physicians, armed with this information locked themselves in the lab and formulated a drink containing the necessary balance of carbs and electrolytes to replenish what the players lost through sweat. The salt content of the drink also had another effect – it induced thirst in the players, so they consumed more water. The improvements in performance produced by the drink earned it instant fame. Today, you know the drink as Gatorade. True story.

Sports drinks are common in many households today, for the reasons listed above and because of marketing. We are constantly fed the notion that we need sports drinks if we are even remotely active in our daily lives. But do you really need sports drinks to perform at your best? What benefit will the weekend warrior or the hobbyist athlete derive from sports drinks? It depends on the duration and intensity of what you are doing.

Sports drinks contain salt and carbohydrates, which translates to calories. If you are performing intense physical activity for more than an hour, you will likely have depleted enough glycogen and electrolytes to deem a need for a sports drink. However, if the duration was less than an hour, you may be better off staying away from the extra calories and just drinking water.

Research sources and for more information: [picture]