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Sports Drinks - 3 Keys to Understanding What Makes Them Work

With Doug Caporrino

Sales of those fluorescent colored drinks have skyrocketed in the last decade. Maybe because we can feel like we’re drinking plutonium or something? There’s something wild about drinking something that glows. Anyway - sports drinks were created to be consumed while you play sports or while you’re working out. Makes sense to me!

3 Keys for a High Quality Sports Drink : Fluid Replacement | Calories | Electrolytes

When you work out your body generates heat. This is the first key to understanding the usefulness of sports drinks. In order to function properly, your body temperature should not get too high. As you sweat (or glisten, if you like), heat is carried away from the body. Losing too much body water, however, can result in dehydration. One of the most important benefits of sports drinks is that they rehydrate your body.

In addition to fluid replacement, a good sports drink provides you with energy through calories in the form of carbohydrates – giving you a “pick-up” and delaying the onset of fatigue. But a critical point is that adding too many carbohydrates to a sports drink will significantly slow down the rate at which your body absorbs fluids.

Most brands use somewhere between a 4 to 8 percent carbohydrate solution, a guideline set by the American College of Sports Medicine.

The other things a sports drink should provide are electrolytes. Electrolytes are minerals such as sodium, potassium and chloride. They’re important to the body because they assist in fluid and nutrient absorption. Gatorade has fewer calories per 8 ounce serving than Powerade and most of its other competitors, and contains twice as much sodium.

For years many in the exercise science field have asserted that the benefits of sports drinks only “kick in” after at least 1 hour of strenuous activity, and that drinking water is just as good for shorter workouts. For those who don’t like drinking water frequently, finding a tasty sports drink may be the answer to staying hydrated. The added carbohydrates and electrolytes, which are not present in water, can serve as a bonus.

Too Much of a Good Thing

A common mistake many people make is that they do not know when to stop reaping the benefits of that bonus. While sports drinks are most often associated with playing fields and gym environments, many have become so enamored with the taste of the beverages that they drink them on a daily basis, even when not working out. Your waistline may not exactly like that “benefit” from those hidden extra calories.

So, the next time you reach for your favorite rocket fuel, be sure you’re working out!