The effects of water vs. sports drinks
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Lots of star athletes promote sports drinks as healthy and performance enhancing, but are they really.
"Using energy drinks is a popular practice among college students for a variety of situations. Although for the majority of situations assessed, users consumed one energy drink with a reported frequency of 1 – 4 days per month, many users consumed three or more when combining with alcohol while partying."
"Energy drink consumption has continued to gain popularity since the 1997 debut of Red Bull, the current leader in the energy drink market [1]. More than 500 new energy drinks were launched worldwide in 2006 and beverage companies are reaping the financial rewards of the 5.7 billion dollar energy drink industry [1]. Energy drinks, including Red Bull, Amp, Monster, Rock Star, Rip It, Full Throttle, and Cocaine, are designed to give the consumer a "jolt" of energy provided by the combination of stimulants and "energy boosters" that they provide, including caffeine, herbal extracts such as guarana, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba, B vitamins, amino acids such as taurine, amino acid derivatives such as carnitine, and sugar derivatives, including glucuronalactone and ribose "
"Do energy drinks provide the consumer an extra burst of energy as the advertisements would have you believe? Yes, they do. Smit and colleagues found that energy drinks, as compared to placebo, had energizing effects among 18 to 55 year old participants, with effects being strongest 30 to 60 minutes after consumption and sustained at least 90 minutes . Caffeine was found to be the primary constituent responsible for these effects."
"Caffeine was found to be the primary constituent responsible for these effects. Although there is no human requirement for caffeine, even low doses of caffeine (12.5 to 100 mg) improve cognitive performance and mood [6]. However, caffeine has been found to have detrimental health consequences. "
"Insufficient sleep was the most common reason to drink energy drinks, as indicated by 67% of energy drink users. The majority of users consumed energy drinks to increase their energy (65%) and to drink with alcohol while partying (54%). Fifty percent drank while studying or completing a major course project, 45% while driving a car for a long period of time, and 17% to treat a hangover. "
"sports beverages – flavoured, often brightly coloured drinks containing carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes and sometimes vitamins, are widely promoted at sporting events and by sports personalities. "
"Meanwhile, pediatric journals warn that the acidity in sports drinks erodes teeth enamel and encourages obesity"
“These drinks were never intended to be consumed by the general public, but unfortunately, they have been marketed to the masses with the underlying message that if you drink these, you will become a great athlete like Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, most people will just gain weight,” Dr. Nish says.
There's also benefits in sports drinks in providing carbohydrates, potassium, sodium, and amino acids.
Sports and electrolyte drinks often seem like the perfect way to quench your thirst when working out, but according to Dr. Nish, there’s a very limited group of people who should be drinking them. The recommendation is adults and children should only have sports drinks during extended and heavy exercise that lasts longer than an hour.
"The main advantage of sports drinks over water is their electrolyte content. When you sweat, you lose electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, phosphate, calcium, magnesium and chlorine. If you sweat a lot during your exercise session, your electrolyte levels could become too low, potentially causing nausea, muscle cramps, dizziness and confusion. Replacing lost fluids with plain water doesn't replace electrolytes, but this isn't usually an issue when you exercise for only a short time, but it can become an issue when you exercise for more than an hour."
"Sports drinks help replace lost fluids, which is particularly important for endurance athletes. People who don't like drinking plain water may find it easier to meet their increased fluid needs during exercise if they drink flavored beverages such as sports drinks. You need about 1 1/2 cups to 4 cups of liquid for every hour of exercise, depending on the intensity of the exercise and on how much you sweat."
"The main disadvantage of most sports drinks is their high caloric content. These calories come from sugars, which usually make up 4 to 9 percent of the drink. These sugars can help give you greater endurance if you drink them during long exercise sessions. Don't drink beverages that contain a higher percentage of sugars to replace fluids, because the high sugar content will delay absorption of the liquid, according to the University of Illinois Extension. You can dilute these beverages with plain water to reduce their sugar concentration."
They found that these athletes were losing electrolytes and fluid with exertion but not replacing them. Gatorade was developed to replace crucial electrolytes and carbohydrates while hydrating at the same time.
While it’s marketed as a sports drink, athletes aren’t the only ones drinking Gatorade. Children drink it at lunch or after soccer practice, and it’s even developed a reputation as a hangover cure.
When you exercise, it’s important to stay hydrated. Water is the most logical form of hydration. However, sports drinks like Gatorade contain sugar and electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Sports drinks can help replace what we lose during longer duration exercise, especially in the heat.
Water is the main ingredient in sports drinks, but they also contain other substances, including carbs and electrolytes, which are supposed to improve performance.
In athletes, sports drinks may improve performance in various types of exercise, with the clearest benefits being seen for prolonged exercise without rest. The number of carbs that may be beneficial increases as the duration of exercise increases.
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In early summer of 1965, a University of Florida assistant coach sat down with a team of university physicians and asked them to determine why so many of his players were being affected by heat and heat related illnesses.
The researchers — Dr. Robert Cade, Dr. Dana Shires, Dr. H. James Free and Dr. Alejandro de Quesada — soon discovered two key factors that were causing the Gator players to 'wilt': the fluids and electrolytes the players lost through sweat were not being replaced, and the large amounts of carbohydrates the players' bodies used for energy were not being replenished.
The researchers then took their findings into the lab, and scientifically formulated a new, precisely balanced carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage that would adequately replace the key components lost by Gator players through sweating and exercise. They called their concoction ‘Gatorade'.
Two decades after Dr. Cade and his team worked diligently to develop the optimum hydration formula that would become Gatorade, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute was founded in Barrington, Illinois, to conduct scientific research in the areas of exercise science, hydration, and sport nutrition. Three years later, the lab would be expanded to provide advanced testing for athletes and new Gatorade products and flavors and develop education materials for sports health professionals around the world. Gatorade is now also the official sports drink of the NBA, AVP, and PGA, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and numerous other elite and professional organizations and teams.
After years of careful research by the staff at GSSI into the needs of athletes engaged in high-demand training and competition, Gatorade launched the Gatorade Performance Series, an elite line of sports nutrition products, in 2001. These products include Gatorade Energy Drink, Gatorade Energy Bar, and the Gatorade Nutrition Shake.
Although sports drinks can improve the performance of athletes during several types of exercise, they are probably unnecessary for most people. If you choose to drink these beverages, it is important not to overconsume them.